Help, How Do You Make A Humid Hide?

[Vegas_Leopard]

What's crackin', Tortoise Forum?

I need help making a humid hide. I searched google on how to make one, but most of the information was about Leopard Gecko's & snakes. Id like to make one for my Sulcata for when I move it into a MacCourt Super Tub. Here are somethings Id like to know on how making a humid hide.

1.) How do you cut out the appropriate size entrance for your tortoise?

2.) What tool or tools do you use to cut it out with?

3.) What substrate works best to create humidity? I've read from Richard Fifes article on "Pyramiding in Tortoises" that Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss works very well. Is there any other type of moss that works?

4.) How often do you change moss?

If anything else comes up into my mind I'll ask, but for now this seems to be what's most important to me.

If anyone would like to make note of other things that I didn't ask that I or whoever should know please reply.

I really do greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance,
SulcataDud3

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

If possible can anyone with a humid hide post pictures of your own or examples of one.

 

[kevantheman35]

theres many ways to make a humid hide. It can be as simple as a cardboard box with a hole in it and a moist sponge glued to the inside roof. I think the best substrate to hold humidity is eco earth (coconut fiber) its cheap and at every pet store, some people also use sphagnum moss. As for cutting your hole, if your making it out of wood a jigsaw would be ideal for cutting.

Heres a picture of the hide i recently made out of clay, straw, and sand
http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-4200.html

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

theres many ways to make a humid hide. It can be as simple as a cardboard box with a hole in it and a moist sponge glued to the inside roof. I think the best substrate to hold humidity is eco earth (coconut fiber) its cheap and at every pet store, some people also use sphagnum moss. As for cutting your hole, if your making it out of wood a jigsaw would be ideal for cutting.

Heres a picture of the hide i recently made out of clay, straw, and sand
http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-4200.html

Thanks for some information. I plan to use these products shown in pictures below. I want to cut out an entrance using precision & without having jagged sharp edges, I'm not sure what tool I'll be using for that. As for the clear humid hide what would I be able to cover it with to make it more of a hide away from light & heat?

 

[Itort]

I use an opaque plastic container of appriate size for the tort (as you are keeping a sulcatta which grow large I'd use inepensive ones). I use a coping saw to cut entrance (which is enlarged with growth of tort). Sphagum moss makes an excellant substrat. I change mine when the fiber gets broken down.

 

[Madkins007]

Mine is just a blue Rubbermaid-style tub I cut with heavy scissors and use upside down. The hole is cut about 50% wider and a bit taller than my biggest tortoise. (I think 'dark' hides are better than translucent ones.)

The cut edges are a bit rough, so I smoothed them with files and emery cloth I had around. To keep humidity higher for my Red-foots, I used electrical tape to hang a curtain of a zip-lock bag over the opening. The curtain was cut from the bottom to almost the top in strips to make it easy for the tortoises to enter.

I use Mosser Lee Long-Fibered Sphagnum Moss which you can get in Lowes or Home Depot or on-line (go to the place where they have stuff for moss baskets and pot decorations). See http://www.redfoots.com to see how to use it and moisten it.

Be sure to place the hide in a very warm area, or the extra dampness can just make the hide clammy.

Don't make this a big deal. The tortoise is not going to care if the cut is perfect, and you will probably have to play with the thickness and dampness of the moss, or the placement of the hide before it works right.

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

I thought of a way to make the entrance, here is what I'll do in steps.

1.) I will trace an outline of where Id like to have the entrance.
2.) I will then use a small sized drillbit & drill along the outline as you would poke hole into a pumpkin to carve it.
3.) I will then use a coping saw as mentioned above by Itort & saw the outline circle to circle.
4.) I will then sand the groves left from drilling/sawing to a smooth texture.

Thank you everyone for your help!

 

[Crazy1]

SulcataDud3, nicely done. Sounds like you got some great ideas and it sounds like your steps to drill the hide will work well.

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

SulcataDud3, nicely done. Sounds like you got some great ideas and it sounds like your steps to drill the hide will work well.

Thank you, I sure do hope so.

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

Here are a couple pictures of the finished product I completed a couple hours ago. After I sanded down the opening to a smooth texture, I used a lighter & ran the flame along the opening. Doing so, it singed off all the excess plastic & it came out real smooth. As for the pictures, it's not much, but enjoy!

 

[kevantheman35]

nicely done

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

What's A Good Tool To Cut Thick Plastic?

I'm currently in the process of renovating my Sulcata's enclosure again & I'm doing work on a larger humid hide. I'd like to know if anyone has suggestions on a good precision tool to cut thick plastic, for an entrance.

Thanks in advance,
-SulcataDud3

 

[Madkins007]

How thick and what kind of plastic?

A jig or saber saw usually does it nicely, as long as you use the right blade. A router or RotoZip tool can also handle lots of kinds of plastics as long as you can secure the plastic well. It will probably leave a lot of burrs and a such that will have to be filed, cut, or sanded off.

 

[chadk]

I think for smaller torts especially (hatchlings and juvies), that the substrate being something that can be burrowed into and that holds moisture is more important than having ambient humidity above the surface. So for my hides, I provide deep substate that they can dig down into and get all the moisture and humidity they need that way. Since hot air and warm moist air rises, a large box with nothing to hold moisture on the bottom where the tort actually is may just hold the humidity away from the tort. I may have missed where this was dicussed...

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

How thick and what kind of plastic?

A jig or saber saw usually does it nicely, as long as you use the right blade. A router or RotoZip tool can also handle lots of kinds of plastics as long as you can secure the plastic well. It will probably leave a lot of burrs and a such that will have to be filed, cut, or sanded off.

It's about a few centimeters thick & it's a storage tote.

 

[GBtortoises]

I have several humid hide boxes of various sizes depending upon the tortoise's size, made from plastic sweaterbox and storage containers similar to the above examples. The main difference is that I use the containers righside up and cut the doorway in the side or end of the container itself, leaving about a 1/4" to 1/2" lip on the bottom. This height depends upon the size of the container and tortoise's size. I then put about a 1" to 2" layer of sphagnum moss in the bottom. The lip on the doorway also helps to hold the spaghnum moss in and is not as easily dragged out by the tortoises. I leave the top of the container on loosely so that once a day or as needed I can quickly and simply lift it up and mist the moss to keep it slightly dampened. If the container is light colored or clear I spray paint the entire outside with black paint so that the interior is dark which the tortoises seem to prefer.

 

[WeldKaye]

I am curious about the word "sphagnum moss".,Can you add more information about this thing .,? I really want to know more about this thing.,If you do not mind.,It is ok.,


_________________

 

[Yvonne G]

Sphagnum moss is used by nursery's to protect plants and by florists in flower arrangements. There are actually many more uses for it besides keeping a tortoise happy. Here is a picture:

You can usually buy it at a nursery or at a home improvement store in the garden department.

Yvonne