Sleepy Egyptian tortoise… help appreciated.

[Joseph1]

Hello,
I recently got an Egyptian tortoise and it is constantly sleeping and hasn’t yet woke up without assistance. her basking temperature at the moment is 90f and where she is sleeping and other areas are around 77f. i have been waking her to give her food and soaks (she is eating well). Should I continue to wake her up? Should I leave her for a day to see if she gets up herself? Can I change anything? Advice would be fantastic and I can provide any other information if necessary.
Thanks

 

[TammyJ]

Some photos would be good. I think someone who knows about these tortoises will soon come along to help you. Maybe some more details of the enclosure and diet would be needed.

 

[TeamZissou]

Give it time. Since you just got it, it's most likely just adjusting to the new enclosure, and Egyptians are prone to stressing out. It may take a several months or more until your new tortoise gets into the groove.

I would also avoid handling it as much as possible. With my group, I was soaking every two days for a long time, and when I reduced it to only once a week I see a lot more activity and slightly better weight gain. Then again, one of my group may only come out once every three days; she also seemed to become less scared after I added a lot more hiding spots. I feel like she may be on the more scared/stressed out end of the spectrum compared to most.

Regarding the basking temp, I would increase it to somewhere in the 100 F range. In terms of nighttime temps, don't be afraid to let it get into the low 60 F range. Mine at least seem to be more active with wider temperature swings. Having the overall ambient temperature too hot, say in the 86-87 F range will start to put them into aestivation range.

 

[Tom]

Hello,
I recently got an Egyptian tortoise and it is constantly sleeping and hasn’t yet woke up without assistance. her basking temperature at the moment is 90f and where she is sleeping and other areas are around 77f. i have been waking her to give her food and soaks (she is eating well). Should I continue to wake her up? Should I leave her for a day to see if she gets up herself? Can I change anything? Advice would be fantastic and I can provide any other information if necessary.
Thanks

I agree that the basking temp directly under the bulb needs to be warmer. Shoot for 95-100F.

Also, what type of lighting do you have? Check this out:
Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

More info here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Eliminate the possibility that your lighting is somehow off, and if all is good, then the tortoise may just need time to settle in. It is also still winter with shorter days and lower light intensity. This could be a factor, and the correct combination of indoor heating and lighting can help to over come that.

 

[Joseph1]

I agree that the basking temp directly under the bulb needs to be warmer. Shoot for 95-100F.

Also, what type of lighting do you have? Check this out:
Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

More info here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Eliminate the possibility that your lighting is somehow off, and if all is good, then the tortoise may just need time to settle in. It is also still winter with shorter days and lower light intensity. This could be a factor, and the correct combination of indoor heating and lighting can help to over come that.

Thanks for the reply,
i use the arcadia deep heat projector and T5 12%. i will up the temperature under the basking lamp. but she is now up, moving and happy . She slept and hid for the first couple of days i had her (apart from when i woke her up and gave her a soak) until i decided to let her do her own thing and avoid soaking for a day... and it worked! She is now very active and gets up at her own accord every morning. I think she just needed time to settle in as you said. Her enclosure is also huge for her size ,60x24", so am thinking about limiting it; don't want her to get or feel lost. will definitely be more active on this forum.
Thanks again for the help.