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| StarTortoises.net | * Indian / Sri Lankan & Burmese Star Tortoises... plus a few other species... |
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Burmese & Indian / Sri Lankan Star Tortoises
Other Stars Angulate Tortoise Misc. Pages
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Indian / Sri Lankan & Burmese Star Tortoises Courtship, breeding & babies
Melbourne Zoo, Australia - Photo by Ollie G (cc) pwp Female vs male (G. elegans) Adult female Star tortoises are larger in size and have shorter, stubby tails. Their plastrons are flat. The post anal gap, the bony opening for the tail, is rounder to allow passage of eggs. Adult males are smaller, have longer tails, and concave (curved inward) plastrons. Long tails and concave plastrons facilitate breeding. Adult male tortoises may also have flattened shells and narrower post anal gaps. A very young male will have a flat plastron and a shorter tail. The tail will grow and the plastron will concave as the male tortoise grows and matures. Some males start out looking like females and then suddenly grow a big tail. For photos and more details on gender differences, see the male vs female page. Sexual maturity (G. elegans) In the wild, Indian / Sri Lankan Star tortoise males are said to reach maturity at 6-8 years of age and females at 8-12 years. In captivity, tortoises tend to grow and mature faster. Occasionally, captive-bred Star tortoise males may start siring as young as 3-4 years of age, and captive-bred females may start laying eggs as young as 5-6 years of age. These young ages are an exception though. Over 7 years is more typical for females. Size is more important for maturity than age. Female Indian Stars typically won't lay eggs until they weigh at least 900-1,000 g (31.7- 35.3 oz). Sri Lankan females grow larger than Indians and may start laying fertile eggs at about 2,000 g (70.5 oz). Males mature at about half of the female weights. Indian Star tortoises may be ready to mate as small as 4" for males and 6" for females. Sri Lankan females are larger at the onset of reproductive maturity, at least 7"-8", and often more. Breeding very young or very old females is not recommended. Courtship In the wild, mating occurs during rainy seasons (wet monsoons). Star tortoises are fairly docile maters. Males may grunt, but they do not generally butt, bite, or ram much during courtship.
Newport Aquarium - Photo by DDFic (cc) Breeding groups Generally, Star tortoises are peaceful animals and get along quite well in groups, but they should not be kept in too cramped conditions. Provide large outdoor enclosures for bigger groups. This allows animals to get away from each other when they desire some peace and quiet. For breeding group size, Holger Vetter (Terralog: Turtles of the World, Vol. 4) recommends 2 males + 2 females for Indian / Sri Lankan Star tortoises (Geochelone elegans) and 1 male + 2 females for Burmese Star tortoises (Geochelone platynota). BIAZA's (British & Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums) recommendation is to keep G. elegans in small groups and G. platynota in trios (1 male + 2 females). For G. elegans multiple males and females may be kept together, especially outdoors, if a large enough enclosure is provided. The number of females should exceed the number of males. Having more than one male in a group may increase breeding vigor. However, in large tortoise groups, the strongest male may dominate the other males and be the only one mating with the females. Separating large groups to smaller breeding units solves this problem (Lawkananda Burmese Star tortoise breeding facility in Myanmar, TSA blog, Apr 2011). Indoors, it's better to keep Stars in smaller groups. During winter, a breeding group of 1 male + 2 larger females (G. elegans or G. platynota) can be kept in a medium Vision tub (68" x 35", 5.7ft x 2.9ft, see housing page) or other similar enclosure. Males and females can also be kept separated in their winter quarters to help stimulate breeding activity when tortoises are moved outdoors in the spring. Egg laying (G. elegans) Female Star tortoises typically lay 1-4 clutches a year. Clutch size varies from 1 to 10 eggs, the average being 4-5 eggs. Eggs are hard shelled, about 3.5-4.5 cm (1.4"-1.8") long, and may weigh 18-42 g (0.6-1.4 oz). If you weigh your adult female regularly, a sudden weight gain is a telltale sign that she's gravid. A large female Star tortoise carrying eggs may weigh up to 500 g (1.1 lb) more than usual. She may also be restless, sniff the ground, and dig test pits for egg laying. If the female Star tortoise must lay her eggs indoors, due to living in a cold climate, a proper nesting box or egg laying area should be provided. The nesting box or area should have 20-30 cm (8"-12") deep soil. If the digging female hits the bottom of the tub with her feet, she may abandon the nest as not acceptable. Keep the soil warm and somewhat damp so that it will not crumble when excavated. Do not disturb the female during egg laying. Egg incubation See the Indian / Sri Lankan & Burmese Star tortoise eggs & incubation page for info on incubation temperature, humidity, incubators, and incubation substrates.
Indian Star tortoise hatchling with a remaining egg sac (yolk sac). Hatchling care If your hatchling is born with a large yolk sac, put him back into the incubator in a small plastic cup lined with moist paper towels. You can also form a paper towel "ring" that the hatchling will rest on. This will take the pressure of the yolk sac. Instead of moist paper towels, some keepers smear Vaseline (petroleum jelly) on the remaining yolk sac and the bottom of the plastic cup for moisture retention. Keep the yolk sac clean and moist until it's absorbed. Once the sac is absorbed, you can move the hatchling from the incubator into his new enclosure. Baby Star tortoises should be kept in warm and fairly humid conditions. Keep babies in higher humidity than adults. Small babies, up to 50-100 g (1.8-3.5 oz), do well in smaller tubs because it's much easier to keep the temperature and humidity up in them. However, a tub for 1-2 babies should be at least 76 x 30 cm (30" x 12") in size. As reported by some Star breeders, tiny Star tortoise babies may even stop growing and thriving if moved to a too big enclosure at a very young age. (Note: This ONLY applies to hatchlings during their first few months of life.) Possibly because it's more difficult to control the heat and humidity in a very large, open tortoise table. Babies like warmth and higher humidity than adults. Babies also feel stressed if they are too exposed. Always provide many hiding places, both dry and humid. For more housing info, see the many Star tortoise care pages listed on the left column, e.g. the indoor housing, substrates, hidebox, and lighting/heating pages. Baby tortoises can be fed same foods as adults, just cut smaller. See the Star tortoise diet page.
This G. elegans hatchling is still misshapen, but the shell will straighten out. Growth (G. elegans) The average hatchling is about 3.5-4 cm (~ 1.5") long. Hatchlings from the first clutches of the season may be larger and heavier than later ones. Hatchlings grow about 2.5 cm (1") per year. Sri Lankan Star tortoises are about 7.6-9 cm (~ 3-3.5") long at one year of age, and about 10-13 cm (~ 4-5") as two-year olds. Indian Stars may be smaller.
Geochelone elegans - 1 day old, 1 year old, 2 years old. Photo by Jitka.
Share your Star tortoise breeding, egg laying, incubation, and hatchling experiences, tips, and photos. Post on the visitor comments board, guestbook, or email me (addy below). For links related to Star tortoise breeding and egg incubation, see the links page. |
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