Tootsie and Charlie

[Ansh]

Just thought I'd share photos of my Stars (have been told they are Sri Lankan but not sure).

They hatched in Aug 2012 and I've had them since Oct. The photos above are from when they arrived and the ones below are from today. They seem to be eating well and enjoy their twice weekly soaks!

 

[tink737]

Where did you get them? I'm thinking of getting a couple.

 

[janevicki]

So Beautiful!!!
You are doing a great job rearing them up, have grown and look fantastic.

 

[Anthony P]

Wow! Great growth already to be seeing that new yellow dotting coming through! Seems like you're doing great!

 

[ascott]

So very pretty....

 

[Ansh]

Thanks for your messages!!

I live in the UK and got mine from Marcus Langford. You can contact him via his website.

They have certainly grown in the last 3 months! Will continue post pics.

Thanks again!

 

[johnreuk]

Yours are probably related to mine! My indian star was from Marcus and hatched on the 29th August.
Can i ask.... what do yours weigh now? And how are you keeping them?

Cheers! John

 

[CLMoss]

Beautiful! But you should be soaking them everyday!

 

[Ansh]

Yours are probably related to mine! My indian star was from Marcus and hatched on the 29th August.
Can i ask.... what do yours weigh now? And how are you keeping them?

Cheers! John

Hi John,

Tootsie hatched on the 13th Aug and Charlie on the 10th Aug. Their weight on arrival on the 29th of Oct was 39g and 44g. Just weighed them today and they are 68g and 86g. Seem to have almost doubled in weight although some people feel this may be too rapid. I have them in the original enclosure I got from Marcus with a UVB source and a 60w heat bulb. I've tried various substrates. Presently use an orchid bark substrate and i'm struggling to keep the humidity above 40%. Feed them romaine lettuce, watercress, dandelion greens and fresh greens from the supermarket.

Would be interested to know what your star weighs and if you have any ideas on how to keep the humidity up.

 

[TortoiseWorld]

Yes they really look like Sri Lankan Stars. Lavish them with water as CLMoss says.
Thanks for posting their pics, they are very beautiful babies. Can you post more pics next week?
Thank you!
~Patrick

 

[Ansh]

Thank you!

I will post more pictures soon.... And I'll definitely soak them more often!

 

[johnreuk]

Wow they've shot up haven't they!! Mine was 32grams on the 27th of October, and is now 49grams, so a gain of 17grams in the same time as yours have gained 29g and 42g!!
I'd be interested to know what temperatures you have at your hot spot/cool end/warm end/night.
Mine are 38c hot spot, 28-29 warm, 22-23 cool, and around 28 at night where he chooses to sleep, the coolest area in the viv at night is 22c or so.
I was using coco coir, but found this stuck all over him and also drys really fast. So changed to fit bark... this seems to hold the moisture better but it stains him red/brown!! So I want to change it again. I might use cypress mulch, though that seems quite splintery? So maybe top soil.
Do you use a humid hide? I did, though he didn't use it at all. I'm going to make him a new one at the weekend and see how that goes. Currently I spray twice daily to keep the humidity up, but Im thinking of buying a warm air humidifier that I can put on a timer, and have a pipe running into the viv. I think that would raise the air humidity better than hand spraying.
I feed mine mainly weeds with lawn grass chopped up finely on it (so he can't avoid it!) I use things like plantain, dandelion, bittercress, sowthistle, pansy flowers and leaves. He absolutely loves pansy flowers, especially the blue/purple ones for some reason. I also add in some florette crispy salad mix and/or kale and watercress on occasion.

---

Oh and mines in a wooden viv with a ceramic heat emitter, halogen spot lamp and Arcadia t5 UV strip I'll get a recent photo of him for you if you like

 

[Ansh]

Wow they've shot up haven't they!! Mine was 32grams on the 27th of October, and is now 49grams, so a gain of 17grams in the same time as yours have gained 29g and 42g!!
I'd be interested to know what temperatures you have at your hot spot/cool end/warm end/night.
Mine are 38c hot spot, 28-29 warm, 22-23 cool, and around 28 at night where he chooses to sleep, the coolest area in the viv at night is 22c or so.
I was using coco coir, but found this stuck all over him and also drys really fast. So changed to fit bark... this seems to hold the moisture better but it stains him red/brown!! So I want to change it again. I might use cypress mulch, though that seems quite splintery? So maybe top soil.
Do you use a humid hide? I did, though he didn't use it at all. I'm going to make him a new one at the weekend and see how that goes. Currently I spray twice daily to keep the humidity up, but Im thinking of buying a warm air humidifier that I can put on a timer, and have a pipe running into the viv. I think that would raise the air humidity better than hand spraying.
I feed mine mainly weeds with lawn grass chopped up finely on it (so he can't avoid it!) I use things like plantain, dandelion, bittercress, sowthistle, pansy flowers and leaves. He absolutely loves pansy flowers, especially the blue/purple ones for some reason. I also add in some florette crispy salad mix and/or kale and watercress on occasion.

---

Oh and mines in a wooden viv with a ceramic heat emitter, halogen spot lamp and Arcadia t5 UV strip I'll get a recent photo of him for you if you like

---

You clearly have a much more elaborate set-up than I do. I don't have any previous experience with reptiles and so went for the hatchling set-up that Marcus provides. Very basic, but has thankfully worked well so far. 60w bulb for heat source with an Arcadia UVB tube. Temp under spot light 38, warm end 32, cool end 25 and night time 23 all over with a heat mat under the end that they sleep for additional heat. Tried a humid hide but they never used it. I'm away most of the day and so I generously spray them in the morning and then again when I get back in the evening (more often when at home on weekends). Humidity is always an issue and tends to be in the 30s when I get back in the evening. Might try the warm air humidifier if your experience with it is good. Concerned about pyramiding and so make it up by giving them a generous soak at least twice a day. They've got used to the soaks and spend quite a while drinking whilst in the warm water. There is quite a difference in the weights between mine and yours and I wonder if what I'm feeding them is too high in protein. They get fresh greens from TESCOs which I mix with watercress, romaine lettuce occasional courgette slices, dandelion leaves when I have some (have been growing these on windowsill after spending a lifetime trying to get rid of them from the garden!!!) I feed them in the morning and when I get back in the evening they've cleared it all up and so get a smaller helping in the evening. Perhaps I should cut down on the quantity I'm feeding them although the experts here in the forum weren't that concerned.

Look forward to seeing photos of your star soon!

---

You clearly have a much more elaborate set-up than I do. I don't have any previous experience with reptiles and so went for the hatchling set-up that Marcus provides. Very basic, but has thankfully worked well so far. 60w bulb for heat source with an Arcadia UVB tube. Temp under spot light 38, warm end 32, cool end 25 and night time 23 all over with a heat mat under the end that they sleep for additional heat. Tried a humid hide but they never used it. I'm away most of the day and so I generously spray them in the morning and then again when I get back in the evening (more often when at home on weekends). Humidity is always an issue and tends to be in the 30s when I get back in the evening. Might try the warm air humidifier if your experience with it is good. Concerned about pyramiding and so make it up by giving them a generous soak at least twice a day. They've got used to the soaks and spend quite a while drinking whilst in the warm water. There is quite a difference in the weights between mine and yours and I wonder if what I'm feeding them is too high in protein. They get fresh greens from TESCOs which I mix with watercress, romaine lettuce occasional courgette slices, dandelion leaves when I have some (have been growing these on windowsill after spending a lifetime trying to get rid of them from the garden!!!) I feed them in the morning and when I get back in the evening they've cleared it all up and so get a smaller helping in the evening. Perhaps I should cut down on the quantity I'm feeding them although the experts here in the forum weren't that concerned.

Look forward to seeing photos of your star soon!

Sorry, soak them twice a week not twice a day!! I'm crazy about them but not that crazy!!!

 

[Ansh]

Some more photos of Tootsie and Charlie!

 

[Frog Tropics]

They look like Sri Lankans to me... That's what ours looked like at that age. And, yes, they are gorgeous!

 

[Ansh]

They look like Sri Lankans to me... That's what ours looked like at that age. And, yes, they are gorgeous!

Thanks!

 

[patilraosaheb]

healthy baby's

 

[Ansh]

Thanks.