In this video we will look at Burmese Star Tortoise care (especially hatchlings) and we will talk about my upcoming knifemaking project where I will make a knife and decorate it with the star pattern from a burmese star tortoise and will then take the proceeds and donate them to turtle and tortoise conservation through the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA). Burmese Star Tortoises are a critically endangered tortoise from the country of Myanmar. My personal take on raising healthy Burmese Star Tortoise hatchlings is to raise them indoors in closed chamber enclosure for their first couple of years. This helps to keep the humidity up. I aim to keep the humidity always at or above 80% and to keep the temperature no lower than 80 degrees on the cooler side of the enclosure. The other side of the enclosure is warmer during the day and I try to keep the hot spot around 100 degrees. I use orchid bark for the substrate. I also have a humid hide box made from a plastic planter. I keep the substrate in the hide moist. I soak the tortoises daily for about 30 min in warm but not hot water. This helps to keep them defecating regularly and helps to keep them hydrated. This is advised for the first two years. I try to feed the tortoises a variety of foods. The best thing for them is grasses and weeds from the yard. Some of the foods I look for are dandelions, plantain, grasses, clover. I supplement this with various greens and vegetables from the grocery store. I also feed Mazuri tortoise diet that has been soaked in water to soften every few days. A cuttlefish bone is always present in the enclosure for the tortoises to nibble on and it provides additional calcium. Plus, I give some reptile calcium/vitamins every week or so. I provide florescent UVB lighting, heat the enclosure with a ceramic heating element on a thermostat set to 80 degrees on the cool side of the enclosure, and heat the hot spot with a low wattage incandescent flood lamp on the warm side of the cage during the day. There are other ways to heat/light and enclosure this is just how I have done it here.
For additional information I recommend going to the Tortoise Forum www.tortoiseforum.org/forums/...
As well as startortoises.net
And for more information on Tortoise Conservation check out the Turtle Survival Alliance at turtlesurvival.org/
Allen Newberry is a Journeyman Smith with the American Bladesmith Society and a Forged in Fire Champion.
You can see more of my work at:
www.newberryknives.com/
/ allennewberry
/ allennewberry
/ mrnewberry
Music: Optimist #2 by Matthew Pianalto available at matthewpianalto.bandcamp.com/...
11 ноя 2018
