Preparing to get a Burmese Star! Please help me with more care information

zovick

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Thank you Tom!
I have purchased the small ones, hopefully it will be as clean as pictured.

Here is the updated outdoor enclosure, I would say it's 90% done.
I'm driving out of town this weekend to get the tortoise!

The plastic container is going to be his night box / humid hide. The size of the box is 80x40x40cm, the humidity & temperature inside the box can stay around 80% & 80 F. Would this be fine?

I have also provided burrow for shade during sunny days. The humidity stays around 70% inside the burrow.

During night time, I'm still planning to bring him inside. The indoor enclosure is still under progress, I will provide all the necessities! I have bought spider plants & pothos.

Any other input would be greatly appreciated 😃!

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Hello.

I have a couple of observations for you. Just FYI, so you know that I have experience with the species, I have owned many adult Burmese Stars and bred numerous babies from them.

First, it appears in the photos that your 11" wooden sides are not touching the ground. Are the cinder blocks still in place inside of the wood? I cannot tell due to the angle of the photo. If not, is there something in place which I cannot see between the wood and the ground to prevent the tortoise from escaping under the wood? If not, that tortoise will very likely find its way under the fence eventually.

Second, Burmese Stars can climb fairly well. I would not put any adult platynota in a pen with only 11" sides. The height may be OK for your tortoise for a while, but once it gets a bit larger, it will be quite possible for it to climb out, especially in the corners and in the area where the flower box is. If the cinder blocks are still there, they will give the animal more traction and a better foothold for reaching up if it is trying to escape.

Good luck with your youngster.
 
Last edited:

fernando7kose

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No lower than 80 is fine for night time, but they also need to be able to warm up to 95-100 during the day. Outside they can bask in the sun, as long as the enclosure is not in full shade most of that day. Indoors, they need a basking lamp, even in your climate.
I already put a basking lamp on a 12-hour timer inside the enclosure, it stays on on from 6am-6pm.
I've checked the basking spot using temperature gun & it reaches around 95-100 F.
Other than the occasionally wet nose, I think he looks fine. I soak him twice a day with warm water, he would poo & pee in one of the soakings. He eats around 1.5 serving as pictured below.
Is there anything else that I should monitor?
20221101_152823.jpg
Hello.

I have a couple of observations for you. Just FYI, so you know that I have experience with the species, I have owned many adult Burmese Stars and bred numerous babies from them.

First, it appears in the photos that your 11" wooden sides are not touching the ground. Are the cinder blocks still in place inside of the wood? I cannot tell due to the angle of the photo. If not, is there something in place which I cannot see between the wood and the ground to prevent the tortoise from escaping under the wood? If not, that tortoise will very likely find its way under the fence eventually.

Second, Burmese Stars can climb fairly well. I would not put any adult platynota in a pen with only 11" sides. The height may be OK for your tortoise for a while, but once it gets a bit larger, it will be quite possible for it to climb out, especially in the corners and in the area where the flower box is. If the cinder blocks are still there, they will give the animal more traction and a better foothold for reaching up if it is trying to escape.

Good luck with your youngster.
Thank you so much for the suggestion! I didn't know that Burmese Stars are good climber 😃 .
Will make sure to keep it on check when he gets bigger.

For the gap under the fence, I actually just noticed yesterday that it was too big on one side :confused:.
He kept trying to go out from under the fence. For now I already put the cinder blocks to close the gap, it seems to be working fine so far. Please let me know if you have any suggestion!
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fernando7kose

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Hi all,
I noticed that he only gets runny nose during the morning. Could it be there is something wrong with my indoor enclosure? I always bring him inside during the night.
20221102_162158.jpg

Last night's lowest temp was at 86 F, humidity was around 80-83%.

During the day -
Basking temp : 97 F
Cool side : 93 F
Humidity : 75-80%

Also, could anyone please inform me about daily routine of their Burmese Stars?
I'm still trying to get mine to have a daily routine.
Thank you!
 

fernando7kose

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Hi all,
It's been 1 week since I brought home my Star.
I noticed that he still has occassional wet nose.

He's gained 15 grams since I got him (315g to 330g). He eats & poops daily, I soak him every morning.

I also have made some adjustments :
1. I set up a CHE to maintain the night temperature to minimum 85 F.

2. I put a cover on the enclosure to regulate the temperature better. Ambient temperature used to be around 85F during the day, it's now around 90 F. Basking temp is around 97 F, cool side 85 F.

Should I be worried? Is there anything that I should do?
Any input would be greatly appreciated!

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TammyJ

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Beautiful tortoise! Is that ivy climbing up the outdoor wall? I am not sure if it's toxic? And I think you should change that food dish to a flat, rough tile or slate. The sides are too high.
 

fernando7kose

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Beautiful tortoise! Is that ivy climbing up the outdoor wall? I am not sure if it's toxic? And I think you should change that food dish to a flat, rough tile or slate. The sides are too high.
Thank you!
It's creeping fig / ficus pamila. I've searched through this forum and it says that it's not toxic but the sap can cause inflammation. So far there is no sign of inflammation & he never tries to eat it, should i just remove it?
I will change the food dish, thank you for the suggestion 😁.
 
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