Diet for Egyptian

[Abdulla6169]

Anyone has a good Egyptian diet? (A schedule maybe?) I'll also post some pics soon to confirm he's a Egyptian (that's what the vet told me)… and for humidity can I add a hide with sponge in it?
Thanks in advance

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Why do you want to put a sponge in the hide ? I would worry about my tort eating the sponge !


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[Abdulla6169]

Why do you want to put a sponge in the hide ? I would worry about my tort eating the sponge !


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To increase humidity ( I can make the hide high so he won't reach it )

 

[Abdulla6169]

Is there an easier way to increase it?

 

[ben32hayt]

I once saw someone place a sponge on the top of a large hide. The hide was used for a smaller sized tortoise so the tortoise could not reach the sponge. As long as the sponge is not accessible to the tortoise, I don't see an issue. Although maybe one of the more experienced keepers could chime in. I will see what care sheets I can find for Egyptians.

 

[FLINTUS]

A humid hide would be effective, providing the rest of the enclosure is very dry. You don't want to go that high with the humidity, this species is very sensitive to it!

 

[ben32hayt]

Here is an article on the care for Egyptian tortoises: http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/kleinmanni.html

The diet seems very similar to any other Mediterranean tortoise. There are many dietary sheets on Testudos on the forum. From what the article says just make sure you do not provide any fruit for the tortoise.

 

[tortadise]

Broad leaf weeds and grasses are best. Succulents too. Very calcium to phosphorus rich foods are best. Egyptians are one of those arid species where proper stabilization of its environment can get tricky. Constant dry heat is bad. They are exposed to drizzle wet high humid fog during the mornings and low temps during this time too. As the sun rises and elevates the temperatures, the fog dissipates and the humidity decreases substantially. So constant temps, and humidity is not the best option. Instead of placing a sponge in its hide I would spray the enclosure down on the morning about an journey after the heat bulb has warmed things up a bit. Cool temps and sprayed water won't create the proper humidity needed. It's very hard to replicate the wild of arid species in captivity.

So my regime is as follows;
Turn on. MVB around 6 A.M (these guys are out before sunrise ready to eat anyways) spray enclosure heavily during this time they are fed and will be seen drinking from the rocks in the enclosure and Intake water sprayed on food.

Around 12:30-1 P.M I spray the enclosure heavily again. That's it. Let e rest of the day dry it up.

Now in doing this method you have to use substrate that does not become expansive or absorb water. ,mulch ,coco coir, or soil will retain water so that will make the enclosure too wet. I use a mix of pea gravel5%decomposed granite70%, top 7.5%soil and sand 7.5% (not exact percentage on the mix but just as an idea for yah) using this substrate they have to be fed on a plate so they don't ingest the rocks.

I find them behaving more naturally as they would in the wild too. They bury head first in the rocks and splay their hinds legs out as if in hone extreme heat of the day in the wild. This is why Egyptians have a hinge on their plastron and can splay their hind legs completely sideways. They bury in bushes, or flora (typically lacking in density in arid environments) and hide as best they can.

Food
I feed kale (California/Texas curly)
Squash leaves
Dandelions (lots of dandelions)
Hibiscus leaves(rose of Sharon and South African)
Endive
And have some wheat grass in a planter in the enclosure too.
And I leave a cuttlebone in with them they really like it.
I also soak every day until one year old, then I soak them few times a week.
And that's about it.

 

[Abdulla6169]

This was very helpful… I'll post pic when I can(to confirm he's Egyptian )