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| Star Tortoise Treasury | * Indian, Sri Lankan, and Burmese Star Tortoises... plus a few other tortoises... |
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Indian/Sri Lankan Star Tortoise (G. elegans)
Burmese Star Tortoise Other Starred Tortoises Angulate Tortoise Misc. Pages
Tips:
Get THE Star tortoise book on amazon or eBay (direct links to book). It covers all aspects of Indian, Sri Lankan, and Burmese Star tortoise care. A must-have book for all current and prospective Star owners! * * *
* * * If you have Star Tortoise enclosure and hidebox photos to share, email me to add yours.
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More Star Tortoise Tub Photos suitable for allergic keepers
A tortoise table Indoor tubs for Star tortoises First, read the indoor housing, outdoor housing, lighting & heating, substrates, hideboxes, allergic keepers p.1 (more on substrates), and p.2 (enclosure materials, air quality etc.) pages for Indian/Sri Lankan and Burmese Star tortoise care info with photos. This page only has a few additional indoor enclosure photos. My tortoise tubs may seem very artificial looking to non-allergic and non-asthmatic tortoise keepers, but because I keep my indoor tortoise pens in my living areas, it's important for me to keep them as clean, odor-free, and allergen-free as possible. I am not advocating felt-like reptile carpets (not plastic astroturf) as the best substrate to use, but as an acceptable alternative for tortoise owners who keep arid area species and are allergic to natural substrates. Note: IF YOU ARE NOT ASTHMATIC AND HAVE NO SEVERE ALLERGIES, just replace the reptile mat with a more natural substrate (e.g. soil, mulch). See the substrates and allergic keepers p.1 pages. :O)
All my tortoise tubs and cage accessories are odorless and easily cleaned. This is important for severely allergic and asthmatic tortoise keepers, if they keep tortoise pens in the family living areas. If needed, I vary the contents of the pens, but usually only one or two items at a time. This way the tortoises have something new to explore in familiar surroundings. Some tortoises get stressed with unfamiliar or changing conditions, but my Sri Lankan Stars explore any new item excitedly and also check to see if it's edible. :O) My Burmese Stars seem to be more wary of anything new in their enclosures.
What's a tortoise table? It's just a large, open-topped enclosure, often made of wood, on legs. I mostly use plastic tubs because of my allergies. Light-colored plastics don't emit any odors, unlike unfinished wood or particle board (which I am allergic to). Plastic tubs are very lightweight, easy to move, and simple to clean and disinfect. For medium sized enclosures, like these are 4ft x 2 ft acrylic tubs (48"x24", 122x61 cm) with 13" (33 cm) high walls, I like to use solid wood dining tables as the base. No particle board with formaldehyde! Dining tables are sturdy, available in many sizes, and they have a good height. Tortoises stay warmer when they are higher up and away from floor drafts. Some tortoises also feel more comfortable when their enclosure is elevated, because people won't be towering over them.
A 110 qt plastic storage box (34"x17", 87x43 cm) I used for babies. The sides are 12" (30 cm) high. Notice the brown tape along the bottom. Day lamp and a ceramic heat emitter for night time. The water dish is large, shallow, and stable. The low sides of the bowl allow easy and safe entry and exit. My Star tortoises do drink from the water dishes, but I've never never seen them soak themselves in them. Most of my enclosures have see-through or semi see-through fronts because I enjoy observing my tortoises' daily activities, and they don't seem to mind.
The top of this baby Star box is crowded with a long fluorescent UVB light, heat lamp, and ceramic heat emitter. Replacing the UVB and heat bulbs with a single UVB/heat combo mercury vapor light would free space. Just check the temperature gradient inside the tub to be sure the mercury vapor bulb is not too hot for the enclosure size. For feeding, I use steady, low reptile dishes or tiles (pic) that have rounded corners for safety. Walking over tiles helps wear down nails as well.
A very simple quarantine box made from a 90 qt plastic storage box (34"x15", 86x38 cm). Hidebox is missing from the photo.
Some other plastic boxes I've used as indoor tortoise enclosures for small tortoises. The top box is a large 74 qt underbed storage container (44"x18", 112x46 cm). It's 10" longer than a 41 qt underbed box. The middle bin is a very sturdy wardrobe shelf box from Ikea (34"x20", 86x51 cm), and the bottom tub is an Iris holiday tree storage box model #251019 (52"x20", 132x51 cm) with 12" (30 cm) sides. It's usually only available in stores around Christmas time. It is the largest clear plastic box I've found anywhere. On the floor is a 36" (91 cm) yard stick for scale.
Here's another allergy-friendly setup I created from an underbed storage box. The substrate is coconut bark on top of a felt-like reptile mat (not unraveling plastic astroturf). In the wintertime, it could be difficult to keep a very low-sided enclosure like this warm enough for Star tortoises if your room is on the cool side. Also, with sides this low, you have to be careful the tortoises can't climb over them and fall. Falling from table height can cause serious injuries and shell fractures.
Sometimes, I use two Iris Christmas tree tubs stacked up. Box on the top is the enclosure, and the bottom one is used a stand and storage bin for tortoise necessities. These boxes are odorless, light weight, and easy to move around. Ps. The tortoises on the floor are statues. Not real. :O) See also indoor housing, outdoor housing, lighting & heating, substrates, hideboxes, allergic keepers p.1 (more on substrates), and p.2 (enclosure materials, air quality etc) pages for more Indian, Sri Lankan, and Burmese Star tortoise care info and photos. |
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