hi all, just wondering if any of your star tortoises have very dry skins?

one of mine has a piece of skin on its leg half-peeled off, but the leg looks fine. looks something like a dried-off skin replaced, or something like that in description.

does it have anything to do with leaving in the sun for too long? i usually sun them for around 1 hours the most, several times a week. i also set a basking lamp at one side of the tank.

umm, i don't really know how to upload the photos here...

thanks for the assurance anyway, just wanted to be sure, because the piece of skin has been dangling over the leg for a few weeks already, it doesn't let me peel off, it'll either retract its leg or keep kicking my hand, nor does it seem to be bothering the tortoise as well, hopefully it's okay.

is the petstore in tmn megah, pj, called pet family?

if yes, they are STILL selling tortoises as of yesterday.

just saw a star tortoise on sale at RM228 (or around there) when i drop by to buy some cat food.

the authorities should raid them first, hahaha...

hahaha, guys, i think we can put an end to all these unnecessary disagreements here. i'm sure everyone who has posted here are responsible pet lovers, there's no need to quarrel over something that's beyond our control.

dzi921 was trying to make everyone aware of the law, and i believe the majority of us got the point. he was right as some of those in the garage sales are really unaware of the new law, although he may sound overenthuastic.

i understand that everyone else are quite unhappy to be brought to the headlines with all these postings, but i believe it's best for us to let this news die down and let us discuss our hobby here happily...

peace people, peace...

wow, just a bit bigger than 50 cents, that's quite small. you need to pay extra attention to them as they are very prone to sickness at such a young age, and this may go on for years before you can breathe a sigh of relief.

the easiest food you can get is of course green mustard (sawi), and tortoise pellets where you can obtain with ease at aquarium shops. the brands, i think regular members have just posted in the last couple of pages, you may browse through that. there's a list in the first page as well if you want to have the complete list.

have fun and enjoy tortoise rearing as a hobby!

for an ST so young, i would personally disagree to sunbath it for more than half an hour. around 20-30 minutes will be sufficient.

i had experienced putting my STs (when they were small) out for an hour, and they were seriously dehydrated. when i bring then back in, they stayed in the plate of water for a very long time.

if you're sunbathing your STs in a place where they can find shades, then i guess it'll be sufficient...

@slackerz,

how big is your ST? if it continues you better remove the wood bedding before it starts believing that wood is its staple food...

might wanna bring to the vet and see, especially since you said it ate those XXL sizes wood beddings.

@liette`,

the last time i checked irene's aquarium in seapark is still selling snapping turtles. you can check out that place. ikano's pet safari has an alligator snapping turtle, but i don't remember seeing a pricetag for that one.

well, the colour trait's definitely different, but no doubt they're all ST the same. when i bought mine last time, i picked one with more prominent bright lines, while the other with bigger black patches to differentiate the two. they have different preference on food though, one likes lady's fingers and the other eats mustard green.

another thing, i'm not sure if it's common, but i find that bright STs' (smaller black patches) shells are not as 'round' or 'high' as the darker ones. but that's my observation lah, i don't know if it's true.

well, differences in shapes and lines are bound to happen, you don't expect every ST to look exactly the same right? hahahaha...

but wow, that's some collection you have there. 13 in the picture, any more hidden ones? i really wanted to add to mine, but with nowadays' law it'll be hard to find STs anymore... besides, i'm short of place to keep them as well. where do you keep all your STs? all in the same tank? if yes you must've a really large one...

well, for that size i think the price is quite ok, but i'm not a leopard tortoise fan, so i'll never be interested, hahaha...

of course it's important to keep your ST healthy, they're especially prone to runny nose syndrome, which can be very fatal. you may not see the effect during the first couple of years, but over the long term you won't know what will happen.

u meant real 'tortoises'?

hahaha...

umm, i think Fat^Cat got the photos from the internet, not his...

some of the photos i think i've seen them before when googling ST...

hahaha, i think it's pretty normal. one of my STs always try to take a bite on my finger whenever i feed by hand.

a little sharp pain, but nothing much really, usually they'll release their jaws when they find that it's not food...

the tortoise in the 2 pictures is suffering from what we call pyramiding.

this occurs when the tortoise's diet is having a high protein percentage, or lack of vitamin D3, too much phosphorus, not enough calcium or lack of natural sunlight. any of these can cause 'pyramids' to form, and can't be repaired or healed. the only consolation is if you spot it early you'll have time to rectify the diet and reduce the pyramiding levels.

usually tortoises with this problem usually have other health troubles, like metabolic bone disease, soft shell or renal problems, which explains why these STs can't live that long.

in short, it's bad for the tortoise.

hope that helps...

This post has been edited by livingmonolith: Mar 21 2008, 03:49 PM

yep, you got that right.

rather than growing equally so that the tortoise have a 'rounder' shape, the shell has irregular growth and thus forming the scutes, which we call pyramids.

well, my STs have been so far so good, nothing much with their health except occasional runny nose syndrome. but they come and go very frequently, in the end i don't bother much.

both my STs are getting more and more hyperactive as the day passes, but of course the majority of the time they just sleep. but at least these days, both will be awake around 6-7pm, and will be walking front and back the tanks with their eyes fixed on us, telling us it's time for dinner. those little rascals. when i put the vege into one of the tank, the other one will stare at me and keep knocking the glass tank furiously. looks like they've grown up and starting to behave like gangsters, hahaha...

i think there are still a lot of ST owners around, people are just being more low-profile nowadays because of the law thingie.

such a sad thing, i always thought STs are one of the most beautiful tortoises around. too bad we don't get to admire the beauty of it over the forum now...

um, if i were you i won't hope my star to have pyramiding (or grow spiky on the shell) when it gets bigger.

it shows that your tortoise lacks calcium and have uneven growth. not good for the tortoise's health. it's good that the shell remains 'round' in shape.

and besides, one year old + is still considered quite small, you won't be able to see any pyramiding for at least another year or two. your tortoise would be like around 2-2.5 inches specimen only right?

it's 100% true.

the local newspaper ran some lengthy articles about it several months back, and the new law has been implemented back in march or april (i forgot). if you notice, all petstores in the country has since stopped selling star tortoises.

you won't be able to get a permit to rear a star tortoise even if you apply because they're preventing STs from being caught and brought in illegally, so the best way is to stop the demands.

if i've not mistaken, there's a penalty of RM10,000 if you're caught selling or keeping star tortoise, or something like that. correct me if i'm wrong, but the thread has discussed this issue several months back. if you have the time do scroll back further and read up.

i think those that you saw at petstores are for viewing only right?

usually these petstore owners have the license to rear the tortoises, but i'm sure you won't see STs in any stores because they're 100% banned.

i believe you only saw leopards, sulcatas and red-foots for display, not STs, in those petshops you went.

This post has been edited by livingmonolith: Jun 24 2008, 12:07 PM