Calling on indian star owners residing in INDIA

[monsteramp]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00101JIFG/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

that i can't reveal xD

 

[dheeraj rajan]

my star tortoise is smelling bad how should i clean her shell how should i clean her plzz help fast

 

[dheeraj rajan]

my star tortoise is smelling bad how should i clean her shell how should i clean her plzz help fast plzz note that main apna naak uske paas lake sunghta nahin hun balki uske karib jab jaata hun tab smell ata hai

 

[Ashoka]

Hi Shanu.

First of all, your thread is god sent. Thank you for that. I have 4 queries, where I need your help:

1) I got my Tort (Shelly - Short for Sheldon) around a month back. He is very active during the day but becomes very lethargic as the day ends. Is this normal?

2) Also, the person who owned him previously mentioned that he likes cucumbers a lot. Now the problem with Shelly is, he doesnt touch anything else. I did read the previous posts and tried tricking him into eating other stuff. But he expertly segregates the other vegetables and eats the cucumber only.
Please help.

3) I recently noticed, that his nose was wet and he was sneezing fequently. I tried keeping a lot of newspapers in his enlcosure for warmth, but seems its not helping. With the rainy season setting in, how should I keep him warm? I do not have a facility to attach a bulb near him as of now.

4) Do you know/Refer any vets for Torts in Pune. Kindly shate the details (Name, Contact Number, Location) if possible

Will upload some of his photos soon.

 

[Yvonne G]

You can grind up the cucumber into mush and then chop up the greens into small pieces. combine the mush with the greens and mix well so its all coated. There will be no way for him to pick out the cucumber that way.

You're going to have to get a light. Newspapers don't hold warmth and if your tortoise is showing signs of a respiratory infection you need to put him under a heat source. Heat him up to at least 80F degrees. A little warmer is even better. This is not something you can put off. He needs the light/heat source or he's going to get sick and die.

 

[black ninja]

hey @shanu303

is it legal to keep indian star tortoise as pet in our country... today i got to know that they r listed in "indian wildlife protection act"

 

[shanu303]

hey @shanu303

is it legal to keep indian star tortoise as pet in our country... today i got to know that they r listed in "indian wildlife protection act"

Yes they are illegal to be kept as pets, any possession of them in India is illegal.

 

[who rocks]

Hi Shanu.

First of all, your thread is god sent. Thank you for that. I have 4 queries, where I need your help:

1) I got my Tort (Shelly - Short for Sheldon) around a month back. He is very active during the day but becomes very lethargic as the day ends. Is this normal?

2) Also, the person who owned him previously mentioned that he likes cucumbers a lot. Now the problem with Shelly is, he doesnt touch anything else. I did read the previous posts and tried tricking him into eating other stuff. But he expertly segregates the other vegetables and eats the cucumber only.
Please help.

3) I recently noticed, that his nose was wet and he was sneezing fequently. I tried keeping a lot of newspapers in his enlcosure for warmth, but seems its not helping. With the rainy season setting in, how should I keep him warm? I do not have a facility to attach a bulb near him as of now.

4) Do you know/Refer any vets for Torts in Pune. Kindly shate the details (Name, Contact Number, Location) if possible

Will upload some of his photos soon.

Hi ashoka,

The best diet is rose petals, hibiscus leave & flowers ( flower market or Ganesh temple) , padded cactus, suclants , lettuce, cats eye plant( nurcery) & many more.

To get off his habit u can try different combinations chopped & mixed with cucumber. Strategy is to eventually reduce cucumber quantity day by day. Try this for 1 week.

Cucumber is good in summer. If u feed him same in this season he will definitely catch cold & sneez.

Every animal in this world needs its space & home. Make a enough big pen 6ft x 3ft at least for 1 star. ( if u stay in flat) make sure u make it of ply wood. Make a hide box in that. & fill it with mix soil & stones. U can get more info in google search regarding habitat. Our home floor is too cold most of the time. (Ceramic )

Try to keep clean jute sacks & old woollen sweater, on the floor initially.

Wipe his nose when ever possible. No vet will help u as its band. I believe the reason for running nose is cucumber. Try to soke him in Luke warm water just for 10 min. Daily. Ether in bucket or tub. Water level not more than half inch. Don't leave him alone. B there to observe.

Also they need calcium, u can get "samudra face" in ayurvedic store. 100 grams is enough for month. That's natural source of calcium. Not too expensive. Just 50 bucs

 

[who rocks]

my star tortoise is smelling bad how should i clean her shell how should i clean her plzz help fast plzz note that main apna naak uske paas lake sunghta nahin hun balki uske karib jab jaata hun tab smell ata hai

Dheeraj,

U can give a warm bath to him 1ce a week. Clean his shell with tooth brush only. Dry him with soft cloth. Keep in dry place. Clean his poop daily. Try to give sunlight when ever possible. There may b fungus saturated on shell due to wet climate.

 

[Hari8689]

Thanks buddy
I will thank you again if i get the pellets from this link.
@monsteramp

 

[Hari8689]

I wanted a link for pellets not bulbs...

 

[shanu303]

@who rocks i'd like to point out that the calcium supplement you suggested is for human consumption and not for tortoises or reptiles in general. There is no need of calcium supplement if you feed proper diet and provide enough sunlight, but if you still want to give calcium then use cuttlefish bone and nothing else, i repeat nothing else, not from ayurved store, not from pharmacy and not even from pet shop. Just Cuttlefish bone.

 

[BaNeHa]

hello Jayasimha welcome to TFO!! it's good that you saved them ..... inactiveness to some extent in indian stars in common..... regarding the diet...... i suggest you give those hibiscus flowers and leaves everyday instead of once a week..... those are safe to feed regularly.... and the spinach is a no no! because it contains oxalates which bind to calcium that is needed by the torts...... so i suggest you give a varied diet and we have already suggested many things on this thread.... and do you soak them everyday for 30 min in lukewarm water? what about natural sunlight? they need at least for 5-6 hours.... it doesn't matter if its cloudy because UVB can pass through the clouds...... and we'd like to see their enclosures if they have one.... and lastly they're really cute

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@ Ashish sorry i'm sabotaging this question to you.....
there is no fixed amount of time or "how much would it take" in terms of there growth...... some are fast growers and some are slow.... just like humans..... so we can never be sure...... all we can do is to give them good varied diet + good sunlight + humidity + good place to live in + high cozy temps and that equals to a healthy growing star..... you do not want your tort to grow rapidly as that is also not good..... so no high protein and no overfeeding , well overfeeding can hardly occur as they are too picky in terms of their food...... and there is no relation of smooth shell to star pattern..... it's all genetic and we can do nothing about it........ i hope this helps

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look preet if you wish to feed your star with that then go for it....... i'm not suggesting anything.... well i'm not risking the lives of my torts with that..... i feed seven different things which are tested and sure and this is a varied diet and my torts are healthy......
HIBISCUS LEAVES AND FLOWERS
ALOE VERA- in moderation
CORIANDER(DHANIYA)
GRAPE VINE LEAVES
MOGRA LEAVES AND FLOWERS( JASMINUM SAMBAC)-moderation
CUCUMBER (just for flavour )
ROSE LEAVES AND FLOWER

and these things are EASILY available in india and are also APPROVED by many.... even the international.....

and my stars have the occasional munch over the lawn grass in their enclosure................

now whatever i feed is easily available in india and is as easy as getting cluster beans from the market....... the only thing is it requires work to grow and maintain those plants......
and i'm willing to do the foraging and searching for my stars and i maintain the standard diet approved throughout the world......

well if anyone wants to feed that to their stars... they surely can..... we are here to just give advice and suggest.... to follow it is the askers/OP's choice......

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Hi Shanu,
I too do follow TTT...
i'm from Mumbai...
and 'Kittu' the star is 3" (7.8 cm) long (male female i dunno)...
My mom got K last year Nov'14 and since Apr'15 K is with me...
My mom loves K but as you know there's little to nothing knowledge available about stars' diet though they are one of the native species, so from Nov'14 to Apr'15 K's main diet comprised of French beans, tomatoes, coriander leaves (please don't cringe)... this is all as directed by pet store owner...
Since I had K, I started reading a lot about stars... but unfortunately to my surprise though being a native specie most of the local grees available in market there are so little options for our torts...
As stated on TTT, dandelions and few of cacti are like wonder food for torts...
I asked my relatives to bring few pads of cactus found at our native place and K gobbled it like there's no tomorrow... but cacti are not found everywhere in Mumbai... and hibiscus leaves i have but where the fck am i suppose to find dandelions...?
Also how did you get grape wine leaves...?

I'm stopping here just cause there is no end to my rambling when it comes to K...

Please do reply as this thread is from 2013 and too old to be noticed...

 

[BaNeHa]

Do anyone here in India know how to De-worm star tortoise...?
Mine poops pin-worms sometimes...
Also is anyone aware where i can buy PANACUR here in India...?

 

[dheeraj rajan]

My tortoise's fecal matter (poop) is coming in liquid form it looks like his digestion Is not working properly. She poops many times in a day. Jaise hmara pet kharab / badhazmi hota hai usi tarah uska bhi ho raha hai plzzz help fast and tell wat shud i do

 

[Hari8689]

Usko guddail ke phool khilao. Ganpati mandir par milenge. Fresh hona jaruri hai. Coriander khilao.
Aap itna kuch kyu karna chahte ho... piche mat pado unke...bhagwan jaan bachayega unki woh rakhega sambhaal. Aap dekh bhal kijiyr. Jitna bola jaaye utna khilaiye aur bhul jaiye. Ye share market nai hai k har par movment hoga. They are very lazy. Unka nature hai khana kha k sone ka. Change mat kijiyr jaise koi baap apnr bache ko change karta waise. Aap unko rakhe hai toh bas itna adhikar jataiye k unko acha khana pani nd dhoop de sako. Pani mein bhigo sako jab barish aur thand na ho tab. Koi prakar ka hak jataanr k liye pahele aap ko dus saal aur jeena padega. Uske baad ki baat baad mein.

 

[Kachhap]

Hey Shanu 303, I have got a Indian star recently which is around 9-10 inches long and roundish. I wanted to know how old it could be and whats the gender. Any ideas would be appreciated. I have also seen your Youtube Video and like it.

 

[shanu303]

Hi Shanu,
I too do follow TTT...
i'm from Mumbai...
and 'Kittu' the star is 3" (7.8 cm) long (male female i dunno)...
My mom got K last year Nov'14 and since Apr'15 K is with me...
My mom loves K but as you know there's little to nothing knowledge available about stars' diet though they are one of the native species, so from Nov'14 to Apr'15 K's main diet comprised of French beans, tomatoes, coriander leaves (please don't cringe)... this is all as directed by pet store owner...
Since I had K, I started reading a lot about stars... but unfortunately to my surprise though being a native specie most of the local grees available in market there are so little options for our torts...
As stated on TTT, dandelions and few of cacti are like wonder food for torts...
I asked my relatives to bring few pads of cactus found at our native place and K gobbled it like there's no tomorrow... but cacti are not found everywhere in Mumbai... and hibiscus leaves i have but where the fck am i suppose to find dandelions...?
Also how did you get grape wine leaves...?

I'm stopping here just cause there is no end to my rambling when it comes to K...

Please do reply as this thread is from 2013 and too old to be noticed...

sorry for the late reply, was busy.
for dandelions, you can get the seeds which you can grow yourself. seeds are also available online. If you are not getting something then leave it, give as much variety as you can get. see the diet list mentioned in this thread, there are common things in it which are easily available.
and i got the grape vine from a nursery. There are many nurseries near my house.

 

[shanu303]

Do anyone here in India know how to De-worm star tortoise...?
Mine poops pin-worms sometimes...
Also is anyone aware where i can buy PANACUR here in India...?

Only Vets can deworm pets/animals and there are none to very few vets that do know about tortoises or reptiles in general, reptiles have different metabolism than mammals so the treatment is very different in regard to dosage etc. So if you can find a vet who knows about reptiles and is willing to deworm your tort then you can consult him/her. But before mentioning anything about Tortoise, properly enquire about the knowledge of the vet in reptiles and the credibility of the Vet. You don't want your torts to get into wrong hands.

 

[shanu303]

My tortoise's fecal matter (poop) is coming in liquid form it looks like his digestion Is not working properly. She poops many times in a day. Jaise hmara pet kharab / badhazmi hota hai usi tarah uska bhi ho raha hai plzzz help fast and tell wat shud i do

If the poop is fluid then it must be due to you feeding too much hydrated food like cucumber etc which has a lot of water and very less fibre. Give more fibrous food and the poop will be of normal consistency.