Husbandry Guidelines For Indian Star Tortoise Geochelone elegans (Reptilia:Emydidae) Compiler: Claire Draper Date of Preparation: 30th April 2010 Western Sydney Institute of TAFE, Richmond RUV 30204 Certificate III Captive Animals Lecturer/s: Graeme Phipps, Jacki Salkeld, Brad Walker DISCLAIMER 2 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS One of the biggest OHS risks associated with keeping Indian Star Tortoises in captivity is the possible link between tortoises and the Salmonella Bacteria. Almost all chelonians carry salmonella bacteria within their intestinal tracts, and will usually never suffer any health problems during their life; however Salmonella can be a problem for humans. This is where practicing proper tortoise hygiene and acknowledging common-sense precautions to prevent the spread of Salmonella infection should come into your animal husbandry. What is Salmonella?: Salmonella is a microscopic, living bacterium, which is most commonly heard about in uncooked poultry but is also commonly found in tortoise faeces and anything contaminated by your tortoise’s faeces such as the water-dish. Salmonellosis is the infection cause by the salmonella bacteria, which can affect humans, sometimes fatally.111 What are the symptoms of Salmonellosis?: The average person with a healthy immune system may experience fever, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, headache, chills, and nausea if they have contracted Salmonellosis. These symptoms can appear within 8 to 72 hours after getting infected, and go away after about 4 to 7 days – often with no medical treatment. How does Salmonellosis infection in humans from tortoises occur? Contracting a Salmonellosis infection from a tortoise may occur in three ways: 1. First, the tortoise may roam around in its captive environment, but outside of its enclosure, and leave a trail of salmonella behind. 2. Second, tortoise equipment (terrariums, vivariums, water-dishes, food bowls) might come in contact with human food preparation areas or human eating dishes during cleaning. 3. Third and most common, when you touch a tortoise or some salmonella-contaminated material, i.e. faeces, dirty water-dishes, enclosure substrate, and then transfer the bacteria on your hand to your mouth, eyes, or open wound (scratches, cuts etc.) on your body. What precautions can be taken to prevent Salmonellosis infection? 1. Personal hygiene should be of a high standard at all times. 2. Wear disposable gloves during animal handling or enclosure cleaning, or ensure that all exposed parts of the body are thoroughly washed with an anti-bacterial soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds. 3. Keep all cuts, abrasions, etc. clean and dry and covered by a suitable waterproof dressing. 4. If possible change clothing before and after work and ensure that clothing is thoroughly cleaned after use. 5. Any sick tortoises should be segregated or isolated and treated with caution. 6. Protective clothing should be worn, especially when handling sick or infected animals. Waterproof aprons and boots should be thoroughly washed and disinfected after use. 7. Keep a set of dishes and cleaning materials, such as sponges, that only get used for tortoise use. Never store them with dishes and sponges used for human use. 8. Have a separate area for all tortoise washing tasks, cleaning of dishes, furniture, equipment, tortoise food preparation and human food preparation and cleaning to prevent any cross contamination. Even though separate areas are used, make sure any sinks, surface that have come in contact with possibly contaminated liquids, substrates or equipment, are 3 sterilised with hot water and a bleach solution or Animal House Veterinary Disinfectant. 9. Ensure arrangements are in place for disposal of any possibly infected materials safely. 10. Never ignore and always suspect any symptoms or lesions such as: - 'Flu-like' (fevers); chills, sweats, fatigue & depressions; unexplained weight losses; gastrointestinal upsets e.g. Diarrhoea, nausea, sickness; muscle aches and stiffness; muscle spasms; hydrophobia; jaundice; conjunctivitis, fits; septic lesions; skin rashes, etc.; and any respiratory problems.16,46,49,58,60 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................... 8 2 TAXONOMY .....................................................................................................................................10 2.1 NOMENCLATURE .........................................................................................................................10 2.2 SUBSPECIES .................................................................................................................................10 2.3 RECENT SYNONYMS ....................................................................................................................10 2.4 OTHER COMMON NAMES ............................................................................................................11 3 NATURAL HISTORY ......................................................................................................................11 3.1 MORPHOMETRICS ........................................................................................................................12 3.1.1 Mass And Basic Body Measurements ....................................................................................12 3.1.2 Sexual Dimorphism ................................................................................................................13 3.1.3 Distinguishing Features.........................................................................................................13 3.2 DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT ......................................................................................................16 3.3 CONSERVATION STATUS ........................................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 3.4 LONGEVITY .................................................................................................................................17 3.4.1 In the Wild .............................................................................................................................17 3.4.2 In Captivity ............................................................................................................................17 3.4.3 Techniques Used to Determine Age in Adults ........................................................................17 4 HOUSING REQUIREMENTS .........................................................................................................19 4.1 EXHIBIT/ENCLOSURE DESIGN .....................................................................................................19 4.2 HOLDING AREA DESIGN ..............................................................................................................21 4.3 SPATIAL REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................................29 4.4 POSITION OF ENCLOSURES ..........................................................................................................30 4.5 WEATHER PROTECTION...............................................................................................................30 4.6 TEMPERATURE REQUIREMENTS ..................................................................................................32 4.7 SUBSTRATE .................................................................................................................................34 4.8 NESTBOXES AND/OR BEDDING MATERIAL ..................................................................................41 4.9 ENCLOSURE FURNISHINGS ..........................................................................................................44 5 GENERAL HUSBANDRY................................................................................................................45 5.1 HYGIENE AND CLEANING ............................................................................................................45 5.2 RECORD KEEPING .......................................................................................................................50 5.3 METHODS OF IDENTIFICATION ....................................................................................................51 5.4 ROUTINE DATA COLLECTION ......................................................................................................52 6 FEEDING REQUIREMENTS ..........................................................................................................54 6.1 DIET IN THE WILD .......................................................................................................................55 6.2 CAPTIVE DIET .............................................................................................................................55 6.3 SUPPLEMENTS .............................................................................................................................61 6.4 PRESENTATION OF FOOD .............................................................................................................62 7 HANDLING AND TRANSPORT ....................................................................................................64 7.1 TIMING OF CAPTURE AND HANDLING .........................................................................................64 7.2 CATCHING BAGS .........................................................................................................................64