dry tortoise shell?

[COmtnLady]

How a tortoise is kept does, indeed, depend upon the type of tortoise. However, hers is a fifteen year old russian (see first post in this thread), it is not a Sulcata, and is kept inside in a habitat in her house.

She had been misting it, which was contributing to drying out of the shell. Generally, a mister is bad, would cause her tort to have respiratory problems before long; pouring water into the corners of the habitat is a much better way to keep humidity up while keeping the surface the tortoise walks on fairly dry.


.

.

 

[Yingg]

Well you dont want to be dumping water into the substrate..(you're going to create mold/eventually shell rot) what are you using for substrate?? How big is your tort & enclosure?? What you really need to do, is invest in a warm mist humidifier (fogger can work too) but personally, i feel like the warm mist humidifier distributes a more consistent//good amount (not too much) of moisture within the air.. also, ill screenshot this gage i got that i really like, & its right on with my other temp units/guns ect.. its cheap, & not only tells you room temp, but whether humidity level is "too dry" "comfortable" or "too wet" also showing %

i mix it since the surface dries very quickly. I notice that within a few days, it is dry.

tort is a russian female, so average size for that species. She is a bit fat though. enclosure 34"x 44"... parents didn't let me build it bigger. My enclosure is open top, will the humidifier still work ? i will look at that gauge. do you have a link?

 

[Yingg]

How a tortoise is kept does, indeed, depend upon the type of tortoise. However, hers is a fifteen year old russian (see first post in this thread), it is not a Sulcata, and is kept inside in a habitat in her house.

She had been misting it, which was contributing to drying out of the shell. Generally, a mister is bad, would cause her tort to have respiratory problems before long; pouring water into the corners of the habitat is a much better way to keep humidity up while keeping the surface the tortoise walks on fairly dry.


.

.

sorry, i'm confused. How does spraying her shell dry it out?

 

[Yingg]

Foggers ands misters put too large a droplet-size particles of water in the habitat. It promotes respiratory problems. Misters and foggers are not good to use. It is much better to pour water into the corners of the habitat and it evaporates to create humidity.

I don't remember what kind of tortoise yours is, but 40-45% is really low humidity. If it is a Red Foot that is about half what it should be. Did you ever get your habitat covered? That would help keep the humidity and heat in.

oh I see that makes sense. Mine drops to high 30s sometimes, but i'm not sure why as i put water in her enclosure and I can see it dry out (so evaporation?) i have some towels over half my enclosure.

 

[COmtnLady]

You could use a top on your enclosure. You can't keep heat or humidity in if the top is open, it just lets all that float away into the rest of your house. Your substrate surface would stay better, not dry out so much, too.

Spraying causes respiratory problems. Also, the droplets settle on the shell, then evaporate off, taking some of the natural oils and surface biological coatings with it, similar to what happens to your skin if you wash your hands a lot all day long like a medical worker has to do. (It works that way with furniture, too; if you have antiques and use spray cleaners like Pledge on the wood. Rather than being good for it, it evaporates off and over time dries out the surface.)


.

 

[Yingg]

You could use a top on your enclosure. You can't keep heat or humidity in if the top is open, it just lets all that float away into the rest of your house. Your substrate surface would stay better, not dry out so much, too.

Spraying causes respiratory problems. Also, the droplets settle on the shell, then evaporate off, taking some of the natural oils and surface biological coatings with it, similar to what happens to your skin if you wash your hands a lot all day long like a medical worker has to do. (It works that way with furniture, too; if you have antiques and use spray cleaners like Pledge on the wood. Rather than being good for it, it evaporates off and over time dries out the surface.)


.

ohhhhh i see. do you have recommendations on how I can cover the top? I have lamps hanging over it so i don't want to accidentally burn anything ^^"

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

ohhhhh i see. do you have recommendations on how I can cover the top? I have lamps hanging over it so i don't want to accidentally burn anything ^^"

Not sure if I’ve ever linked this thread to you? But there’s some topper options in here, there a few ways to go about it, as long as the covering isn’t touching the fixtures, you’re good to go!

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Also you might like looking through this one for future inspiration

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Yingg]

Not sure if I’ve ever linked this thread to you? But there’s some topper options in here, there a few ways to go about it, as long as the covering isn’t touching the fixtures, you’re good to go!

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Also you might like looking through this one for future inspiration

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

oh my gosh i didn't see this before. When i move out to college i'll definitely copy these how far away does the greenhouse material have to be? so it doesn't burn because of the lights ^^

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

oh my gosh i didn't see this before. When i move out to college i'll definitely copy these how far away does the greenhouse material have to be? so it doesn't burn because of the lights ^^

Glad you like it! I’d probably say around a 8-10 inch gap from the fixture to the covering

 

[Yingg]

Glad you like it! I’d probably say around a 8-10 inch gap from the fixture to the covering

my lights are at the very edge of the enclosure, what do you think i should do in this case? i don't think i can go past the edge of the enclosure if you know what i mean

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

my lights are at the very edge of the enclosure, what do you think i should do in this case? i don't think i can go past the edge of the enclosure if you know what i mean

You can hang the lights from the cover frame. However, you have an adult Russian tortoise, they should be fine in typical room humidity range. You can use a humidifier in your room to keep humidity in 50-60% range (just don't let it blow straight in the enclosure). With damp substrate and a humid hide your tortoise should be fine.

 

[Yingg]

You can hang the lights from the cover frame. However, you have an adult Russian tortoise, they should be fine in typical room humidity range. You can use a humidifier in your room to keep humidity in 50-60% range (just don't let it blow straight in the enclosure). With damp substrate and a humid hide your tortoise should be fine.

oh that's smart. let me see if i can work something out. hopefully pvc is strong enough

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

You can hang the lights from the cover frame. However, you have an adult Russian tortoise, they should be fine in typical room humidity range. You can use a humidifier in your room to keep humidity in 50-60% range (just don't let it blow straight in the enclosure). With damp substrate and a humid hide your tortoise should be fine.

Yas hopefully this can work for you!

 

[Yingg]

Yas hopefully this can work for you!

yesss!

also, i still haven't seen a single poop in the months of having this enclosure. she poops a lot when soaking though! does anyone know why?

(in her previous enclosure, she pooped fine.)

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

yesss!

also, i still haven't seen a single poop in the months of having this enclosure. she poops a lot when soaking though! does anyone know why?

(in her previous enclosure, she pooped fine.)

She doesn't poop in the enclosure because she poops in the bath. That's totally fine.

 

[Yingg]

She doesn't poop in the enclosure because she poops in the bath. That's totally fine.

sometimes i'm not able to soak her often (one time, i could only soak her once a week ), which is why i'm worried. she urinates just fine in her enclosure though.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I wouldn't be worried yet. If she urinates without issues - she's well hydrated, there should not be problems with constipation.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I wouldn't be worried yet. If she urinates without issues - she's well hydrated, there should not be problems with constipation.

Agreed! Sometimes squirt makes me nervous going a few days without a poop, but she always empties a gut load in her soak without faildefinitely not bunged up

 

[Yingg]

i'm worried she is holding it all off until she gets soaked!! once, I didn't soak her for more than a week and she still didnt poop. That reminds me, I will soak her tomorrow!

 

[Yingg]

I also bought some seeds off tortoise supply. any tips on growing them?