Sunshine the Egyption Tortoise: Day 3

[ShirleyTX]

Note: Unlike most tortoise species, Egyptian tortoises are housed on primarily inorganic material. Please be calm when you see (the recommended) white oyster shell substrate in my photos!!

I thought I would share this photo of Sunshine's behind. This is mostly what I have been looking at the past three days. Good thing her behind is so darn cute. She is two years old and arrived three days ago.

Aside from moving to get herself as far into that pot as possible, she is mostly motionless. @HermanniChris tells me this is common at this time of year for the t. kleinmanni.

Aestivation? Dormancy resulting from hot arid environments and commonly practiced in the wild..... Even though her enclosure temps are by the book, according to the care sheet here as well as what I've learned from @HermanniChris. (Ambient 75-85 F, three basking spots 106F, 100F, 97F.) The RH is gradient as well, as high as 70RH in the morning with the mister decreasing to the warm end where the humidity is 28-38RH depending on the ambient temp. I've noticed that the room temperature is an easy (but probably expensive!) way to alter all the temperatures up and down.

It's only her third day. I should relax. Let her hide. She probably thinks I'm going to eat her. Overthinking as usual. Right?

PS That is dry timothy hay you see. I'm leary of it but wanted her to feel like she is hiding in grass. I'm checking it frequently, smelling it, feeling for moisture, etc. Thoughts?

 

[PA2019]

Take your own advice and relax.

Chris has stock that is rock solid so it has plenty of energy reserves if it continues to not eat for a while longer.

What are you using to get the temp and humidity numbers you mention?

If the temps and humidity levels are truly where they should be, meaning using a temp gun, then there is no reason to fear.

Have you considered hides that are smaller to better match the size of the tortoise? The sensation of being wedged up in a hide goes a long way in helping a new arrival get over the jarring experience of shipping.

I have attached a pic of one of my stars. She loves to dig into the pot and wedge herself as tight as she can.

 

[ShirleyTX]

@PA2019 Thank you so much for your reply.

I have no doubts about Chris's stock, none whatsoever, and oh gosh I hope I didn't imply anything negative. I decided to give him a break from my new mom texts and post here for reassurance instead, LOL. When I decided to get a mediterranean species, my first and only stop was Garden State. His advice is to relax, and your advice is to relax. So I'll put on my big girl pants and relax.

I have three Acurite digital gauges. I searched through this forum and this type digital gauge seemed popular. I wonder if I have placed them correctly? I put them between the three basking spots. The photo is the warm/dry end. There is a mid-range and also a cooler (but not cold) slightly moister end.



I've included a pic of the temp gun that I use. I'm a little unclear on how far away to hold the gun. I've also added a photo of the basking spot temp in the dry/warm end. I do wonder if I have enough change in temperature and RH between the three microclimates I am trying to create.



A smaller enclosure is a great idea. She is a tiny spec in that big pot. I notice yours is buried more as well. Your Star is very much snuggled in. Egyptians are said to burrow under grassy clumps to hide and find humidity. I am stumped as to how she might dig in the oyster shell, which is why I thought I'd try the timothy hay to give her something to nose in to.

Thanks again.

Shirley

 

[PA2019]

Looks like you have a great grasp on the microclimates in your setup, kudos to you.

In a closed chamber setup the digital guages would be fine but with an open top enclosure the temp gun allows for more accurate microclimate readings as an added benefit.

One of the first things I had to learn when I started keeping tortoises is how slooooowwww tortoise time is. I’m sure soon you will have an happy Kleinmann scurrying around soon enough.

 

[daniellenc]

I’m not an Egyptian keeper but I’ve read they’re a shyer species. I have a red foot who are not shy at all but the first few weeks I was sure I was doing something wrong because he slept a ton. Once your guy settles in he’ll be out more!

 

[Wkm]

Note: Unlike most tortoise species, Egyptian tortoises are housed on primarily inorganic material. Please be calm when you see (the recommended) white oyster shell substrate in my photos!!

I thought I would share this photo of Sunshine's behind. This is mostly what I have been looking at the past three days. Good thing her behind is so darn cute. She is two years old and arrived three days ago.

Aside from moving to get herself as far into that pot as possible, she is mostly motionless. @HermanniChris tells me this is common at this time of year for the t. kleinmanni.

Aestivation? Dormancy resulting from hot arid environments and commonly practiced in the wild..... Even though her enclosure temps are by the book, according to the care sheet here as well as what I've learned from @HermanniChris. (Ambient 75-85 F, three basking spots 106F, 100F, 97F.) The RH is gradient as well, as high as 70RH in the morning with the mister decreasing to the warm end where the humidity is 28-38RH depending on the ambient temp. I've noticed that the room temperature is an easy (but probably expensive!) way to alter all the temperatures up and down.

It's only her third day. I should relax. Let her hide. She probably thinks I'm going to eat her. Overthinking as usual. Right?

PS That is dry timothy hay you see. I'm leary of it but wanted her to feel like she is hiding in grass. I'm checking it frequently, smelling it, feeling for moisture, etc. Thoughts?

Nice set up you have. I have 7 Egyptians and I too was leary of the oyster shell at first but have been using it regularly with no problems. When I first got mine they were very shy and it took them days to “come out of their shells” so to speak. It also took them a while to eat regularly. They are not a real active species and tend to be shy anyway. That trip from NJ to Texas also was stressful no doubt.
As everyone knows Chris has the best torts..give it some time like others have said and he/she will come around!
Caution though....these little things are addicting!! Good luck!

 

[ShirleyTX]

@Wkm, Thank you for your post! The tort in your profile photo is absolutely stunning. I appreciate your encouragement. I can see how these tiny torts could become addictive. Already I'm thinking, gee, she doesn't take up much space LOL.

 

[ShirleyTX]

Take your own advice and relax.

Have you considered hides that are smaller to better match the size of the tortoise? The sensation of being wedged up in a hide goes a long way in helping a new arrival get over the jarring experience of shipping.

View attachment 242156

I have a second smaller hide in the enclosure and she did find it.



While she is more cozy, she is not nearly as tucked in as your Star and she doesn't get to dig. This is one of many tweaks I want to figure out in the future. (She finally woke up, I posted about it in a new thread.) She is now going between the larger and the smaller hides so I think this will be alright for a while. But I sure would like for her to be able to dig and be cozy. Thank you for the idea.