Star Tortoise Housing Advice needed

[nerd]

Hi fellow hobbyists,

I am thinking of building a housing for my stars out of a fish tank.

Part of the tank will be water such that the dry portion is like an island on surrounded by water.

The water portion will be filled with stones in such a way that the tortoise won't step in and get drowned. It is more like walking on shallow water

There will be UVB and basking lights as well.

Question:
Will this pose any health hazard to the stars?

 

[Neal]

That actually sounds like a pretty good idea.

Do you have a fish tank picked out already? If not, what size were you thinking? What are your plans for substrate and lighting?

 

[nerd]

It is a 5x2x2 feet tank.

I am just using the background fiberglass boards for fish tank as the island. These resembles rock surface. Figured that it is easier to clean. My stars has stuffy nose before so I am avoiding barks. Using newspaper now.

To add on, I am gonna warm the water with a fish tank heater.

The lighting is the ExoTerra UVB lamp and basking lamp.

There will also be a fan to circulate the air.

My main concern is whether any health issues will arise if there is a huge water body for the stars.

 

[Neal]

Where are you located?

How big were you planning on making the water area? You shouldn't need to make it very big. Big enough for him to soak himself.

I would use something different besides newspaper. With all that water in there, the tortoise is going to be in and out of it and the newspaper will not last very long if it is wet.

Heating the water is a great idea. How do you plan to clean the water? As long as the water is clean, and you keep the temperatures warm, there shouldn't be any problems with having the water in there.

 

[nerd]

Yes. Gonna make just enough for them to soak and walk out.

I am going to use fiberglass background as the flooring.

The tank has a internal filter so I pumping the water into it and it will flow back like a waterfall. Pretty much like a fish tank filtration, just a bit of reverse pumping

Will that be health issue? Heard stars cannot take too humid environment?

 

[Neal]

You just have to take extra precautions to make sure the temperatures don't fall too low. For a star in a high humid environment, I wouldn't recommend anything below 75 until they are about 3 - 4 inches.

 

[nerd]

Thanks Neal, I am happy to hear that the plan is workable.

Sounds good. My stars are all 3" above.

Question, if I want to use substrate like ExoTerra or ZooMed Fir Bark, should I mix with something else like top soil? Previously my torts blew bubbles from nose, I guess due to the small wood particles. How do I get rid of the small particles?

 

[Neal]

What type of wood was it?

A good cheap source of substrate is dirt. Provided that it is clean and free of any sort of pesticides or fertilizer.

 

[nerd]

It is for bark but I don't know why the torts didn't like it