| How To Recognise A Healthy Star Tortoise |
A baby Indian Star tortoise will have pale creamy-coloured head and legs. Both of its eyes will be bright and clear and it will open them
when it is picked up or disturbed, they will not be swollen, the lids will not be stuck together and there will be no discharge (either clear
or yellow) from them.
Its nostrils will be clean and dry and there will not be bubbles coming from the nostrils.
There will be no clicking or wheezing when it breathes. It will have a clean vent and there will be no signs of diarrhoea or foul smell
coming from this area.
Its shell will perfect and have no damaged areas and there will be no liquid or smell coming from the joints between its scales.
There will be no sores on its legs or swellings between its toes which would indicate infection.
It will be bright and alert and will retract its head and legs back into its shell when picked up.
After a minute or two it will extend its head again and soon try to 'escape'.
It may urinate on your hand after a couple of minutes - this is an opportunity to check that its urine is clear and does not smell!
All young tortoises are a little shy - because of their small size they are vulnerable to predators in the wild - so their first natural
reaction is to retract into their shell.
You should be able to observe the baby Star Tortoise you are interested in their display unit.
It may be walking around or feeding, or it may be 'asleep' in a corner (Stars are usually active early morning and late afternoon to avoid
the heat of the day where they come from) but once disturbed or picked up and put back again it will become alert and active.
Beware any tortoise that once disturbed remains inactive, immobile or listless, or appears weak and unable to move or which moves only
with difficulty.
Photo of a newly hatched Indian Star taken in 2002 - one of my first ever babies!
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To summarise then a healthy Star Tortoise youngster will be active, inquisitive and alert (once disturbed), it will breathe quietly
without making any odd sounds, it's eyes and nostrils will be clear, there will be no signs of diarrhoea, no sores or damage to it's
body, shell or limbs and it will have no foul odours of any sort.
It must be a picture of health - if you have any doubts do not buy it!
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| Health Problems In Imported Star Tortoises |
It is vital that you know where your Indian Star Tortoise comes from before you consider buying it as this tortoise is sensitive
to both chilling (which makes a long international journey endured by imported animals very undesirable) and also to viral and
bacterial cross-infection from other species of tortoises (imported animals are often shipped with other species which is always a
major risk to their health). See my 'the street-wise guide to the workings of the tortoise trade' page.
I know of at least two people who have purchased imported (from 'breeders' on mainland Europe) Indian Star Tortoises which have
subsequently developed RNS (runny-nose syndrome) requiring veterinary treatment and despite this several actually died.
I also know of a case where the imported Star tortoise carried what the local vet described as 'the worst case of intestinal worms
he had ever seen'.
Such problems in shop-bought or internet-advertised Indian Stars would suggest poor hygiene and cramped, sub-optimal or inhumane
storage and transportation conditions during their importation, not to mention raising questions as to whether they are in fact
captive-bred at all.
You are therefore advised to think very carefully about buying any species of imported tortoise whatever the attraction of size or
price may be - it can prove to be a much more costly option in the long run.
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| Why UK Captive-Bred Is Best |
Buying my home-bred babies therefore has huge advantages in terms of health and the long-term prospects of your tortoise (see the
'street-wise guide to the workings of the tortoise trade' section below) as they are guaranteed healthy, have never travelled and
are housed completely separately from other tortoise species.
In my experience my captive-bred Indian Stars do very well in captivity provided they are kept warm, free from draughts and damp
and are housed completely separately from other species.
They eat much the same as the Mediterranean tortoise species with the addition of a proportion of fruit to their diet, but do
require additional heating so are a little more expensive to keep.
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