Thank you and I will definitely post pictures!Would love for you to keep us updated! It’s wonderful seeing what enclosures people make, we can help advise along the way too if you need!new environments always need tweaking, this forum was a god send when it came to building our upgrade!
Pouring lukewarm water into the corners of the substrate, not too much that it gets muddy, but enough to get it all nice and damp, if you’re using coir, pack it down firmly by hand, if it’s loose it can dry quicker. I’d then personally add an orchid bark or forest floor layer on top, some people don’t, but some find it helps keep the coir underneath moist enough.
I would not and have not put anything on a tortoises skin.
Use Orchid bark. Pour water into the corners. The bark will absorb the water and give off humidity as it evaporates. Leaving the upper layer dry(ish)
Yeah I personally think once humidity is fixed and with plenty of soaks, the skin will improve on its own. I wouldn’t use oil on the skin, I think it could potentially build up which could cause issues.
Yeah I’m starting to think that’s what I’ll do. Again once I build her new enclosure she’s gonna get a greenhouse cover and I’m gonna get her that tube UVB light, thermometers and hygrometers. By then I’m gonna most likely get rid of that humidifier.Yeah I personally think once humidity is fixed and with plenty of soaks, the skin will improve on its own.
Before I met my family member who has our red foot, he was keeping her too dry as well(he didn’t know better at the time) her skin was very flakey and dry too, she was very pale. But once humidity was corrected she started looking like a different tortoise! It was wonderful, I don’t doubt that will happen as well
Sounds like a good plan! She’ll improve in no time once things are sorted, sometimes when their skin has been dry for so long, they can stay a little bit crusty looking for a while
but she’ll catch up eventually don’t worry
once all your humidity is sorted and her skin is looking a bit better, a soak 1-2 times a week will suffice
Okay! Thank you very much!Sounds like a good plan! She’ll improve in no time once things are sorted, sometimes when their skin has been dry for so long, they can stay a little bit crusty looking for a while
I’d start giving her a soak at least 3 times a week to make sure she’s staying well hydrated
Anytime!
Quick question, if it’s just the corners how will it humidify the entire enclosure? Does the whole bottom layer need to be damp? I was gonna put a bottom layer of coconut cohir and then a top layer of some sort of reptile bark. Also, will I need to pour water in the corners when the humidity gets low or is that not an issue?Pouring lukewarm water into the corners of the substrate, not too much that it gets muddy, but enough to get it all nice and damp, if you’re using coir, pack it down firmly by hand, if it’s loose it can dry quicker. I’d then personally add an orchid bark or forest floor layer on top, some people don’t, but some find it helps keep the coir underneath moist enough.
Everything will be damp when it’s fresh, but your top layers will naturally start drying out due to the heat bulbs above
When you pour, the water will disperse and spread all underneath, yes aim for the whole bottom layer to be damp. Sounds like a good plan! The coir usually comes in dry bricks, look at the packaging for how much water to add and let each brick soak, it’ll go all soft and crumbly, you want the consistency so it somewhat holds its shape when you hold it in a fist, when you firmly press it down, you’ll be able to see if you’ve added too much water, once all that is in simply put your bark on top, fresh substrate is usually damp for a while, so you’re humidity will have a good boost, to maintain it, simply keep checking the bottom layer and checking your monitors, if you feel it’s drying, do another a pour, which in a good closed chamber, you shouldn’t have to do too often
and if you feel the top is getting dusty(don’t want dusty substrate) give everything a mixOkay! I use coco cohir in her enclosure right now, when it gets dusty like that I’ll spray it down and mix until it’s damp. It’s okay if the bark and coco cohir are mixed together, or should I just strictly keep the bark on top?When you pour, the water will disperse and spread all underneath, yes aim for the whole bottom layer to be damp. Sounds like a good plan! The coir usually comes in dry bricks, look at the packaging for how much water to add and let each brick soak, it’ll go all soft and crumbly, you want the consistency so it somewhat holds its shape when you hold it in a fist, when you firmly press it down, you’ll be able to see if you’ve added too much water, once all that is in simply put your bark on top, fresh substrate is usually damp for a while, so you’re humidity will have a good boost, to maintain it, simply keep checking the bottom layer and checking your monitors, if you feel it’s drying, do another a pour, which in a good closed chamber, you shouldn’t have to do too often
It’s fine if they mix, you can always add another fine layer on top when you do mix it up to help the coir stay damp underneath, but it’s up to you
