Baby Cherryhead hides and I need help with the humidity

[The G]

All tort-lovers, I need some expert advice. I have a baby Cherryhead (Samson) and I got him a couple of days ago. He only hides right now and I have to introduce him to his food. I think today made some progress because he walked over to his cuttle bone and tried to bite it. I currently have him in a 20 gallon terrarium. I can't get my humidity above 40% but I also have a temperature and humidity gauge, which is at the other end of the tank. There is a difference of about 30%. His enclosure is 84 degrees. Can someone offer me advice on increasing the humidity to a steady state? Also, at what point will he come out on his own or do I need to keep showing him his food so he will eat??? Thanks all. I just want to make sure I am doing everything I can for this little guy

 

[JoesMum]

You will only increase humidity by closing the top of your enclosure and having moist substrate. Tip water in and give it a good mix with your hands - not too much; it should be damp not wet. Of course, it also depends what your substrate is. Some are better than others.

Why not post some photos of your enclosure and lighting for us to see and help with?

It's normal to hide away at first - everything is new and scary.

 

[dmmj]

is your overall temperature 84 degrees? Do you have a basking spot? You should have a overall temperature,cool side, hot side, and basking. Plus it's very normal for babies to hide a lot

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

I keep all my baby tortoise species at 80-85F all over the whole habitat with only a very slight drop in temperature at night. I also keep the substrate very moist, pouring water over it as it dries out. The habitats are all covered to keep the warm, moist air inside.

 

[Redstrike]

Placing Samson in front of his food is completely optional. He may not get to it right away, but if he's the only tortoise in the enclosure, he will smell/see it and get to it when he's hungry. If there's no competition, when he eats is of little concern. Then again, I don't think you're doing much harm by placing him in front of the food while he gets used to things.

To keep temps & humidity stable, many of us use closed chambers. blocking 75% of the enclosure top can work. I use Ceramic heat emitters hooked into a thermostat (Zoo Med 500R, Inkbird, Herpstat, Vivarium Electronics, Helix, etc.) for temp regulation 24/7. I do have a basking light for the daytime - it's a simple incandescent flood bulb (75W).

For humidity, I've used waterproof heat cables in the past (Hydrokable) under 6 inches of substrate. I wet the bottom inch of substrate such that there's about a 1/2 inch of standing water. The heat cables evaporate the standing water and increase humidity. Currently I have a humidifier hooked up to a Herpstat 4. You want 70% as a minimum.

If you post pictures of your enclosure, we can better assist you.