Indian star shell check

[Jay01]

So ive read up and have seen that pyramiding shells are obvs not what we want and how they come about but also that maybe for indian stars its in a way slightly expected?? And maybe not pyramiding but part of the species. Firstly is there such a thing as an Indian star with a perfect smooth shell?

And secondly instead of looking and wondering ill attach photos of my young star and any opinions on shelapgrowth so far appreciate.

Thanks

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

So ive read up and have seen that pyramiding shells are obvs not what we want and how they come about but also that maybe for indian stars its in a way slightly expected?? And maybe not pyramiding but part of the species. Firstly is there such a thing as an Indian star with a perfect smooth shell?

And secondly instead of looking and wondering ill attach photos of my young star and any opinions on shelapgrowth so far appreciate.

ThanksView attachment 398687View attachment 398689

From my understanding, stars are one of the most prone to pyramiding in captivity, I believe once it starts, it can be tricker to dial back compared with other species, but by no means impossible.

Stars can definitely be raised nice and smooth yes, here’s some @Tom raised

I think @Markw84 has raised some really smooth ones too. I’m not sure if it differs between Indian and Burmese in terms of their growth and susceptibility to pyramiding.

To me your baby is showing the beginning stages of pyramiding, but if you continue to keep on top of your humidity and provide the correct lighting, it shouldn’t progress to the extreme, he/she might not grow perfectly smooth, but a lot of them do end up with some cosmetic pyramiding in captivity, even if it’s minor.

I’m sure Tom and mark might be able to provide more info/pointers on this species, helping to prevent it’s progression

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

There’s some great pictures from mark in response #15 of this thread you might find interesting!

Need the professionals' eyes

This is my just-turning-3 yr old Burmese Star, Sulafat. I've had him (yes, he is a boy! o_O) almost 10 months. I'm really trying to stop the pyramiding that he has. It's pretty minor, especially considering his species, but I certainly want to curtail any more. The problem is that I'm not...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Jay01]

Thanks for the previous post info and opinion. Ill see if either of them can give some further advice.

Bit more info may also help for any advice on what could be changed.

Firstly he is 16 months old and weighing 90g . Eats well but is still very shy but if patient and sit he does come out to say hi. I have noticed thou i never really see him down the cooler end when im about, maybe there something o could change to encourage using all the space?

Anyway
• Orchard bark for substrate
• Plants and hides both ends
• 60-80% humidity the bark seems to dry. quickly so drops off while at work.
• temp 36c basking mid viv 30c cool end 25-23c night time 22c
• Weeds in summer - weeds lambs lettuce romaine in winter.
• 3 days calcium with d3
• 2 days nutribol
• 2 days clean
• Arcadia t5 on for 5 hrs uvb

Lastly from what ive read i think this is one you may say need to change and thats soaking 2/3 times a week. Would doing this everyday be best and help the shell and pyramiding?

 

[zovick]

Thanks for the previous post info and opinion. Ill see if either of them can give some further advice.

Bit more info may also help for any advice on what could be changed.

Firstly he is 16 months old and weighing 90g . Eats well but is still very shy but if patient and sit he does come out to say hi. I have noticed thou i never really see him down the cooler end when im about, maybe there something o could change to encourage using all the space?

Anyway
• Orchard bark for substrate
• Plants and hides both ends
• 60-80% humidity the bark seems to dry. quickly so drops off while at work.
• temp 36c basking mid viv 30c cool end 25-23c night time 22c
• Weeds in summer - weeds lambs lettuce romaine in winter.
• 3 days calcium with d3
• 2 days nutribol
• 2 days clean
• Arcadia t5 on for 5 hrs uvb

Lastly from what ive read i think this is one you may say need to change and thats soaking 2/3 times a week. Would doing this everyday be best and help the shell and pyramiding?

Soaking daily is highly recommended. I soaked my babies/young tortoises daily until they were 4 years old.

You should be aware that some very pyramided Indian and Sri Lankan Star Tortoises occur in the wild. It is part of their genetic make-up and cannot really be prevented. If they are going to pyramid, they will do so no matter what we do. On the other hand, pyramided Burmese Stars do not occur in the wild.

Your tortoise looks fine to me, but I would still recommend soaking it daily.

Also would add that Indian Stars are one of the more shy tortoise species, so the shyness you are noticing in you tortoise may never totally go away.

Good luck going forward!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thanks for the previous post info and opinion. Ill see if either of them can give some further advice.

Bit more info may also help for any advice on what could be changed.

Firstly he is 16 months old and weighing 90g . Eats well but is still very shy but if patient and sit he does come out to say hi. I have noticed thou i never really see him down the cooler end when im about, maybe there something o could change to encourage using all the space?

Anyway
• Orchard bark for substrate
• Plants and hides both ends
• 60-80% humidity the bark seems to dry. quickly so drops off while at work.
• temp 36c basking mid viv 30c cool end 25-23c night time 22c
• Weeds in summer - weeds lambs lettuce romaine in winter.
• 3 days calcium with d3
• 2 days nutribol
• 2 days clean
• Arcadia t5 on for 5 hrs uvb

Lastly from what ive read i think this is one you may say need to change and thats soaking 2/3 times a week. Would doing this everyday be best and help the shell and pyramiding?

For these guys you don’t want anywhere in the enclosure dropping below 80f(26c) day or night, 22c is too cold a night temp really. Do you run any ceramic heating?

It’s normal for the substrate to dry under the lamps, but make sure the lower layers are staying nice and damp, do you pour some lukewarm water into the coroners once a week or so? Are there any vents in your enclosure? Your humidity gradient sounds pretty good.

I’m glad zovick chimed in above, I trust his judgement much more than mine with this kind of stuff, if he thinks your baby looks good, I certainly wouldn’t worry too much, but I do second about giving daily soaks, try and do that if you can

 

[Jay01]

Thanks for the replys glad to here he seems normal. I will definitely start soaking daily as of today.

Although shy I can manage to interact with out always hiding away and can hand feed quite often. Plan is to do as much as possible while young and by time adult hopefully be well and truly used to me. Although being so young im impressed with the improvent in the first year ive owned him.

Yes I am using ceramic heaters so ill up the temp on the night time program now.

Lots of vents along the top and i used to just spray to raise humidity but recently had read i need to soak lower layers so I have started that also.

Hopefully all the small changes will make it closer to optimum set up

Thanks

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Lots of vents along the top and i used to just spray to raise humidity but recently had read i need to soak lower layers so I have started that also.

You can tape some of them over from the outside, the humidity rises naturally, so will escape through vents up top, you don’t need to worry about air flow, you create more than enough exchange when you open up to do daily’s husbandries, and no set is air tight. Hopefully this as well as the pours will help

 

[Tom]

So ive read up and have seen that pyramiding shells are obvs not what we want and how they come about but also that maybe for indian stars its in a way slightly expected?? And maybe not pyramiding but part of the species. Firstly is there such a thing as an Indian star with a perfect smooth shell?

And secondly instead of looking and wondering ill attach photos of my young star and any opinions on shelapgrowth so far appreciate.

ThanksView attachment 398687View attachment 398689

Yes, they can have a perfect shell. Yours is only pyramiding very mildly, and it looks like it was being kept drier early on, but the growth has smoothed out more recently. Your tortoise looks very good.

 

[Jay01]

Yes, they can have a perfect shell. Yours is only pyramiding very mildly, and it looks like it was being kept drier early on, but the growth has smoothed out more recently. Your tortoise looks very good.

Thanks that reassuring, ill keep up the humidity and soak and it should continue.