hun, you advice is wise indeed, yup starters better buy 3"+ specimens.

however, from experience, i'd say that captive stars are almost always communal creatures. you'd see them sleep together in one corner of their enclosure, following each other around and sometimes 'talk'. (not orally, they do that head bobbing stuff and sniff one another). most importantly, they'd be more active and even eat better with companies.

so, even if anyone start with one specimen, he/she should consider getting a second in the near future. of course got to spend more, but worth every cent i'd say

This post has been edited by camillenoir: Apr 16 2007, 08:45 PM

entice your mum to love the stars la . (maybe you should entice her to love all your other animals too)

nowadays nearly all my chelonians are taken care by my mum because i work 200km away from home.. makes life easier

cactus (specifically, prickly pear - opuntia) is their main staple in the wild. most keepers give them hibiscus, good food.

This post has been edited by camillenoir: Apr 17 2007, 07:42 AM

sayasebuk, you still planning on keeping sulcata's in your father's lawn?

they are hardier than stars, but still can't tolerate cold and humidity much. keeping them outdoor is advisable (they are active, unlike stars) but have to bring in during rainy season/night (cause we don't know if the temperature drops suddenly during night rain).

(just beware of sub-adult male sulcatas. they often get confused and likely to mount anything with shells )

long term dream got to start now la
asian giant ponds, callagurs, orlitias... yup i like them big ...

the cheapest is about 15k Aldabra is can get cheaper though...


dry, but not too dry (40-50% humidity should be enough).. and not too hot either, can dehydrate them quickly. better provide gradient heating (light on one side of the enclosure) so they can regulate their body temperature. also, a bowl of water in the enclosure should help.

better use osram bulbs. rm1.50 at 7-11

those UVs sold at LFS are most likely UVA lights, can't use on tortoises. and UV lamps don't produce enough heat for stars.

This post has been edited by camillenoir: Apr 18 2007, 01:29 AM

oh nooo.. my statement does sound like i'm selling animals in this thread .

anyway, if i'm gonna sell anything, you'd know first before i open any thread


This post has been edited by camillenoir: Apr 18 2007, 01:37 AM

yup to raise the temperature only, not for uvb..

good price... i might tempted to add some more to my collection...

anyway, where is the ss2 morning market located?

ok what.. they taste just like chicken LOL.

don't cut.. you don't know where the veins are in the toe/nails area. might hurt the turtle , bleed and stuff.

speaking of big specimens, what do you guys think of this?

this is the one with the broken plastron i told about

no special enclosures, just an inflatable children's play-pool in the porch. only ensure that:

-she can move in and out of the pool freely, though usually she just stay in the water. in the picture, she's moving into the pool by herself.

-she can move around. but all this while never go far from the pool. maybe because she's so awkward on land

-she had access to all the sunlight she needed and can bask all she wants

-water salinity. actually she'll do in freshwater quite fine, but just want to emulate her natural environment

her diet is 70% vegetable (in which she consume all parts, from leaf to roots), the balance is fruit and fish pellet. she doesn't like fruits that much but fish pellet is her favourite.

i think her owner is trying to find a male for breeding purposes.

This post has been edited by camillenoir: May 1 2007, 06:22 AM

yup... they are nice animals, more breeding initiatives should be done to re-establish their population. at the moment, i'm also eyeing on the larger Orlitia borneensis

hmm.. yup.. the males look wierder, like wearing some chinese opera mask. white and black and bright red.

and although she doesnt pack a bite like ally snapper (1004 pounds, tested by Brady Barr --> that's stronger than lion) or particularly aggressive like grandis, believe me, the accidental bites really hurt hahahaha...


do post them when you get the pics

can you describe which shop and what they usually have? i have yet to venture into kepong area.

you are right zoo negara mostly have common spesies... no initiative to keep/breed rarer spesies...

Softshells
got some Pelodiscus sinensis farms that produce thousands for consumption. got a Chitra chitra farm in Johor.

Batagur/Callagur
Batagur conservation centre in Bota, Perak and a Callagur centre in Terengganu (don't know i they still open or closed already)

Marine turtles
Hatcheries in Sabah (green), Terengganu (leatherback), Melaka (hawksbill)

i wonder who those people are

one more shot from me...



Macrochelodina (formerly Chelodina) parkeri

that parkeri fussy eater ler. don't want malaysian fish planning to breed with a leucistic specimen, see how yellow + leucistic parkeri looks like.

by the way, uzairi bro, this one is dedicated for you. next time we should take better pics of this giant. you also said you wanna swim with her right...



This post has been edited by camillenoir: May 15 2007, 08:38 PM

not mine, belongs to a friend. picture taken by uzairi

actually she's much bigger, water refraction and angle of photo makes her look smaller.

got to be fussy lor otherwise got that RM20 err.. you know what

hahaha. nothing to do with your camera skills. had the snapper turned sideways, she would have displayed her full size. anyway, there's always next time

this adoption thing is now being discussed in another forum, but might as well discuss it here.

some of the points that should be noted are:

-those chips would only cost between rm10 to 15 each (info by sam) so asking RM150 for a single chip is a little too much.

-the effective range of the chip is 3-4 inch (yup) so tracking down marine turtles is senseless given their vast range (according to someone, harder than winning 4D )

-studies on migratory patterns, turtle landings, sex ratio of hatchlings had already been done for decades

-campaigns to educate and promote public awareness for Turtle Conservation had been done many times before without any remarkable consequences.

feel free to discuss here, would like to know the opinions from members of this forum.