Temperatures for Burmese Stars

[JeffG]

I am curious what people think would be the safe minimum and maximum outside temperatures that would allow me to keep young (under a year old) Burmese stars outside. The outside enclosure I would have them in during the day would have secure hides, small bushes, trees, and be protected from any predators. I would just like to have them outside as much as possible to take advantage of the Arizona sun. I would eventually heat a hide when they are old enough to live outside permanently, but for now I would just like to be able to put them out there when it is naturally in the right temperature range.

I am hoping that someone with experience keeping them outside can tell me at what outside temperature it is generally too hot for them in these conditions, and at what temperature it is too cold. Of course I would varify that the temperatures in various locations around the pen are appropriate first, but I am hoping that someone can give me ballpark temperatures ahead of time so that I have an idea of how many hours of the day are acceptable at different times of the year, and plan accordingly.

 

[John]

I think there's a guy in hawaii that has platynota and keeps them outside.

 

[JeffG]

I think there's a guy in hawaii that has platynota and keeps them outside.

Yeah, but unfortunately for me, most parts of Hawaii don't get as hot or cold as it does here in the desert. I know that it is very possible to keep adults outside year round here, but the extremes are probably too much for the little guys.

 

[wildak]

That`s a tough one. Maybe start by giving them a smaller area with mostly shade, shallow water dishes and a couple spots of sun so they don`t cook but can bask when they want to. Try to Take some weights in the morning and then again in the evening to see how much water loss your having.
Then again there are several people breeding Burms in Arizona so maybe they can save you the trouble.

 

[Tom]

I only know what it says in the Fife's "Star Tortoises" book. They say that their native environment is similar to Inland CA. For adults they say 50-100 is fine. If you don't already have this book, I highly recommend it.

 

[TylerStewart]

We have kept baby stars outside here in Vegas through the summer.... Not really babies right out of the egg, but I have baby stars from 2010 housed outdoors right now (high nearing 100 today). Our adults have been out in 120 degrees with no problem. You just need to give them plenty of options, and be extra careful that they don't flip over and get stuck in the sun. You'll never see them intentionally wandering around much above about 90-95 in direct sun, but in the early morning and evenings, they're all over the place. We have underground hideboxes that stay very cool (maybe high 70s or low 80s on hot days), as well as grass that we don't cut. They will make little channelways through tall grass and hide in there, which stays significantly cooler than the outdoor temp if it is kept somewhat moist (ours get sprinklers 3 or 4 times a day in the summer). The advantage of having low humidity is that moist dirt combined with dry dry air makes a huge cooling effect. I'd suggest getting a temp gun, and check temperatures in all areas; wet, dry, sun, shade, base of tall grass, base of short grass, and any combinations of these, and just set them up with many of the "cooler" options. Covering the whole thing with shade cloth makes a huge difference. Here, our shade cloth covered enclosures are 20-30 degrees cooler in all areas than the same ones in direct sun.

I have kept sulcatas and leopards as well as many testudo babies the same way, outdoors the year they hatched. I'm a little more careful with stars, but they're okay once they're about 2.5-3". I occasionally find baby testudo that hatched in the outdoor enclosures in the late fall; meaning they likely spent the hottest months of the summer in the outdoor enclosures.

 

[JeffG]

Thanks for that info Tyler, that is exactly what I was looking for. I am already working on an underground hide for my enclosure. I know that is probably the best way to guarantee cooler temperatures in the heat of the summer. I am just trying to make sure that I build it in a way that it won't flood in case it rains one of these years. I am glad to hear that they are "smart" enough to get out of the heat as long as they are given the ability to do so.

I have Jerry Fife's book and agree it is a great source of information (just as Richard and Jerry's leopard book is). I actually live only a few miles from Jerry, so what works for him should work for me too, I just don't think he keeps platynota, and I believe he keeps his hatchlings inside full-time for the first year or two.

I did just see that the temperature reached 53.5c (128f) somewhere in Myanmar. I haven't taken the time to see if it was in the range of the platynota, but it definitely gets hot where they are. Of course the survival rate of young tortoises in their natural environment is much lower than what I am looking for, so just because it happens in the wild doesn't mean I want my torts exposed to it.

I really appreciate you guys taking the time to respond!

 

[TylerStewart]

I am glad to hear that they are "smart" enough to get out of the heat as long as they are given the ability to do so.

While that is generally true, there have been many times when they will not get back into shelter both in hot and cold temperatures. Just randomly, even after being in an enclosure a few years, I will see stars sleeping in a strange spot. This time of year it doesn't really matter, but it would be certain death in the middle of the winter if they fell asleep out in the open instead of in a heated hide.

I have a small 2 1/2" Indian star right now that keeps ending up in a corner that is in direct, full sun all day long. It's in the shade by about 3PM, and I always grab the tortoise and put it in a moist grassy spot, but it's a daily thing that it goes there. I have since created a shade over it, since I think it's there all day long during the mid day, and in a week or two it's going to be too hot for them to be in direct sun like that. It's not really a problem if it's under shade cloth, but this little part isn't, so I have to keep an extra eye there. I was measuring temps here the other day, and bare, dry dirt in open sun was reading 140 degrees. It was probably in the 80s outside. If a tortoise was sitting there for any amount of time, it would be at least 140 degrees (probably more because a star is mostly black in color which heats up more). The same area (sun straight overhead) under 80% shade cloth was barely hotter than the ambient temp. Makes a huge difference. Moist ground under the shade cloth was in the 70s.

 

[JeffG]

Again, that's great to know. I would never just throw them out there and leave them all day when they are young without checking on them, but I will be even more careful now.

I have a leopard that always plants itself in a cold spot for the night too. It's frustrating when there is a nice warm spot 3 feet away and she chooses to sleep where it gets down to 40 degrees. It's a wonder any of these guys survive in the wild.