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Indian Star Tortoise
Burmese Star Tortoise
Other Starred Tortoises
Angulate Tortoise
Misc. Pages
What is a Star Tortoise?
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Indian Star Tortoise Profile
Portrait of a Star
Indian Star tortoises have funny, bulbous noses. Like Elmo. :O)
Taxonomy (Classification)
Current
- Kingdom Animalia (Linnaeus, 1758) - animals
- Phylum Chordata (Bateson, 1885) - chordates
- Class Reptilia (Laurenti, 1768) - reptiles
- Order Testudines (Linnaeus, 1758) - turtles, tortoises, and terrapins
- Family Testudinidae (Batsch, 1788) - tortoises
- Genus Geochelone (Fitzinger, 1835) - typical tortoises
- Species elegans (Schoepff, 1795) - Indian Star tortoise
- Specific, scientific name = Geochelone elegans
Old
- original name - Testudo elegans
- Testudo elegans Schoepff 1795
- Testudo stellata Schweigger 1812
- Testudo actinoides Bell 1828
- Testudo actinodes Gray 1831
- Testudo megalopus Blyth 1853
- in some old literature, also Testudo geometrica was used; Testudo geometrica is really the original name for the Geometric tortoise from Africa, now called Psammobates geometricus
Other names
- Indian Starred tortoise
- Sri Lankan Star tortoise - Indian Star tortoises native to Sri Lanka
- Indische Sternschildkröte - German
- Indische stralenschildpad - Dutch
- Indisk Stjärnsköldpadda - Swedish
- Intian tähtikilpikonna - Finnish
- Tortuga estrellada de la India - Spanish
- Tortue étoilée d'Inde - French
- The Indian Star tortoise has numerous local names in India, here are a few examples:
- hooniam ibba (magic tortoise) - Sinhalese
- katu aamai (forest tortoise) - Tamil
- kattupota aamai (checked tortoise) - Tamil
- meta tabelu (land tortoise) - Telugu
- suraj kachba (sun tortoise) - Gujarati
- tariwala kachua (star tortoise) - Urdu
- vairan ibba (striped tortoise) - Sinhalese
Origin
- native to India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka
- no recognized subspecies, but has three geographical variants (races, morphs):
- northern India & Pakistan - larger and darker, coloring may be dark brown instead of black
- southern India - smaller, with creamier background and richer black color, brighter contrasting colors
- Sri Lanka - similar looking to southern Indian Stars, but grow larger
- In general, Sri Lankan Stars can only be distinguished from Indian Stars if their origin is known.
- The width of stripes is not a reliable indicator of location of origin, even hatchlings from the same clutch may exhibit a variety of patterns.
- Sri Lankans may have more natural pyramiding and more yellow in the markings.
Size
- a beautiful medium-sized tortoise
- max size 10-15" (38 cm) and max weight 10-15 lbs (7 kg)
- females grow larger than males
- generally, females grow up to 10-12" and males up to 7-8"
- size varies by sex, individual, and native location
Color & pattern
- very highly domed carapace (top shell) with radiating yellow lines that form star patterns
- The shell is actually yellow with black or brown color over it. This yellow carapace can be seen in older individuals in shell areas where the dark color has rubbed off.
- plastron (bottom shell) also has star patterns
- cream or yellow-brown colored head and legs, with dark spots
- coloring and patterns vary by the individual and its native location
- Indian Star tortoises are born with yellow butterfly or bow patterns on their shells. These butterflies develop into stars with growth. Indian Stars also develop more stripes with age.
You can see the underlying yellow shell color on this Star.
Photo by Anky10.
Habitat
- wide range of dry (xeric) region habitats including semi-deserts, grasslands, thorn scrubs, scrub forests and agricultural fields; mostly in scrub lands and semi-desert regions
- all native areas have dry seasons lasting several months
Activity
- active during the day (diurnal), especially mornings and afternoons
- in the wild, increased activity during rainy seasons
- stays active year round, unless it's very hot or cold
- not a digger or climber
- does not hibernate
Personality
- fairly shy tortoise
- can be sensitive to stress
- personable, learns to recognize its keeper
- becomes more outgoing over time
- not aggressive
- does well in small groups of its own kind
Care
- likes warm and dry conditions
- should be kept outdoors in warm weather
- needs a heated tortoise house if kept outdoors in cooler weather
- indoors, needs a semi-arid enclosure with subtropical to tropical climate
- see the housing pages (3)
Diet
- mostly herbivorous (eats plants) in the wild, 100% herbivorous diet is recommended for captives
- graces on a variety of grasses, flowers, and other plants
- see the diet page
I am a bit shy, but sweet.
Life span
- Conflicting life span reports range from 30 to 80 years.
- The online edition of India's national newspaper, The Hindu, describes the life expectancy as 30-35 years.
- The National Zoological Park in New Delhi, India, reports the life span as 40-50 years.
- A life span of 80 years is documented by Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences in India.
- On a personal note, I once read a message on a discussion forum from a lady who had kept her Indian Star tortoise as a pet for over 50 years!
Male vs female
- Adult females are larger in size with shorter, stubby tails.
- Adult males are smaller and have longer tails. Males may also have flattened shells, concave plastrons, and narrower post anal caps.
- Determining the gender (boy or girl?) of young Star tortoises is not always straightforward, but many boys start to flash (show their male organs) in a warm bath when they reach the weight of 200-300 g. Here's an offisite link to photos of a male Star tortoise showing his gender (not for kids).
Reproduction
- In nature, males reach maturity at 6-8 years of age and females at 8-12 years.
- In captivity, Star tortoises may mature faster, but males should be at least 4-6" in size and females 6-9".
- In the wild, mating occurs during rainy seasons (monsoons).
- Star tortoises are docile. Males may grunt, but they do not butt, bite, or ram during courtship.
- females lay 1-4 clutches a year, average 2
- clutch size varies from 1 to 10 eggs, average 4-5
- eggs are hard shelled and about 1.4-1.8" (3.5-4.5 cm) long
- incubation period is variable, reports range from 47 to 257 days; in captivity, average is around 90-120 days
- Temperature sexing in Stars is quite reliable. Higher incubation temperature (88-91°F, 31-33°C) results in more females being hatched, and lower in more males (82-86°F, 28-30°C).
- Hatchlings from the first clutches of the season may be larger and heavier than later ones.
- An average hatchling is about 1.5" long (3.5-4 cm). Hatclings grow about 1" per year.
- Sri Lankan Star toroises are about 3-3.5" long at one year of age and about 4-5" as two-year olds. Indian Stars may be smaller.
Cautions
- Indian Star tortoises have a reputation for being difficult to keep in captivity. This especially applies to (illegal) wild-caught specimens. They may have already been sick when collected, or may have became sick during transportation due to cold conditions and exposure to other tortoises and reptiles.
- Indian Stars can be delicate and they tend to be sensitive to cold and long periods of high humidity. They may be prone to respiratory problems if kept too cold and damp. In general, keep Stars warm and dry, but do prevent dehydration by using humid hides, humid substrate areas, water dishes, soaks etc. Hatchlings and juveniles especially may benefit from having a moist hide box. See the housing pages (3).
- Indian Stars are also susceptible to pathogens carried by other tortoise species. Always keep them separately from other tortoises.
- Not the best choice as a first tortoise, but captive-bred Star tortoises generally do quite well when provided with the correct environment and proper diet. Obtain captive-bred Stars only!
Miscellaneous
- small number of breeders in the US, a fairly expensive tortoise
- natural populations are declining due to habitat loss and illegal collecting for pet trade
- Always buy captive-bred Stars!
References: books, web sites
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