Conflicting Humidity Levels?

[MzNENA]

Since joining the forum, I've seen various different opinions when it comes to the right humidity levels for housing a Greek Tortoise.

I've seen people recommend as little as 40-50% and as high as 80%

So that raises the question, what is the right humidity level for your Greek Tortoise?
We know various sized torts, such as hatchlings, may require a different humidity level than say a sub adult or adult.

So what humidity levels do you use for YOUR Greek tortoise?
What do you do in your enclosure to keep that humidity level steady and how has that worked out for your tortoise thus far?

What humidity levels do you all recommend for each size and each age of a Greek tortoise?

 

[MzNENA]

In my case I've been able to get my humidity levels up to 60% with substrate water sprayings every few times a day.



Lasts only a few hours, then drops down to 40% by the next spraying.
Is this within an ok range for a younger tort?

---

Repost of image lol

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I doubt that is an accurate reading. Many people here will not use those. Even the members with drastically opposing views on humidity levels agree that those analog hydrometers are horribly inaccurate.

One member posted a photo of the puck reader (like what you have) next to a digital reader and the measurements were vastly different.

I hope you get the answers you are looking for from other Greek keepers but please upgrade your thermometers and hydrometers.

 

[TommyZ]

Heya, idk anything about greeks, but, that lil disk humidity guage could be your problem. Id bet your himidity is wayyyy higher than that disc guage is giving you credit for, they are notoriously inaccurate. Grab a 10$ digital thermo/hygro-meter from home depot and youll be wayyy better off. I tested this myself, below i attached a pic, youll see the difference in the readings.

Like you I thought I was doing something very wrong, turns out the only thing I was doing wrong was with using the wrong hygrometer. Hope this helps.

 

[MzNENA]

Well I'll be darned >_< lol Just purchased this one.
Will do! Thank you both. Will switch it out as soon as possible. Thank you for the reply!

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Re: RE: Conflicting Humidity Levels?

One member posted a photo of the puck reader (like what you have) next to a digital reader and the measurements were vastly different.

Haha TommyZ, I was referring to you!

 

[MzNENA]

Pet stores smh lol
So many supplies provided there aren't suited for the proper care of a tortoise.
Home Depot seems to be the place to go

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Home Depot, Lowes and Walmart.... I don't think I buy anything from the "pet store" LOL

 

[Sulcata_Sandy]

I keep my Jordanian Greek's humidity in the 30-60% range. His shell is smooth, healthy, his eyes are bright and shiney, and he's very active and curious.

I came up with this range based on reading many articles, care sheets, and information on the soil humidity for that area of the ME, where is is mostly likely WC.

Hope this is helps,,,,and I keep two digital thermometers/hygrometers in all 8 tortoise' enclosures for accuracy and averages,

 

[MzNENA]

Think I'll definitely be doing the same into the foreseeable future haha

Thank you very much for the advice!
Between the 30%-60% range is where I'll keep mine into the future for my tort. It's definitely easier to keep the humidity within that wider range

As long as there's adequate moisture around the enclosure and he isn't dehyrdrated think a tort will do fine.
Thank you for the reply

 

[milkandsam]

Re: RE: Conflicting Humidity Levels?

I keep my Jordanian Greek's humidity in the 30-60% range.

Just wondering... is that a humidity for a hatchling? That's where I get confused frequently is a lot of what I read starts out talking specifically about hatchlings and then somebody posts and then somebody else posts and by the end of the topic people are talking about adults and not hatchlings! just looking for some clarification!

 

[Jlant85]

I keep my Jordanian Greek's humidity in the 30-60% range.

Just wondering... is that a humidity for a hatchling? That's where I get confused frequently is a lot of what I read starts out talking specifically about hatchlings and then somebody posts and then somebody else posts and by the end of the topic people are talking about adults and not hatchlings! just looking for some clarification!

I would even go as high as 70... and yes for hatchlings. Like what it said on the PDF i posted the other day, they spend most of their time dug deep where the humidity is a lot higher.

The one thing you'll want to really watch when maintaining high humidity is temperature. You dont want the temperature dropping below 75 degrees ever! Just imagine your self, Day you have a temp of 75 (cooler end) to 100 (basking) and at night it dropped below 75 to the near 60s... what would happen... you tend to get sick.... same goes for the tortoises... so maintaining the temperature plays a huge part with high humidity... the adults dont need the higher humidity when they get older compared to the hatchlings... and they can tolerate the temperature change a lot better too! My Iberas are tanks! I live in San Francisco where my outdoor enclosure hits 100 and at night 60 degrees... they live outdoors all summer long....

 

[TommyZ]

Re: RE: Conflicting Humidity Levels?

One member posted a photo of the puck reader (like what you have) next to a digital reader and the measurements were vastly different.

Haha TommyZ, I was referring to you!

Lol...priceless! Good to know someone paid attention to my lil experiment,

 

[MzNENA]

Thank you all for the great advice, I've learned a lot from this thread already. I'll be doing my best to keep our Squirtle's humidity levels at least between the 50-60% range seeing as going higher has proved a bit difficult.

Chucked my old pet store thermometer dial and purchased the home depot digital thermometer and humidity reader for about $10!



I've seen the cool side of my enclosure is a lot colder than I expected!
This was after a substrate soaking and has risen to 68 degrees.

Still pretty chilly so I just ordered a CHE online and it will arrive in a few days.
Hoping this will help warm things up for our little tort.
Thanks again to everyone that participated and gave great advice!

 

[FLINTUS]

68 degrees is fine. It gets way colder in the wild. In fact, 68 is a very nice ambient for them.

 

[MzNENA]

He is a hatchling. About 3 months old.
Would that still be a good ambient temperature?

 

[FLINTUS]

Yep. Hatchlings are still exposed to the cold surface temps, even though they might dig down more often. 68 is pretty much perfect for Greeks ambient, depending on the subspecies.

 

[MzNENA]

Well thats good. Checked my temperature reader again and the temps finally steadied out to 70 degrees on the coolest side.
But my hatchling nevers ventures passed his food bowl in his enclosure which is in between his basking area and cool side area.
Thought it was his temps or maybe he is still settling in. It's been about 2 weeks that we've had him.

 

[Jlant85]

^_^ I love Home Depot! You can buy almost everything there for your set up! Bins for enclosure, top soil and barks for substrate, saucers for water dish, I mean you name it! The cool thing is, it's cheaper than the pet store! I mean sooooooooo much cheaper!

 

[MzNENA]

Definitely! I mean if Home Depot even gave the hint of how many ppl use their store for pet needs, they could add that into their advertisements and make even more money lol
Gotta love the Home Depot. I've been there more times this month than I have been in years haha