Star not-so newbie - needs help

[sharlster]

Hi all,

I have a star that's about 4 years - Bono.

I have had no problems caring for him thus far..He is very active and interactive... Though I have a few concerns that I would like to seek some advise.

Bono is a very domesticated little fella - he has been living in a home environment ever since I got him as a gift (believe he was probably bout 3-4 months old)....

I've read about amelon's case and his tortoise only shown sickness at 12.... and he has been living indoors... I do not want Bono to go through the same fate if I can avoid it.

Bono gets sunlight every morning from an indoor area within my house while having his warm morning bath and once a week I let him outdoors for direct sunlight. He only eats French beans and Choy sum and refuses when add on calcium supplements...

Are there any other forms of calcium that I can introduce to him?

 

[jeffbens0n]

Cuttle bone...like you would give to birds, they are often attracted to its white color and will nibble on it as needed...some like it, others refuse it.

 

[Angi]

Hmmm...cuttle bone is a good start, but I don't think it has vitamin D. If he is not getting more sun he is going to need vit D.

 

[Fernando]

Cactus?

 

[SILVERSTAR]

YES CACTUS IS GOOD VERY GOOD,but he also needs sunlight top process wut he needs out of the cactus,try feeding cactus in the sun,regularly i grow the cactus so i can jus cut it off while we are outside and he eats in sun.

 

[ascott]

I think you need to "tough love" him and introduce a few more greens....he really needs direct sun for at least 20-30 mins each and every day....if you are not able to take him into the sun then I would suggest that you put somewhere in your home a UV ray light for him to at least get artificial rays..the sun that he gets through a window filters out the majority of the rays he needs...the warmth is good though....perhaps if you set up a UV ray light you may want to put right next to it a red heat bulb...if you set up a "ray/heat station" so to speak within your home and that he has easy access to I believe he will benefit...as it sounds as though he has taken the place of the household pet and not necessarily in a tortoise habitat/enclosure?

 

[jobeanator]

variety is always key.. i keep stars and i always change up what i feed my stars a wide variety of food... if you leave food in front of a tortoise they will eventually eat it if its really hungry. if the star is getting constant sunlight everyday make sure ur calcium supplement doesnt have d3 in it

 

[sharlster]

Hey Guys,

Angi / Silverstar / Fernando - Thanks for all the suggestions - I'll try to get both cuttle bone cactus for my boy to try and put him under direct sunlight on daily basis.

Jobe- he refuses everything that I try to give him... including carrots, cucumber, asparagus and hibiscus... all he wants is his french bean and choy sum (which worries me too) as french beans has high water content. (I even tried to make him hungry - He actually retailiated - didn't eat for 1.5 days - I gave in)

Ascot - Yes, he is quite the home pet now, he doesn't stay in an enclosure, except during night time where he sleeps. I noticed that he grew in size, ever since I allow him to roam within the home and he gets to pick his fav spot to lounge / sleep in the afternoon.

Can anyone tell me if he is pyramiding? Attached is his picture

 

[geekinpink]

Hi my tort LOVES french bean too!

Try adding a little of whatever you want to give him/her with the food he likes. At first I cut everything up and mix it well then slowly remove the one he likes best and see what happens It's what i did when my tort got addicted to cactus! I still give cactus but its usually like a treat that i give sort of like a desert

Do they need everyday sunlight? Mine stays away from sunlight and I have to force them to it.

 

[jobeanator]

sharlster- i would try like a spring mix type of food to offer him. I had the same problems with some sulcatas that i had adopted from people just feeding them dogfood, give it some time and he will come around to eating it.

 

[SILVERSTAR]

jus wanted to say good looking star.......

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as far as pyramiding i dont know where the line is drawn but sum pyramiding is normal with stars but like i said i dont know where that line is drawn me personally i like how stars are naturally pyramided,i think it may actually be wat attracts me to these guys,it looks like some of em are ready for battle but they are actually one of the more gentler species of tortoise ,lol ironic,

 

[Laura]

yes, yours has pyramiding.. 1.5 days is not tough enough Love to get a tort to eat what is right.. he can go much longer without food..

 

[radhika]

Yes, I do think it is pyramiding... and I think it is due to high protein in this diet. I will suggest u to stop giving the beans as soon as possible and try to give the greens as much as possible.

As suggested above you can mix good things in the food you give him now and slowly reduce the quantity for the bad stuff in that. I hope this should work with you also as it do work mostly.

For the calcium supplement I will suggest shellcal tablets. I is only calcium with vit. D3

 

[Neal]

There is pyramiding as others have said, but personally I don't think pyramiding in and of itself is bad or an indication of imporper care. The pyramiding on your tortoise seems very uniform - so to speak - and not bad in my opinion. The beans are ok, but I think more variety would be better. There's lot's of suggestions here and on the forum so do some searching.

When your tortoise gets sunlight when he's indoors...is that unfiltered sunlight? as in you don't have a screen or anything blocking the sunlight?