DRY SHELL

[New Desert Tortoise Mommy]

okay so i know that i need humidity, but as everyone knows who has been reading all of my post i do not have the money for anything at this moment. but i did buy top soil. it didnt work out for us, so we have been using pine pellets because that is what we have. So we have been soaking them twice aday and on the weekend they get sun, also we have noticed our babies loving the basking light more. I want to turn it off but then it kind of gets super cold in the 70's. at night we keep it off. Im going to try the top soil one more time. but just half of the cage where they sleep and im going to spray it with some water. But what else can i do?! THEIR SHELLS ARE NOT ROTTED. IT IS DRY AND IT LOOKS LIKE ITS PEELING DRY SKIN, JUST THE SAME AS OUR SKIN IF WE DONT USE LOTION. I have 100% argan oil im going to try nd use and of course turn the heat lamp off. OIL + HEAT = COOKED so light WILL be OFF. what else can i do?

 

[ascott]

The pellets are wicking the moisture from your babies..so when you get tortoise cash in hand I would strongly suggest you get some other type of substrate that is similar to the earthen dirt they are designed for....

If you are spraying water in the enclosure then please do not let the temps drop into the 70's as this can prove bad for the babies health....I would not let the temps day nor night drop below 80 degrees if you do elect to spray water in the enclosure....

Also, please do not compare what your torts look like comparing to some on the forum--alot of folks wet their torts before they do their pics....so they look juicier than when they have not been dolled up...

If you are soaking two times per day in warm water for at least 30 minutes then your torts should not dry up before you can get accustom to a new more earth like substrate...

If you are going to rub some type of oil onto their shell please be certain to rub off any excess--you do not want your tort overheating as well as everything will stick to the oil....

 

[sibi]

what you need is a ceramic heat emitter (CHE). It gives heat without light. The CHE cost about $30. It's important that there is heat when you wet the substrate. Otherwise, don't wet the substrate. Babies can't be in temps of less then 80 degrees. They'll get sick! Sometimes, if money is short, and you have a heat pad, I would put that under their substrate in their hide with the setting on LOW. I wouldn't recommend doing that as a rule, but because they are tiny, and you don't have heat for night, I would use it until you get a che. I hope you have a heat pad.

 

[New Desert Tortoise Mommy]

There cage never gets bellow 83 at night. Nd we have been soaking them.

please and thank you

 

[Tom]

70s at night should be fine for DT hatchlings as long as they can warm up with a 100 degree basking spot all day. Mine frequently dropped into the low 70s with damp substrate and a humid hide and I never had any issues. It won't hurt anything to keep them warm at night, but they do need it dark.