They lay their eggs in the ground where they incubate for around eight to nine months. Super! They require different care than the more common Mediterranean tortoises. This helps the Sanctuary tag more tortoises, which is an essential part of any conservation project. The babies hatch to be roughly an inch or so, reaching maturity after a scant five years. When I started this website in 2008, there was only a handful of known Burmese Star tortoise breeders, but as the years have gone by, many more tortoise hobbyists are now keeping and breeding them. These pretty species are a high domed tortoise, with males normally quite a bit smaller than the taller, rounder, wide females. Seeing so many tiny year-old tortoises piled up on top of each other (their choice – not something the keepers have done) is a spectacle worth stopping to experience. Description. Tortoises can be sick for a long time before obvious signs of disease are present. And now, just a few years later, they have already released over a thousand back into the 4km square wild sanctuary. By visiting the Sanctuary you can contribute to the project through a donation or by purchasing a T-shirt or carved tortoise in the simple visitor centre. However, every shell is tattooed with four Buddha symbols on one side (this tends to stop the locals eating them as the symbols make the tortoise sacred) and then a unique identifying number on the other side; this puts off thieves, reduces the value of the shell, and helps identify them, should they be trafficked.Each male tortoise is paired with two females, who produces around five clutches of eggs each season. This helps conservation staff understand their movements and track them should they escape the area or be stolen.Unfortunately, not all can be tagged due to the costs. Never feed your Indian star tortoise dog or cat food. It has bumps on its shell that look like stars. In other words, seemingly well Indian Star tortoises can suddenly fall ill and then pass away. Follow the provided links to my other pages for in depth info on each topic.In addition, most wild tortoises carry heavy loads of parasites, both worms and protozoa. It is close to extinction in Myanmar, as it is eaten by the native Burmese. It is critically endangered due, in part to local people eating them, and large numbers being captured and exported to China where it is considered a delicacy. That year the hatch rate was down to below 50%.At around three years old some of the tortoises are released into the wild area of the Sanctuary, where they will start to breed at around eight years old.A visit to the Sanctuary will allow you to meet the tortoises helping to bring their species back from the brink – you can get quite close and take great photos, but no touching! Always buy captive bred Stars!Stars are susceptible to pathogens carried by other tortoise species.
The Burmese star tortoise has radiating star-shaped patterns on its strongly domed carapace. Variations of this pattern are quite common among African and to some extent Asian tortoises, and are - despite the eye-catching appearance in unnatural surroundings - a very efficient means of camouflage. I have seen many visitor centres, with far more money thrown at them, which don’t do anywhere near as good a job as this one – so do take time to pop in and read the vinyls hung between the bamboo poles.There is no entry fee to visit, but tour companies like Khiri Travel make a donation for every visitor they bring to the Sanctuary. Always keep them separately from other types of tortoises.Indian Stars can be somewhat fragile. The Burmese Star Tortoise (also known as the Rose Petal and Spider Tortoise) is an endemic species of Myanmar.