HELP WITH MY SULCATA'S ENCLOSURE!!!!

[JWiediyanto]

I just bought a hygrometer and just found out that in my sulcata's enclosure the humidity is only 71%!!! I need help!! Anybody know how to increase the humidity

 

[lismar79]

What are you using to add humidity and how old is your sulcata?

 

[JWiediyanto]

I don't know what I'm going to use. They are 4 months and I need advice to add the hunidity

 

[Yvonne G]

I've never worried or checked with equipment about the humidity. I pour water over the substrate, mix it up with my hand and when it dries out I do it again. I also have moistened sphagnum moss in the hiding place. My babies are in a large, open-topped tort table. I've graduated two SA leopards out of that table and that way of keeping them, and they are just as smooth as they can be. There is another baby in there right now, and he's growing smoothly too. Here in the Fresno/Clovis area of California's Central Valley, the relative humidity on a daily basis is around 75 in the a.m. and 40 in the afternoon.

 

[JWiediyanto]

That's my inkling substrate. I'm going to buy soil tomorrow and going to mix it with water. And when it dries I am going to do it again.

 

[JWiediyanto]

Mine only substrate

 

[JWiediyanto]

Yvonne what type of soil should I use? Many people in the street sell soil and I could buy that soil. The soil is for planting plants and is that good for my sulcata?

 

[Yvonne G]

I sense that your are not in the States. I don't know if you can buy my type of substrate where you live. I like a product called "Orchid Bark." It is made from the bark of fir trees and is pretty clean, with no pesticides or herbicides because it is made to grow orchids in. Orchids don't do well in 'dirty' growing mediums.

Can you find coconut coir where you live? Quite a few of our members like that. It is sold in pet stores in a compressed brick that you have to re-hydrate. I think you might be able to find it in plant stores too. You can mix it with some yard dirt. It holds water well and you won't have a humidity problem if you keep it moist.

 

[JWiediyanto]

Can you take a picture of the orchid bark for my sulcata? Thank you

 

[Yvonne G]

 

[JWiediyanto]

How many days should I cleans it ? Like once a week? Or what?

 

[lismar79]

Make sure if you buy dirt it is organic with to fertilizers or pesticides. I buy organic top soil & then use a fir bark on top (also known as Orchid Bark) on top of it. I believe pine (or is it cedar....) is toxic so make sure it is just Fir. Also, stay away from sand which sucks in humidity & can cause internal impactions for your torts. I use a fogger & also wet down the warm hides I have for them & that has worked well for me. If that is the tank you keep them in I think you & they would benefit from reading the link below. Babies need a place to hide, space to roam & pairs almost always result in one bulling the other which is a good possibility of a slow death. I am just passing observations off of your pic & giving you the same advise I was given when I first got mine. good luck & learn all you can

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

 

[Yvonne G]

How many days should I cleans it ? Like once a week? Or what?

If you pick out the little poops as you see them, then you don't have to change the substrate. I use mine for a whole season. Once the tortoises go outside, then I clean out the tort table and it sits idle until the next tortoise needs to use it. When it gets dry, I pour on more water and mix it all up with my hand. This keeps it fresh.