Help Winterizing Adult Burmese Stars

[C2thaJ]

Those of you that keep a group of adult Burmese stars, how do you go about winterizing them. I currently have a tuff shed (8”x12”) that I run two Govee smart heaters and 4 heat lamps. With our mild South Louisiana winters I am able to maintain 80F ambient temp with appropriate basking areas but struggle with keeping the humidity up. I’ve tried adding humid hides for them but they don’t seem to want to spend much time (if any) in them. Has anyone with a shed setup found a solution that doesn’t require building closed chamber boxes?

 

[Tom]

Those of you that keep a group of adult Burmese stars, how do you go about winterizing them. I currently have a tuff shed (8”x12”) that I run two Govee smart heaters and 4 heat lamps. With our mild South Louisiana winters I am able to maintain 80F ambient temp with appropriate basking areas but struggle with keeping the humidity up. I’ve tried adding humid hides for them but they don’t seem to want to spend much time (if any) in them. Has anyone with a shed setup found a solution that doesn’t require building closed chamber boxes?

I don't know your winters. How cold does it get and for how many days in a row does it stay cold?

I build 4x8x2 foot insulated night boxes. I provide ambient heat with radiant oil heaters, and during cold weather I give them a heat lamp on timer. We will get cold spells in winter with daily highs only reaching the 50s that can last two weeks. Most of winter we are in the 60s and sunny each day, frequently into the 70s, and rarely into the 80 or 90s. I open their doors every morning, even on cold rainy days, and they will often come out, do a lap, grab a bite, and then go back in and get warm. I've housed them this way for years now.

If your winters are similar, this should work for you. If your winters are colder, you can simply leave their door shut for a few days when needed. 4x8 with a heat lamp inside will suit them just fine. You could feed them inside the box and do warm soaks indoors for water during those times that they can't go outside due to cold weather.

 

[C2thaJ]

Thank you for the thorough reply Tom! Our winters are very close temp wise. I may have to build a box similar to yours inside the shed that will hold humidity and has a door I can close them up in for at least night time. I’ve recently acquired a few that have beautiful carapaces but they’re already starting to look drier. ☹️