By RUPA MAJUMDAR | PROGRAM MANAGER
Endangered species-The Star-tortoise:
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but most will agree that the Indian star tortoise is one of the world’s most attractive tortoises.
The Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) is a threatened species of tortoise found in dry areas and scrub forest in India and Sri Lanka.
This species is quite popular in the exotic pet trade, which is the main reason it is endangered.
A week back, we received one such beautiful baby star-tortoise that was (illegally) under the care of a pet-owner.
Luckily the star-tortoise was brought in to our hospital by the pet-owner to get it treated as its movement had slowed down due to some infection.
We educated the owner that it was illegal to keep a wild endangered animal in their home.
Moreover it is the work of a wildlife expert to understand the nature of the animal and provide it a safe environment to grow.
Our vets started with the treatment by shifting the baby into an indoor enclosure that was hot and dry.
It was first given few doses of antibiotics as infection had spread to wider areas.
Temperature of the hot-spot was increased to about 5 to 10 degrees. This added heat helped boost it’s immune system and allowed it to better fight infection.
Once it showed improvement we shifted it to an outdoor enclosure. It was then kept well-soaked to rehydrate its body after anti- infection-doses.
A variety of shrubs, grasses or bushes were provided to give it a feeling of protection from foreign elements and a sense of security and also allow it to eat some grasses. Some rolling terrain was recommended by our vets for its movement.
Now the baby star-tortoise is on its own, health, happy and safe in its surrounding .
We will allow it to grow a little bit more to strengthen its muscles so that it can be later on released into the wild in its natural habitat.
Thank you from the bottom of our heart for your generous donations that keeps our spirit high and strengthen our will to serve the suffering animals.
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