Star Tortoise? NOoooo.... they don't eat snails lah.... they are herbivorous... no animal protein.

Do your tortoises get tired of a particular vegie? My Star is bored of sawi... no mood to eat sawi.... but once I chop some Opuntia cactus, grape leaves and romaine lettuce, straight away eat.... if I mix the sawi, he won't wanna eat hahahah....

Ohhh... ok. So far for now, mine don't wanna take sawi.... but other leafy greens he is ok.... he doesn't like hibiscus leaves anymore but will take the flowers readily. Sigh.... what a choosy tortoise. I guess tortoises can get bored too.

Ah... no idea.... the problem didn't begin recently... it started months ago.... just only voiced it out coz I find it so odd.... like today, I mixed some sawi with some chopped ladies fingers and some grass from my garden, he ate everything but left the sawi.... well, i did see him eat some of the sawi that were stuck with the grass but most of the sawi was left behind.

Now I give grape leaves.... I don't feed mine everyday also.... my Star once a week is pellets.... then 4 times a week I give vege... now put grape leaves, eat everything hahahah. Sigh.... picky tortoise. He is like 6 inches now.

please avoid discussing about bulking here.

My cousin's turtles also have that same problem. I think Uzairi or one of the experience keepers here may have the answer for you. I think it is a shell infection.... can be treated.

That's pretty. Same like mine ler heheheh.

Erm, why did you buy such young star tortoises? Have you set up a warm husbandry for them yet?

Woodshavings? The ones for hamster? No, that is not healthy. The wood shavings can cause lung infection since most shavings are made of pine, which secretes phenols that harm the lungs. UV light should be warm enough for them. Make sure you can feel that the tank is warm.

Eyes not yet open means unhealthy.... how old? Could be a few weeks old only.... which is too young. Normally such young ones easily fall sick and some to their deaths.... not to frighten you but it is true coz I learnt this the hard way. it would be better for you to go back to the shop and exchange them..... but I will leave it to more pros to let you know what the outcome would be.

For me, eyes not opening is something worrying.

1.5 inch? Wow.... seriously too young. We encourage people to get stars at 3 inches, coz when they are smaller than 3 inches, they are at a high risk of catching some infection since they are so young and immune system is still weak.

A heat lamp is enough. Also, use newspaper or paper towels for now. The wood shavings may cause more problems. I use Breeder's Celect cat litter which is made of recycled newspaper, very safe and clean for tortoises. You can also use a under tank heater.... normally this is a heater mat. I think some places like pet safari or pets wonderland might sell but you would need to make sure it doesn't overheat and cook the tortoises lah.

Food has to be chopped up nicely for them. Hibiscus leaves, some sawi and opuntia cactus(Prickly Pear) is good for them. Also calcium supplements. When that young, they have soft shells.... and they need to get enough calcium to grow strong and healthy.

Also, try and let them get some sun light. 20 minutes under warm morning sun light daily for them is good.

Nooooo.... since when Star Tortoise eat insects??? They are vegetarians, herbivores lah.

Which caresheet in the Internet tells you to feed mealworms?

I know some tortoises do take animal protein.... but I did come across articles saying stars should not take animal protein like other tortoises.

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Added on September 21, 2007, 10:50 pm If Mediterranean and Desert tortoises do not eat meat, where do they get their protein from? I thought they needed at least some meat so that they got some protein in their diet?

A. Flowers, leaves, seeds and grasses contain perfectly useable levels of protein, especially for the slow fermentation-based digestive tract of these tortoises. Think about some of the largest mammals around, elephants and giraffe! They are also exclusive herbivores and easily meet all of their protein requirements from the vegetation they graze upon. It is a common misunderstanding to assume that �meat = protein� and �vegetables = no protein�. This is completely untrue. Even some vegetable matter can be dangerously high in protein for tortoises; peas, beans, alfalfa and beansprouts in particular are far too high to be used safely.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/webdiet.htm

It is a myth that tortoises need lots of animal protein; in fact, excess protein may cause renal problems, liver problems, and abnormal shell growth. A good tortoise diet is actually low in protein, fats, and oils.

http://www.reptilesupply.com/article_info.php?articles_id=19

Well, maybe it is your personal preference to feed animal protein but I think it is safer to avoid. Pelleted food, certain vegies already contain a good amount of protein, so it should be enough. Adding mealworms is like adding fats and the exoskeleton isn't that good for tortoises.

This post has been edited by crazymouse_yyh: Sep 21 2007, 10:50 PM

Years ago I gave Kaytee land tortoise pellets.... but then the protein was high, then switch to ExoTerra's land tortoise pellets but only give once a week.

How to feed timothy hay? Well, I have loads of that at home but when I place in my star's tank, it won't touch, more like hide underneath or use it as bedding to sit. Do you soak the hay? Chop it up?

Gai Choi is called Bamboo Mustard Cabbage, Chinese Mustard Cabbage, Oriental Mustard Green
http://www.melissas.com/catalog/index.cfm?...id=177&Info=YES

I use sawi, in US it is called Yu Choy Sum
http://www.melissas.com/catalog/index.cfm?...id=202&Info=YES
This veggie got 20% calcium

Star tortoises feed in the early mornings and late evenings.... bored after 2 days? No... it won't get bored that fast. No papaya for them.... what you can do is find opuntia cactus and hibiscus flowers and leaves. Sprinkle some calcium supplement on it and feed it to them. Coz they are young, you would need to chop the food stuff up nicely but not too fine.

Since 2 inches, they are quite sensitive to humidity, so use newspaper as a substrate and place a reptile lamp for them.

30 minutes of sun a day is enough for most reptiles....

Now my Star tortoise is very happy after trimming his beak... I wonder did I post here before.... Anyway, here are some pictures lah:

Before his beak trim



And this is after



A pretty cacat looking Star... but he is my beloved pet of almost 6 years now.

Well... to do it need to sedate the fella.... of course I didn't do it myself lah hahahah.... got a friend who is a vet, she helped me to trim it.

Hahah
sure sure... hmmm... when ah? LOL.... see lah, maybe Tuesday....

You should not feed long beans or french beans to your star tortoise too coz it is very high in protein. Give hibiscus flower and leaf lah.