New Baby Egyption Tortoise Care

gixman

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Hi,

This i my first post on the forum. I have been reading thru old posts which have answered a lot of my questions but I still have a few. A baby Egyptian will be arriving next week and I wan to make sure I am fully prepared. I have a 15 year old Russian Tortoise I have raised from a baby but there are some differences in care I want to focus on.

To start,

1. Is crushed oyster shell the best substrate for a baby egyptian tort? Are these good options?
http://www.reptilesupplyco.com/wholesale-reptile-sand-gravel/2766-crushed-oyster-shell.html
http://www.arizonatortoisecompound.com/Crushed-Oyster-Shells.html

2. Soak time?
Should I soak daily until a certain age and then cut back to 2x a week?

3. Food
What are the best food choices for a baby egyptian tort? Do they eat a similar diet as the Russians?


Thanks,
Rob
 

KevinGG

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Read this: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/care-of-Egyptian-tortoises.72101/

Lots of smart people discussing what works for them.

1. Lots of people have had success with an oyster shell mixed with son other organic substrate (orchid bark, coco coir, etc). Decomposed granite instead of oyster shell is also becoming popular. Go to Facebook and look up "Garden State Tortoise". Look through their videos and you'll find one with a tour of their beautiful Egyptian enclosures. I believe he describes his Decomposed granite substrate mix.

2. Daily soaks will never cause harm. A daily soak the first year is advisable and you can continue for life, or not. That's up to you. Many people do continue soaks on a less frequent basis and many don't.

3. Yes. Diet will be similar to other Testudos. Dark leafy greens, weeds, flowers, etc.
 

gixman

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Thanks for the in fo, I'm actually getting him from Chris at Garden State Toroise
 

Salspi

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I’m Curious to learn how you cared for your baby kleinmanni. I will be doing the same and any help I can get would be great.
 

gixman

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Figured out how to post pics. This was a pic from the day I received him.
 

Salspi

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Very cool. Are you keeping him/her on paper towels for the time being?
 

Salspi

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Nice looking Egyptian. How are you planning on addressing the humidity requirement? The use of a fogger that Chris Leone recommends on his site seems very smart. I’m a little confused on if the open top table with fogger is the best environment for a hatchling or an enclosed viv with a fogger.
 

gixman

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The fogger is a great idea and I will check it out. Right now I provide a humid hide. A terracotta pot with wet sponge on top.
 

Salspi

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An idea I’ve been throwing around is attaching an enclosed vivarium to a tortoise table and just keep the fogger in the vivarium. This would be approx 30% of the total habitat.

I’d keep the viv around 70% RH through the fogger use. Then, the tortoise could move between both the viv and the tortoise table at its preference. I’d put the basking lamp in the viv so that as high humidity as possible would be present during basking sessions. Basking lamps being so dehydrating. I’m hoping this would eliminate any chance of pyramiding and produce baseball smooth shells.
 
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Salspi

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If it’s not too much trouble, could you post some enclosure pics? Do you have any advice on enclosures? I’m starting to build mine. I will be getting my hatchlings at end of May.
 

Ghazan

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If it’s not too much trouble, could you post some enclosure pics? Do you have any advice on enclosures? I’m starting to build mine. I will be getting my hatchlings at end of May.

Where are you getting your egyptians from Salspi?
 

gixman

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Chris Leone at Garden State Tortoise. Check it his care sheet on Herman''s Haven for pics of enclosures.
 

Longhorns1187

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Does anyone know why there seems to be different shaped oyster shell products? In this pic, it looks more like the actual oyster shell shape. On HermanniHaven.com they have more of a gravel shape. Which I like more for aesthetic reasons.
You can get the gravel shaped oyster shell stuff at Tractor Supply. That's where we got ours. It's fairly cheap too @ $10 for 50 lbs. Made by Manna Pro.
 
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