Adult Burmese Star Parameters

Nfhobbs09 · May 12, 2026

Hi all! I think I have gathered enough information, and I have everything I need to start my enclosure for getting a baby Burmese this summer. My question today is looking towards the future. It is my understanding that the best conditions for a captive baby are a closed chamber with about 80% Humidity, and about 80F with a gradient up to 100F under the basking light. Once the tort is full-grown and out of a closed chamber (preferably straight to outdoors), what are the temperature/humidity thresholds for an adult? Would it stay 80%/80F minimums, or if not, what would the thresholds drop down to? I could find lots of info on babies, but not much on adults. I think I read somewhere that an adult is okay down to maybe 65F if not raining? I know they need a covered, heated outdoor box, especially at night, but just for safety and my curiosity, what is the general consensus on Adult Burmese parameters? Especially, potentially living in a place that gets cold winters when that time comes. Thanks!

g4mobile · May 12, 2026

Have you read the pinned thread? Everything you want to know.

Introduction To The Burmese Star Tortoise

I've been wanting to do this thread for a long time... This species has become one of my all time favorites, and for good reasons! The purpose of all of my ramblings that follow are primarily intended to showcase how great this species is and why its a better species for most people than most...

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COmtnLady · May 12, 2026

Welcome to the forum!

Have you had a chance to read this?

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Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

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It is my understanding that the best conditions for a captive baby are a closed chamber with about 80% Humidity, and about 80F

For optimal health, hatchlings of every species of tortoise need about 5 to 10 degrees warmer than that, AND mid-80%s to mid-90%s humidity, all the time, for the first two to three years of life.

@Tom raises Stars, let's wait for him to weigh in all you are asking.

.

AuroraShire · May 12, 2026

Nfhobbs09 said:
Hi all! I think I have gathered enough information, and I have everything I need to start my enclosure for getting a baby Burmese this summer. My question today is looking towards the future. It is my understanding that the best conditions for a captive baby are a closed chamber with about 80% Humidity, and about 80F with a gradient up to 100F under the basking light. Once the tort is full-grown and out of a closed chamber (preferably straight to outdoors), what are the temperature/humidity thresholds for an adult? Would it stay 80%/80F minimums, or if not, what would the thresholds drop down to? I could find lots of info on babies, but not much on adults. I think I read somewhere that an adult is okay down to maybe 65F if not raining? I know they need a covered, heated outdoor box, especially at night, but just for safety and my curiosity, what is the general consensus on Adult Burmese parameters? Especially, potentially living in a place that gets cold winters when that time comes. Thanks!

Hey friend! I don't have much to add, just that I'm also working towards getting a burmese star baby this summer. Welcome to the forum!

Markw84 · May 12, 2026

The biggest thing to get right is a good, heated house for a Burmese Star. Stars like it hot. So they will stay in their house to warm up, or to stay cooler in extreme heat. The issue you will find is that Burmese Star adults are evening tortoises. Where they come from, the days are too hot to be out, so they have developed the habit of using the evenings - after heat of the day - to do their feeding. They will normally stay in a good house most of the day and come out about 5PM or so, grazing and feeding until maybe 9PM. I always make the rounds ensuring my tortoises are in for the night about sundown, but for my Burmese Stars, I wait until just before I go to bed to check they are in and lock their doors for the night. An evening in the 60s is not a problem if they have a good house that is at least 80° if days are warm, and 85° if days are not getting above 65° or so. It must be well insulated, especially the floors. In your cold winters, with snow, I would imagine you will need to keep it in a large indoor enclosure. I do keep mine outdoors year-round but my coldest weather is spells of maybe a few weeks with a high of 45° and a low of 38°. During those spells they will normally only come out very briefly to graze. Many days I will feed them inside their house when that cold.

Tom · May 12, 2026

I agree with everything Mark just said. To answer your question, they can tolerate low temps better than some other species, but they do need it warm on a daily basis. It's tough to just lay out a number. There are many factors to consider. 65 on dry ground in full sun with no wind is one thing. 65 in the wind under cloudy skies after a rain is a horse of a different color.

If it's not warm and sunny, watch the tortoise. If it goes and parks under a bush to wait for warmer weather, there is no point in having it outside. If it is walking around, grazing, exploring, and it can go into its heated house whenever it wants, then its fine to be outside in weather that is cooler than optimal.

Something else that I do is add a basking flood lamp on a timer to their outdoor night boxes. If it warm and sunny, as it is most of every year here, I leave the heat lamp timer off. If it's cold and overcast, I turn it on. The whole box is heated and maintained around 80-82 with a radiant oil heater. But if it 50 degrees and over cast outside, they can't warm up to operating temperatures. The heat lamp heats up the whole box and also allows the tortoise a place to warm up above ambient temperature when its not warm and sunny outside for basking.

Nfhobbs09 · May 13, 2026

Thank you for the replies, just wanted to start getting an idea of what to think about in the future

Adult Burmese Star Parameters

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