Range

Asia is the native home of the Indian starred tortoise. Here they can be found in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Their range is broken in to three distinct areas.

Habitat

They make their home in dry areas including scrubland, grassland, deciduous forests and desert edges. In areas where humans live they may move in to fields and plantations.

Reproduction

Breeding occurs during the rainy season which occurs from June to November. Pairs of males will battle one another and attempt to flip one another on to their backs.

The victor will attempt to mate with the female. He will circle her a few times before attempting to mate. Females typically pay little attention to the male and may continue to eat while this is taking place. While mating the male makes grunting noises.

Between 60 and 90 days after mating the female will begin to seek out a suitable nesting site. Once she finds a nesting site she will urinate to soften the soil before digging a hole in to which she deposits the eggs with her hind legs. This is dug 10-15cm (4-6in) deep.

In to this nest she deposits a clutch of between 1 and 10 eggs which are white and round. While each clutch is small they may lay up to nine clutches in a breeding season.

Once these eggs are buried they will incubate for 47-180 days. This range is created by the variability in temperature at which the eggs incubate.

Hatchlings lack the adult coloration with a dark colored shell. This is patterned with rectangular orange and yellow patches.

After hatching the young are entirely independent.

Males mature before females. The male reaches maturity between 6 and 8 years old while females reach this milestone between 8 and 12years. In captivity these milestones are reached earlier.

Behavior

The Indian starred tortoise is active by day. To avoid the heat they are primarily active in the morning and late afternoon. During the heat of the day they will retire to a patch of vegetation where they can hide.

Activity levels will increase during the rainy season. During the coldest parts of the year they may become inactive in some parts of their range.

Predators and Threats

Due to their weight and hard shell they face no predators as adults. Eggs are taken by a wide range of predators including jackals, foxes, other large reptiles and birds of prey.

Humans affect their population through collection for the pet trade and hunting for their meat and the shell which is turned in to souvenirs. As many as 10-20,000 are estimated to be collected each year.

Another threat is habitat destruction and degradation.

Quick facts

It is thought that the shape of their shell may help them turn over when they tip on to their back.