Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Post your pictures and any questions here of European tortoises e.g. Ibera Spur Thigh, Ibera Graeca, Marginated, Hermanns, Kleinmanni and we include the Horsfield tortoise. Also, do add pictures of Mediterranean tortoises you have seen in the wild.
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Ladybird_mt
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Joined: 29 Sep 2020, 08:19

Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Post by Ladybird_mt » 12 Oct 2020, 11:24

Hello, this is the first time I’m posting in this group. I have a couple of male Egyptian tortoises each around 25 years old. They’ve been outdoors during the summer but it’s grown colder now and would like to bring them indoors for the winter. I’ve got a table for each of them and would like some advice on heating and light.

Is it better to have separate heat and light bulbs? I was hoping to use a 2-in-1 bulb for each of the tables to avoid having to buy and use so many bulbs. And is 80w enough? I was thinking of the Arcadia D3. The tortoise tables are in a well lit room, placed side-by-side on a table.

Is placing the bulb/s 30cm above the turtles enough height? I was also thinking of buying each table a floor light stand holder which I can adjust.

I’ve read a lot of posts here on the subject, excuse me for submitting another similar post. Thank you.

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Nina
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Re: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Post by Nina » 12 Oct 2020, 12:47

Hi Ladybird and welcome to The Tortoise Table! Egyptian tortoises are a lovely species, and they will definitely have to be brought indoors out of the cold weather. What country do you live in? Here in the UK it has turned cold and rainy and so not good for tortoises to be outside (they need a temperature of around 26C just to digest their food, and you really should be aiming for a temperature of around 30C directly under their heat source (and 20C at the cooler end of the table).

Yes, the two-in-one bulb should be fine, and you need to position it at the height recommended on the instructions, so that the UVB component is at the best distance. 80W can be fine, depending on how cold or warm your room is. I have an 80W bulb in my table at the moment, but it is not producing the desired temperature in the table because the ambient temperature in the room is too cool, so I will need to switch to a 100W bulb. And yes, a floor stand holder is an excellent idea, because you will need to raise or lower the lamp often in order to get the right temperature.

I would also buy a thermometer that can measure the temperature directly under the lamp at the height of your tortoise's shell. One of the fridge/freezer thermometers with a digital display unit and then a probe at the end of a long cord is good, as that cord can be hung down from above so that the probe is in the circle of light. A thermometer mounted on a nearby wall will not give you an accurate temperature. Here is the sort of thing I mean, and they often have a Max/Min feature, so that you can see how warm or how cool it got since you last re-set the function: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Freeze ... B071WKGTJL

I hope that helps, and please don't hesitate to get back to us if you have any more questions or problems.

Nina

Ladybird_mt
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Joined: 29 Sep 2020, 08:19

Re: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Post by Ladybird_mt » 12 Oct 2020, 18:30

Hello Nina, thank you for welcome and the information - you’ve answered all my questions in a way that I can understand, sometimes answers can seem complicated to me!

I live on the island of Malta, so you might know that we have mild weather all year round and our summers are never-ending. My tortoises eat a little and then I don’t see them for the rest of the day in the summer in the garden when it gets hot. I bring them indoors during the night though as I’m too scared of rats although I’ve never seen any.

During the winter my little garden doesn’t get any sunshine so I’m not sure that it’s the right place for them to be. As we get a lot of sunshine I prefer to take them on the balcony when it’s sunny. I don’t particularly like them to be indoors but I want to set up proper tables with correct lighting and heating when there’s no sun on the balcony.

Thank you again, Nina.

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Nina
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Re: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Post by Nina » 12 Oct 2020, 22:11

Hi Ladybird,

Ahh, you are so lucky to live in Malta. We have another tortoise keeper from Malta who corresponds with us, so if I remember correctly, when we in the UK have lush foliage and lots of weeds to feed our tortoises in the summer, you are struggling with a lack of food in the wild, but in our winter, where we struggle to find food for tortoises that are not hibernating, you have lots available.

I also bring my tortoises indoors at night in the summer, because we have rats here too, and they can inflict serious damage to tortoises. It's nice that at least you do have a balcony for them to get some natural sunshine in the winter. My tortoises are a hibernating species, so they are asleep from the beginning of December until early March, but the weather from mid-October until April can be very wet and miserable here, so there are many weeks when they have to be indoors. I think the trick is to make their environment indoors interesting for them, with rocks to climb over and walk around, different textures to walk on, maybe some plants, etc. Just to give them some interest in their environment.

Have you had these two tortoises for a long time? One of the TTT group lives in Britain, but she breeds Egyptian tortoises and her set-ups are amazing.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any more questions or problems. And we would love to see some photos of your tortoises -- we don't often get photos of Egyptian torts, and they are such a lovely looking species.

Best,
Nina

Ladybird_mt
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Joined: 29 Sep 2020, 08:19

Re: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Post by Ladybird_mt » 13 Oct 2020, 11:25

Hello Nina

Thanks for your reply! I’ve just managed to buy a couple of stands and lighting here in Malta - more expensive but at least I don’t have to wait weeks for them to arrive and wonder if they’re going to arrive in one piece. I will purchase the thermometer. I will use your tips as to what might make their enclosures more interesting. I do feel sorry for them when they are indoors but then again, when they’re outdoors I only see them at lunchtime!

I’ve had my tortoises for almost four years, since then we moved and I’ve never been satisfied with their indoor enclosures, where I previously lived they had an area outside but surrounded by four high walls and lots of hiding places, they were safe and I provided them with a warm outdoor enclosure too. They were given to me when their owner couldn’t look after them anymore. I think they had spent all their time outdoors on a tiled area, they most probably were fed on lettuce, apple and snapdragon! It’s actually difficult to get them to eat anything else, I don’t give them apple though. I’ve got aloe Vera, hibiscus, geranium, snapdragon, spider plant etc. but except for the snapdragon they won’t eat anything else. I give them romaine and other types of lettuce which they like. I find if I start off with the other food which they don’t eat, they might at least nibble at it.

When I first got them i didn’t know anything about tortoises so I would contact a lovely English lady living in Malta who was very qualified to give me some tips but although she is living abroad she’s always ready to answer my questions, I thought I should give her a break and now stick to the tortoise table.org.

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Nina
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Re: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Post by Nina » 13 Oct 2020, 14:52

Hi Ladybird,

It sounds to me like you are providing a really excellent home for these litle Egyptian tortoises and that they are very lucky to have found a home with you!

Tortoises can be notoriously fussy eaters, and are easily addicted to food that isn't great for them, like iceberg lettuce (which has very little nourishment, but is easy to eat), so it can be really difficult to wean them off a bad diet. The fact that you've been able to broaden their diet is good, but if you could broaden it even more that would be even better. It is such a common problem with tortoises that we wrote an article with tips on how to move them to a better diet: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tor ... 4Wvoe3TWNI Have a read and see what you think. Basically what can work well is to cut the food that they like up into pieces and wet it. Then cut the food you want to introduce up into teeny tiny pieces and add a small amount to the existing food. Because they are wet, the pieces will stick together and when they go for a bite of what they like they will inadvertently get a bite of the new stuff. And then you gradually increase proportion of new food and decrease the other food.
Also, when they are outdoors, might they be nibbling on some plants in your garden and therefore getting a bit more variety than you are aware of?
Anyway, have a go and let us know how you get on.

Cheers,
Nina

Ladybird_mt
Posts: 23
Joined: 29 Sep 2020, 08:19

Re: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Post by Ladybird_mt » 13 Oct 2020, 20:21

Thanks Nina, I will try your advice about the food, sometimes I get a small piece of what they don’t like to eat and put it underneath a piece of lettuce and feed it to them by hand but what you’re suggesting is a better idea. The link to the article is helpful, I think I need to work harder at getting them to eat better.

I’m attaching a photo of them taken when I had just got them, thus the paper towel underneath their food, lol. I’ve got more photos.
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FAB5881F-E5C5-4D9C-9DBE-60F4A7820452.jpeg

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Nina
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Re: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Post by Nina » 14 Oct 2020, 17:28

Aww they are really handsome tortoises -- thanks so much for the photo!

I've used the method of hiding something under something they like (like you putting something under the lettuce) when I need to give them medicine. I've spread it on a thin piece of cucumber and then turned the cucumber upside down and hand fed it, and it does seem to work. I wonder if having the new thing underneath means they can't smell it as well -- not sure, but it does often work.

I'm sure that with perseverance and will power you will be successful in increasing the variety of food in their diet -- but it's amazing how strong willed they can be!

Best,
Nina

Ladybird_mt
Posts: 23
Joined: 29 Sep 2020, 08:19

Re: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Post by Ladybird_mt » 15 Oct 2020, 19:20

Hi Nina, just wanted to let you know that I had some success with feeding my tortoises (Albert and Elliot!) some different types of food. I did exactly what you told me to do, cutting up and wetting it, and they ate a lot of it :) Thanks again!

Anne Marie

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Nina
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Re: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Post by Nina » 15 Oct 2020, 21:48

Thanks so much for letting us know, Anne Marie! That is great news. Sometimes we give out advice and then we don't get feedback, and then you wonder if you suggested the right thing, so it's great to know that our little tips for trickery were successful. Albert and Elliot are such nice names too!

Nina

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