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| Star Tortoise Treasury | * Indian, Sri Lankan, and Burmese Star Tortoises... plus a few other tortoises... |
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Indian Star Tortoise
Burmese Star Tortoise Other Starred Tortoises Angulate Tortoise Misc. Pages
The Allergy-Free Gardening book includes the complete OPALS aka Ogren Plant Allergy Scale. Over 5,000 plants are individually allergy-ranked. * * * Are you an allergic tortoise owner? Share your story and tips with other visitors. Post on the comments bb or guestbook. |
Allergic Tortoise Owners Stars with allergic landlords
Sri Lankan Star tortoise Animal allergies I am very allergic to animals with fur or feathers, but I love my tortoises and turtles. No allergy or asthma aggravation! :O) Tortoises and box turtles make great hypoallergenic pets for people (not young children) who are allergic to dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and other furred animals. Water turtles might be less suitable for allergy sufferers because they live in large water tanks. Humidity from indoor water tanks may encourage mold growth and increase dust mite populations. In addition, people can be allergic to the seafood pellets and flakes fed to water turtles.
Pretesting substrates I personally have no allergy problems with my tortoises. It's their supplies that bother my allergies! The biggest problem for me is the substrate, probably because there is so much of it! It is difficult to find a substrate that is good for my tortoises AND doesn't aggravate my allergies. Before I put any substrate in a tortoise indoor pen, I pretest it for my allergies. I put a fair amount of the substrate in a large, low sided box (e.g. underbed storage box), and then put the box in the room where I spend most of my time. If I smell any unpleasant odor, or if the substrate irritates my eyes, nose, or airways, I won’t use it. With some substrates, especially ones with strong odors, the reaction is almost immediate. With other substrates, it may take longer before I really notice my increasing allergic reaction to them.
Substrates and allergic owners Dry grass and hay I cannot use any hay or dry grass substrate products because I am allergic to them. Hay irritates my airways, eyes, and skin. Dry hay can be dusty and wet hay molds easily; both are bad for allergic people. Even some tortoises get stuffy noses living on hay. Hay has a very strong 'hay odor' which can be irritating to people with hay fever and asthma. Just walking through the rabbit and guinea pig supply aisle in a pet store aggravates my allergies. And these packages are still closed! Rabbit pellets Rabbit pellets (e.g. alfalfa or timothy hay) used to be a popular substrate for tortoises, but they are not recommended anymore because they are very drying, mold quickly, can cause infections, and may induce walking problems. Years ago, when they were still a popular substrate, I did try them in an indoor pen, but the strong hay odor really irrated my allergies. Using them was out of the question for me. Coconut fiber bricks The expandable coconut fiber substrate comes as a compressed Coconut bark Coconut bark is another popular indoor tortoise enclosure substrate. Coconut bark looks nice and is almost odor free when Mosses Sphagnum moss is often recommended as a good substrate for humid hides. Unfortunately, it makes my hands itch. The odor of moist, clean Paper pellets I have also tried small animal (i.e. rodent and rabbit) bedding Paper Paper is convenient, but the slippery surface may cause walking problems in baby tortoises. Plain, thick paper with a ribbed, indented, grooved, or embossed surface will provide a more stable walking surface. This kind of paper is available in large rolls, and some reptile suppliers sell ribbed 'paper mats' precut in specific enclosure sizes. With newspaper, the ink may be irritating. Paper is also very dry. It does not provide any humidity, and it's not suitable for high humidity pens. I have tried putting a pile of shredded paper in the corner of the pen, but just touching the paper shreds makes my fingers feel very dry and itchy! It feels like the paper sucks all the moisture out of my skin, so I don't think it's suitable for my tortoises either. Paper towels are ok for tiny babies. When changed frequently, ribbed paper and paper towels are an allergy-free choice for some sensitive owners. My Stars don't eat paper, but they do like to munch on damp paper towels. Caution! Paper, dry hay, dry wood chips, and other dry substrate materials can be fire hazards. The substrate may be too close to a hot heat source (e.g. shredded paper piled up to a heap), or the heat lamp may fall into the enclosure. See the housing p.1 for examples on how to improve the security of your heat lamps. Towels Some keepers use towels as the substrate, especially for babies. You can use heavy, large bath towels on the floor and/or small wash cloths piled up into a heap for digging. Putting heavy tiles in the corners will help keep the bottom towel in place. Towels can be washed and disinfected, and they can be used dry, moist, or wet. Sometimes, I use wet towels or washcloths under the hot MVB bulbs to increase the local humidity level (scroll down to pic), especially in the winter when central heating dries up the indoor air. Towels, just like reptile carpets, require frequent washing, so using them is quite labor intensive. However, if towels are changed frequently, they are an allergen-free substrate choice for allergic owners. Aspen Aspen snake and rodent bedding is very dry, but it's a Sand Impaction can be a problem with sand as well. Dry sand can be dusty and irritate tortoises' (and your) eyes and airways. It may also collect in skin folds (tortoise's, not yours :O). Generally, straight sand is not recommended as an indoor substrate for Indian Star tortoises. Sand is very heavy to move around. A small bag of kids' play sand weighs 50 lb! If you do use sand, a sand-free feeding area should be provided to avoid accidental ingestion. Crushed walnut shell At first glance, crushed English walnut shell substrate may seem like a suitable indoor substrate for allergic owners. It not dusty Tree chips and mulches Wood chips and bark mulches are appealing looking substrates. However, they may contain bug eggs, mites, and other parasites. Yikes! Bark chips may also harbor mold spores which can irritate airways, yours and your tortoise's (see links at the bottom of the page). Some wood and bark chips, for example, fir, eucalyptus, and cypress, have a stronger odor that can be irritating to allergy sufferers. Cypress mulch is one of the more commonly recommended substrates for tortoises, but it is splintery and can mold if kept too wet. Furthermore, all chip type substrates may cause fatal intestinal blockages if ingested in larger amounts, and sharp, shredded wood chips may also pierce the intestines. I cannot use cypress because I am allergic to it, and I am even more allergic to eucalyptus. Soil Additive-free topsoil (no fertilizer, perlite etc.) is a commonly recommended, natural substrate for indoor tortoise pens, either by itself or mixed with sand or coconut fiber. It provides a good walking surface and allows the tortoise to dig and bury itself. Plain dirt is fire-proof, which is a big plus (see the housing p.1 for links to articles on fires started by tortoises). On the negative side, dry soil can be very dusty, so it needs to be kept moist. Wet soil may have a musty odor which can be bothersome to allergic people like me. Unsterilized soil may contain various bugs and/or their eggs. If not changed frequently enough, dirt can become a fertile breeding ground for various pathogens. Many people are allergic to molds that thrive in moist garden and potting soils. Mold in indoor flower pots can cause severe allergic reactions in people sensitive to molds, and tortoise tables are much larger than flower pots! See mold links below. My local garden centers do not sell sterilized topsoil, or even plain soil. They only sell garden soils that are mixed with either fertilizers or animal waste. The fertilizer-free, 'all natural' garden soils have animal poop (e.g. chicken droppings, bat guano) and often shredded wood chips in them. All animal manures may harbor pathogens and parasites, and the odor of the 'all natural' soil is too strong for me to even consider using it in an indoor tortoise enclosure. I don't smell any animal poop per se, but the soil mixture smells like wet, musty, rotting dirt.
A Sri Lankan Star tortoise on 'all natural' garden soil. You can clearly see all the wood pieces. This soil has an unpleasant, musty odor when it's damp or wet!
Soft reptile carpets (NOT astroturf type) I have not yet found the perfect indoor substrate suitable for my tortoises and my allergies, and maybe I never will. However, in my experience, FELT-LIKE reptile carpets are a safe indoor enclosure ground material for severely allergic owners who keep dry-area species. I do NOT use astroturf type cage mats which look like fake, plastic grass (see pics on housing p.1). They are plasticky (feel unpleasant), nonabsorbent (stay wet from pee, unhealthy), and unraveling (may wrap around tortoise's feet or neck). My Star tortoises like to eat loose indoor substrates like chips and dirt, but they do not eat reptile carpets or fake plants. I have used Zoo Med's felt-like cage mats I usually clean the mats outside by hosing them under high water pressure and then letting them dry in the sun (UV radiation is a disinfectant). Reptile carpets can also be disinfected with commercial products, if needed. Just be sure to rinse very, very well afterwards. Cleaning mostly removes visible dirt and debris, but disinfecting destroys invisible disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and fungi (pathogenic microorganisms). My tortoise tubs may seem very artificial looking to non-allergic and non-asthmatic tortoise keepers, but it's important to me to keep my indoor enclosures as clean as possible. I am not advocating felt-like reptile carpets as the best substrate to use, but as an acceptable alternative for people who are ALLERGIC to other, more suitable substrates. Using reptile carpets is more labor intensive than using dirt, bark etc. because reptile carpets need to be changed and washed frequently. For examples of allergy-friendly, indoor set-ups using felt-like reptile carpets, see housing p.1 and housing p.2.
If you are using a soft reptile carpet in your small tortoise's indoor pen because you are ALLERGIC to other substrates, do check the humidity level in the enclosure. For Stars, 40-60% is recommended. One way to temporarily increase the humidity level by about 5-15% is to put a folded, wet cotton towel, or a double layer of washcloths, under the hot MVB light. If I pour 2-3 cups of warm water into the towel, the localized humidity may even increase by 20-40%. Towels and washcloths can be easily changed, washed, and disinfected. Again, this is an alternative for allergic owners. My Stars try to eat all loose substrates, but they do not eat felt-like reptile carpets, towels, or plastic plants. All of these are easy to clean which is important to sensitive individuals. Humid hides with moist sponges attached to the ceiling are clean and odorless, if the sponge is changed frequently to prevent fungal growth, and thus they are suitable for allergic owners' enclosures. See housing p.2. Note: If you are keeping tortoises of different sizes together (same species only), do watch them closely for any bullying. The bigger ones may intimidate the smaller ones over food, shelter etc. If this happens, the tortoises should to be separated.
Pathogens, excrement etc. Any mold, bacteria, dust, tortoise poop or pee on any substrate can aggravate sensitive persons' allergies. If you keep the indoor enclosure in your living area, keep it as clean as possible. Ideally, keep the tortoise tub away from your bedroom.
Coconut substrate is available in various forms, including loose & shredded (pictured above), compressed brick, and bark. Dry coconut bark is almost odorless and may thus be a suitable substrate for some allergic persons to use. I have tried all forms of coconut substrate in hopes of finding a non-allergenic one. Unfortunately, all of them are more of less dusty. This fine, dry shell dust is bothersome to me. Plus, the odor from wet coconut coir is also irritating to me allergy wise.
Enclosure materials I keep my Star tortoises in my living quarters during the winter because I enjoy observing their daily antics. I do not keep them in a separate room, garage, greenhouse, or shed. Thus, my indoor tortoise pens need to be as clean, odor-free, and allergen-free as possible. Self-build wooden tortoise tables are popular, but unfinished wood has a strong wood odor and I am allergic to it. If I use unfinished wood, I have to seal all surfaces, inside and outside, with a low volatile organic compound (VOC) varnish or paint. Particleboard (chip board) is a composite material manufactured from wood particles and binders. It contains formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. Formaldehyde is a type of VOC, and it is readily emitted into the air. This can cause a build up, especially in a poorly ventilated area. Exposure to high concentrations can cause upper respiratory irritation and trigger asthma attacks in sensitive people. It can also irritate eyes, nose and throat, and cause itching. Additional symptoms include dizziness, nausea, and headache. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the most significant sources of formaldehyde in our homes are likely to be pressed wood products made using adhesives that contain urea-formaldehyde resins (particleboard, plywood, fiberboard). For more info, scroll down to links. I use open-topped, low-sided (12-13") containers made of light-colored plastic, acrylic, or glass as indoor tortoise enclosures. These tubs do not irritate my asthma and allergies because they are made of clean and odor-free materials. However, some plastic-type materials may emit an irritation odor (e.g. black tubs). If possible, I always do a sniff test of the box material before buying. I avoid plastic products made with PVC (polyvinyl chloride, vinyl), a known toxic. PVC products can be identified with number 3 or letter V, but not all products are marked. Plastics marked with #1 PET or PETE, #2 HDPE, #4 LDPE, #5 PP, and PLA are considered safe. See links below.
Indoor air quality Clean indoor air is important for asthmatics and allergy sufferers, especially for those with severe symptoms. The best way to accomplish this is to install central high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) air cleaning units that cover the whole house. With these, heated or cooled air is cleaned before it's pushed into the rooms. Unfortunately, these central units are expensive to install. A much cheaper alternative is to use portable, room-sized HEPA air cleaners It's wise to keep an air cleaner in your bedroom so that you can breath clean air during the night. It's also a good idea to keep these air purifiers on and running 24/7 in rooms where your tortoise enclosures are, if you keep them in your indoor living areas. HEPA air cleaners may reduce allergen exposure, and thus lessen your allergic symptoms. Ideally, keep the tortoise pens away from your bedroom. Look for true HEPA air purifiers, not 'HEPA-like' filters.True HEPA filters can remove a minimum of 99.97% of airborne particles that are 0.3 micrometers in diameter. They remove allergens, pathogens, and odors from the air. HEPA filtering units are used at health care facilities, operating rooms, pharmaceutical laminar flow hoods, museums, libraries, and many other places.
Indoor humidity A lot of folks, including me, are allergic to dust mites. Dust mites are the most common cause of allergy from house dust. They are microscopic, hardy creatures that live and multiply easily in warm, humid places. They feed on dead skin cells shed off by humans and pets, and are commonly found in bed pillows, mattresses, wall-to-wall carpets and soft furniture. Usually, people aren’t allergic to the dust mites themselves, but to their microscopic feces and corpses. Dust mites prefer temperatures at or above 70°F (21°C) with a relative humidity of 75-80%. Almost every home has dust mites. Eradicating them is difficult, but you can greatly reduce their numbers by proper environmental controls. For example, people who are allergic to house dust, should not use vaporizers or humidifiers. They may even need to use a dehumidifier to keep the indoor humidity below 55%. I prefer to keep dry habitat tortoises because they don’t need high humidity, other than humid hides. For example, Redfoot tortoises from tropical South America require high humidity conditions. A humidity of 70-80% and above is recommended for them. Unless one lives in Florida or Hawaii, misters are often required to achieve that humidity level. Not the best choice for a dust mite allergic person like me! Furthermore, high indoor humidity encourages growth of molds that people can be allergic to. You may not see them growing, but they may still be present in your home!
Food for tortoises Grasses About 90% of Indian and Sri Lankan Star tortoises' diet should consist of fiber-rich grasses and greens. However, I have an allergy to fresh grass and dry hay. When feeding fresh or dry grasses to my Star tortoises inside, I have to remove the leftovers as soon as my Stars are finished with the meal. Keeping the grass cuttings in the same room irritates my eyes, nose, and airways. Flower petals and pollen can also irritate a sensitive person's allergies. Weeds Some fresh weeds are less irritating to me than fresh grasses or hay. My allergic reaction to them is more tolerable. My Stars love their dandelions. :O) Cactus Fresh, chopped cactus is fine with me allergy wise, but cactus pads start to develop a strong odor after they have been stored in the fridge for a while. When I cut older, fridge-strored cactus, the odor of the cut surface is so strong it makes my eyes and nose burn and itch. Thus, I tend to store my uncut cactus pads outside in a flower pot filled with cactus potting soil. Cactus is a very healthy food for tortoises, so I usually feed it at least once a week. Commercial foods I am also allergic to dry grass and hay pellet foods made for tortoises and rodents. I have no allergy problems with the Mazuri tortoise diet pellets. They do not smell like grass or hay, and they are almost odorless. I feed Mazuri to my Stars about once a week as a supplement. For more info, see the Star tortoise diet page.
Salmonella Tortoises may carry Salmonella bacteria that can be transferred to humans. The most common source of Salmonella infection is contaminated food, but about 3-5% of salmonnellosis cases are associated with exotic pets (birds, frogs, geckos, iguanas, tortoises, snakes etc.). It's estimated that 60-90% of reptiles harbor the Salmonella bacteria in their intestinal tracts. Typical symptoms of Salmonella infection include diarrhea, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, and headache. Humans, dogs, cats, and farm animals may also be reservoirs of the Salmonella bacteria. For example, humans are the only known carriers of Salmonella typhi which causes typhoid fever. Do not let small children handle tortoises or other reptiles, and always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after touching reptiles, their cages, or dirty supplies. Antiseptic hand cleaners can be used when hands are not visibly dirty or soiled. I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer near every indoor tortoise pen in case I need a quick clean up and don't have time to wash my hands. I have used both gel hand sanitizers (ethyl alcohol) and foam sanitizers (benzalkonium chloride, BAC). Both types of products claim to kill 99.9% of many common germs. Alcohol rubs are cheap and easy to find, but they tend to have a strong odor and they are flammable. BAC products are alcohol-free and non-flammable. A fragrance-free (important for allergics) foam sanitizer that I use a lot is Soapopular Just like soaps, hand sanitizers can be harsh on skin with long-term use. Both alcohol rubs and benzalkonium chloride foams irritate my hands with frequent usage, so I often switch between them. Alert: Antimicrobial skin products by Clarcon were recalled in Jun 2009 due to bacterial contamination. Keeping reptiles requires frequent and thorough hand washing. Many allergic people have dry, sensitive, and eczema-prone skin. Applying fragrance-free moisturizing lotion to hands after each washing is a good idea to help prevent irritation and drying of skin.
sharing cactus
Share your experiences Are you an allergic turtle or tortoise owner? If so, share your experiences, comments, or questions with other visitors by posting a message on the comments board or guest book. How are you dealing with your allergies? What substrates have worked well for you and your tortoises? Any tips to share?
Links There isn't much on the web specifically about human allergies and tortoises...
Dust mite allergy
Soil, moss & molds etc.
Wood chips & molds etc.
Formaldehyde (toxin)
Plastics (PVC is toxic)
Plastics (acrylic is ok)
Paints, fumes etc.
Zoonoses
This page is not intended as medical advice. I am just sharing my personal experiences. Always contact your own allergy physician for advice and treatment of your allergies! |
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brick that will multiply in volume when soaked. Coconut fiber is a popular substrate product, but it has a fairly strong odor when wet. It smells kind of like moldy, moist leaves and dirt. Unfortunately, this odor is irritating to my allergies. It also makes my hands itch. Many tortoise keepers mix the coir with sand or dirt to use as indoor substrate, and some people use it only for humid hides.
dry. The bad news is that it is quite dusty. Each package of coconut bark can contain a fair amount of very fine bark dust. This dust can be irritating to allergic persons, and it's probably possible to be allergic to the coconut shell itself. Coconut bark can be moistened to increase the humidity level. Moist coconut bark has a mild, wet wood smell. Coconut bark also contains a lot of short, thin fibers. If you use a felt-like reptile carpet underneath the coconut bark, it will be almost impossible to get these fibers off the carpet. They stick very tightly. They may poke a tiny baby tortoise in sensitive areas, like eyes or throat, as well.
sphagnum moss is mild and tolerable though. Dry sphagnum moss is very dry and flaky. When handling dry moss, some of it breaks into tiny, dry flakes that may get into eyes and airways. If you do use moss, change it frequently because fungus growth and fungal spores in mosses can be a concern. For example, Sporotrichosis is an infection caused by the the fungus Sporothrix schenckii. S. schenckii is found in soil, hay, sphagnum moss, and plants. Moss has been implicated as a source of the fungus in a number of outbreaks.
made from reclaimed wood pulp waste. My allergies were ok with it, but I felt it was very drying for my animals. Their skin looked super dried out. Many other substrates seem to be dehydrating to tortoises as well, including newspaper, other recycled paper products, alfalfa pellets (not recomm.), dry coconut fibers, and calci-sand (not recommended for tortoises).
popular choice among some tortoise owners. With dry substrates, like aspen, additional humid areas and/or hides are needed. Usually, shredded aspen looks like wood splinters, but it's also available as chips. Unfortunately, some tortoises have eaten aspen shavings and become seriously impacted (blocked intestines). Sharp splinters may also pierce the intestinal walls. In wet conditions, aspen can also mildew.
and the odor is not overwhelming. It does have a noticeable smell to it though, but I don't know how to describe it. Crushed walnut shells are advocated by sellers as a safer substitute for sand for desert reptiles. However, crushed walnut shells are considered by many keepers to be one of the least suitable substrates for tortoises. The small pieces may irritate tortoises' eyes or collect in skin folds. When wet, the crushed shell pieces feel very abrasive when I rub them between my fingers. In fact, crushed or 
powdered walnut shells are used in many skin exfoliating beauty products (rubs to remove skin surface cells). If eaten, the pieces may clump up and cause a potentially fatal impaction (intestinal blockage). When wet, this substrate can easily be formed into balls (pic) that keep their shape. In addition, if not changed frequently, crushed walnut shells may provide an ideal growth medium for bacteria and fungi. (substrate modeled by a baby star figurine :O)
for a long time, and I have no allergy problems whatsoever with them! They are soft, absorbent, unraveling, easy to clean, odorless, and safe. These mats work well with young or small tortoises who are not diggers or burrowers, and don't need high humidity. When changed frequently, they keep the tortoises and enclosures very clean, mold-free, mite-free, dust-free, and totally odor-free. That said, reptile carpets do not provide humidity. Keep track of the humidity levels inside the enclosure and provide humid hides and/or moist substrate areas as needed.
