Hi! I got a Burmese Star yearling (almost 3 inches) about a year ago, not yet sexed, but named Juno. I had a raised a Russian yearling with my son for six years, but my son took over his car in 2021 when he moved to his own place. So, I am familiar with basic tortoise care. This is the first time, however, that I have raised a tortoise in a closed chamber.
My Burmese Star has some very slight pyramiding already, but nothing major, and I am hoping to minimize it as s/he grows. I read that the tortoises get enough air from when the glass doors are opened, which I do several times, for soaking, feeding, temp checks, etc., but I am a nervous new mama, and I have a few questions:
1. How many times per day do the doors have to be opened for there to be enough air? I trust what I've read about closed chambers on this site, so that is what I set up. But it seems so airtight that it makes me nervous that Juno won't be able to breathe if the doors stay closed too long!
2. So far, Juno seems to prefer half burrowing into the substrate instead of using the humid hide at night, even if I put them in there. Given the closed chamber, does that matter? That was important for my Russian in the open table. I keep the CHE set to 81 for ambient heat at night.
3. I was planning to set up a large plastic tub with a wide wire mess top for 2-3 hours of outside time per day, weather permitting. Does that sound appropriate for a tortoise this age? How old/big do they have to be before I can turn my raised garden bed into the permanent outdoor habitat (which I will only use during the day--too many raccoons and foxes around).
4. Are there any other sources of good info about Burmese Stars, other than this site? I know there is plenty of bad info out there on tortoise care, but Burmese Stars--a species that I read about in glowing terms on this forum--seems to have even less info than other breeds.
My Burmese Star has some very slight pyramiding already, but nothing major, and I am hoping to minimize it as s/he grows. I read that the tortoises get enough air from when the glass doors are opened, which I do several times, for soaking, feeding, temp checks, etc., but I am a nervous new mama, and I have a few questions:
1. How many times per day do the doors have to be opened for there to be enough air? I trust what I've read about closed chambers on this site, so that is what I set up. But it seems so airtight that it makes me nervous that Juno won't be able to breathe if the doors stay closed too long!
2. So far, Juno seems to prefer half burrowing into the substrate instead of using the humid hide at night, even if I put them in there. Given the closed chamber, does that matter? That was important for my Russian in the open table. I keep the CHE set to 81 for ambient heat at night.
3. I was planning to set up a large plastic tub with a wide wire mess top for 2-3 hours of outside time per day, weather permitting. Does that sound appropriate for a tortoise this age? How old/big do they have to be before I can turn my raised garden bed into the permanent outdoor habitat (which I will only use during the day--too many raccoons and foxes around).
4. Are there any other sources of good info about Burmese Stars, other than this site? I know there is plenty of bad info out there on tortoise care, but Burmese Stars--a species that I read about in glowing terms on this forum--seems to have even less info than other breeds.
