My 2 Egyptian Tortoise

wellington

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They are very cute. I fortunatley, know nothing about them or their care. However, they are starting to look pyramided and the one looks more pyramided then the other. May be the angle of the camera, not sure. Hopefully someone with experience can help with getting them to grow smoother. The substrate does look very dry and drying.
 

TortieLuver

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Very nice:) what is the black container you are using...like the setup:)
 

RockyMountainMan

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The photos were taken about a month ago, about the time I obtained from a well known Egyptian tortoise breeder. I felt that there were some development of pyramiding too but minor. The breeder told me all his Egyptian tortoises have certain degree of pyramiding. There areetc.many experimenting threads about providing more humid environment for hatchling. I, for one, tend to agree and experimenting with these two little ones. It will take time to see if this really works along with proper food, uv exposure, temperature and humidity and etc.

The black concrete mixer tub allow me to spray water several times a day to maintain a 40-50% ambient and 80% hidebox humid without worry about mold development. Oyster shell is a common setup for Egyptian tortoise but I want to experiment other substrates. I notice the two have different personality in addition to their preference to temperature and humidity - I was told they are from different clutches and about 1.5 week apart when hatched out. I am really curious as how they two will develop in terms of shell, and the humid theory.
 

tortadise

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Do not keep it too humid for these guys. Respectfully they can take it but in small short spurts. Good diet, proper housing, and stabilized environment will allow nice growth. The threshold in nature where kleinmanni come from is never stable. It has many ups and downs in temperatures and humidity. during nightfall the humidity drops, but at sunrise the humidity climbs drastically from 30-40% up to 60% for a few hours, then the heat comes and they retreat under bushes or other animal burrows. Large broad leaf plants are best for these guys as a diet. No animal protein should be given. Plant protein is ok but in small amounts. High calcium is a major mineral found in the natural diet. Succulents, flowers(leaves and flower itself).

Fluctuations in the temperatures and humidity is the key to sustaining a perfect environment. Constant humidity (whether in a hide or in the entire enclosure is not natural, nor needed). I maintain spikes by lightly spraying the enclosure in the morning as the heat bulbs have warmed up a little, and let it dissipate over the next few hours. Kinda like a morning dew(which is exactly what I replicate during this morning procedure). in the Winter I do this twice a day. As it gets much drier RH during winter months. Summer I do it 3 times a week.

Not sure which breeder, but if it was Bill, or John. They will always help you out with any questions. Both are very knowledgeable and good people.
 

bouaboua

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tortadise said:
Do not keep it too humid for these guys. Respectfully they can take it but in small short spurts. Good diet, proper housing, and stabilized environment will allow nice growth. The threshold in nature where kleinmanni come from is never stable. It has many ups and downs in temperatures and humidity. during nightfall the humidity drops, but at sunrise the humidity climbs drastically from 30-40% up to 60% for a few hours, then the heat comes and they retreat under bushes or other animal burrows. Large broad leaf plants are best for these guys as a diet. No animal protein should be given. Plant protein is ok but in small amounts. High calcium is a major mineral found in the natural diet. Succulents, flowers(leaves and flower itself).

Fluctuations in the temperatures and humidity is the key to sustaining a perfect environment. Constant humidity (whether in a hide or in the entire enclosure is not natural, nor needed). I maintain spikes by lightly spraying the enclosure in the morning as the heat bulbs have warmed up a little, and let it dissipate over the next few hours. Kinda like a morning dew(which is exactly what I replicate during this morning procedure). in the Winter I do this twice a day. As it gets much drier RH during winter months. Summer I do it 3 times a week.

Not sure which breeder, but if it was Bill, or John. They will always help you out with any questions. Both are very knowledgeable and good people.

Very useful information. Thank you Kelly.


xcbroker said:
Tortoise lovers, Happy New Year!

Share some photos of my Egyptian tortoise babies. They are about 4 months old. Here is a video I made for them. Enjoy!

They are so beautiful......................
 

RockyMountainMan

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tortadise said:
Do not keep it too humid for these guys...

Fluctuations in the temperatures and humidity is the key to sustaining a perfect environment...

It is always great to hear from experienced and I must admit that the info is slightly different from what I have been hearing and I am very interested in applying them to my kleinmann's.

I obtained mine from John and he indicated that most of his Egyptian tortoises have some degree of pyramiding. I thought I would apply something different - more humid level, to hopefully see a different result. But fluctuations with regard to temp and humid is an interesting concept. I do notice different activity levels from my tortoises when temp/humid varies throughout the day (when I spray), and the two I have each has different tolerance level to temp/humid. I wonder if it is related to the different level of pyramiding they have too. For example, one seems to prefer lower temp and higher humid, while the other prefers higher temp and lower humid level. It is still too short of time for me to observe and draw any conclusion, but the one prefers more humid level seems to have less pyramiding development.

Sean
 

RockyMountainMan

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It has been more than 6 months since I obtained the two little baby Egyptian tortoises. I have not named them yet. I have guessed one of them being a male and the other being female but do not know for sure for many more years to come.

I thought I would upload their latest pictures to show their growth. They still live in the same indoor enclosure that I created for them. I have just sprayed some warm water in the tub right before I took the pictures. I also converted one of the huge egress window to a safe semi-outdoor enclosure for them which is west facing and can get about 4 hours of direct sunlight in a day. I will post that picture later when I get chance to take pictures.

Enjoy!

Sean
 

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bouaboua

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It has been more than 6 months since I obtained the two little baby Egyptian tortoises. I have not named them yet. I have guessed one of them being a male and the other being female but do not know for sure for many more years to come.

I thought I would upload their latest pictures to show their growth. They still live in the same indoor enclosure that I created for them. I have just sprayed some warm water in the tub right before I took the pictures. I also converted one of the huge egress window to a safe semi-outdoor enclosure for them which is west facing and can get about 4 hours of direct sunlight in a day. I will post that picture later when I get chance to take pictures.

Enjoy!

Sean
Amazingly pretty.
 

RockyMountainMan

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Thank you all for the nice words and encouragement. It has been a while since my last post. My window well setup did not really work - actually I just gave up as I do not know if my tortoises like it or not but since they are still small, I prefer to keep them indoor with constant temp, lights and humidity without much disturbance.

Recently I have been trying to change their enclosure, re-arrange things a little. In fact I tried to separate them into each of their own tortoise table but I found that change disturbed their routine and one of them (the one got new enclosure) became inactive and does not want to eat (was the most active and always hungry before) so I quickly moved her back to be with her buddy together.

So far the two have lived together peacefully with no fight. Sometime I thought one is more dominant then the other day I notice it is not true. Anyway I am glad they live together quietly and happily. Here are some photos taken recently to show a little bit about their "bedroom" and how they like to cuddle with each other.

They are full of personality and I especially like the fact they do not retreat to their shell when my hands were around fixing food, spraying water or simply hand feeding them. They like my fingers and nib on them or smell them. This can be so much fun especially with their miniature size.

Sean
 

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Kleinmann_Fan

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Beautiful tortoises, amazingly smooth shells.
Of all the species I keep, Kleinmanni are my favourites, I consider it a privilege to have them.

John
 

RockyMountainMan

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They are absolutely my favorites and precious as well. They may not be as outgoing and fearless as my Russian tortoises, I found their personality to be very likable. They are also hardy than many think and what I have read before. Their small size, delicate shell pattern and shape, very clean manners (they do all their pooping, peeing while I soak them and the enclosure is so clean that I do not really have to do anything) make them such a sweat little friends to have for a life long time.
 

vic1711

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Agreed. They are great! What kind of weight gain are you seeing? I have 3 babies... And in 3 months.. They all gained the same weight percentage. I'm positive i have one male, one female and the last one is probably female. John nailed it!!! Lol.
 

RockyMountainMan

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mine came from John. they grow at different rate, with one starting smaller and 3 weeks younger, grow to much larger and heavier than the other. as for sexing them, I am still not positive. another year of waiting should reveal them.
 

vic1711

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mine came from John. they grow at different rate, with one starting smaller and 3 weeks younger, grow to much larger and heavier than the other. as for sexing them, I am still not positive. another year of waiting should reveal them.

Oh yeah, me too. I wouldn't get an Egyptian anywhere else- but just because past experience and he's awesome, etc. :) Right- two are larger in my ntrio and the little guy. I'm calling them colors right now . Pink, Green and Blue. They all gained different amounts- but the percentage was exactly the same. I think that's cool. The little guy (Blue) is only 19 grams. But he was just born in May. They just look different. They mature out quick. It's nice.
 

vic1711

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That was upon arrival this summer. I just took new pics and I can't find them. Very disorganized this weekend.
 

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