humid hide box

[Bronson]

Hey everyone,

Before joining this excellent and endlessly useful forum I only knew what I could find on google and everything I found said offering a humid box to a leopard tortoise was a bad idea. The reasons included everything from jump starting shell rot to creating respritory issues. After doing a little reading on the tortoise forum I learned this is ridiculous. So I finally went out and bought a little plastic container, cut a hole just big enough for my leo to enter and exit, and stuffed it with damp coconut coir. I took the temp and its about 95 degrees in there. Is this to hot? Will my leo leave if it gets too warm? Also my leo seems to be spending alot of time in there is this okay?

Any suggestions/ advice would be fantastic!
Thanks everyone.

Bronson

 

[Kristina]

My humid hides are all around 95*. My babies spend a lot of time in there too.

How old is your little Leo? Is he eating/pooping/eyes wide open?

If so, I wouldn't overly worry. Babies sleep and hide a lot.

 

[Bronson]

Your leo spends alot of time in his humid hide? And I'm not sure, I was told she was two at the time of purchase which was about a year ago so I can assume she's 3 with no way to be sure. Also she eats very hardy and poops just the same. Her eyes are always wide and look quite clear. I was just worried to much moisture might cause a problem. I won't worry about unless I start to see a problem which I assure you will be posted immediatly!

Thanks again,
Bronson

 

[Tom]

Sounds great to me. I don't usually have my humid hides that warm, but I don't see how it could hurt anything. At three years old it won't be as beneficial as it would be to a hatchling, but it won't hurt anything either.

I have taken sulcatas, both sub-species of leopards, and CA DTs to extreme levels of wetness, soaking, spraying and humidity, I'm talking SWAMPY, and have seen ZERO problems from it. I'm talking about nearly 50 individuals of those "desert" species. The key, I think, is don't let them drop below 80 degrees at anytime and provide a basking spot of around 100 or more. Nobody needs to go to those extremes, but I wanted to see what would happen. What happened was very healthy, very smooth babies that grew faster than average on a moderate amount of food. There is not, and has not ever been any hint of a problem after three years of doing it.

For a three year old leopard, you should be able to keep him happy and hydrated without going to such extremes. A humid hide box, some damp substrate, and a nice shallow water bowl should do ya' just fine.

... oh yeah, and don't forget the sunshine. As much as the weather will allow.

 

[Bronson]

Alright that makes me feel better! Now when you say damp substrate do you mean in the humid hide? or should I dampen all of the substrate in the enclosure?

Thanks alot!
Bronson

 

[Kristina]

He means all of the substrate in the enclosure. What kind of substrate do you use?

Typically you want your substrate moist, but not sloppy wet. It should be wet enough that it feels damp but dry enough that you cannot squeeze any water out with your fist.

 

[Tom]

Yep. Kristina's got it right. I've done it sopping wet with no problems, but this should not be necessary in almost any case. Slightly damp as Kristina explained should give a nice little boost to the general humidity in the enclosure. Next you'll just have to determine how much water and how often you'll have to dump in to maintain your chosen level of dampness over time. I tend to keep it a little wetter in my humid hide boxes, but to each his own.

 

[Bronson]

I use coco coir. I just sprayed it down. Now should the substrate in the humid box be the same or should IT be sopping wet? I never noticed any tortoise smell before I started spraying but I think I can take a little discomfort if that makes for a healthier happier tortoise!

Also do you have much knowledge on pyrimiding? I have some pictures posted under leopard tortoise in the picture and video section which was posted pretty recently. I was just wondering how bad it is for a 3 year old leo? Also what sex does it look like to you? Your opinion would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Leopard-Tortoise--24949#axzz1HMTZORcO

Bronson

 

[Tom]

I don't think anything NEEDS to be sopping wet. I'm just saying that I've tried it and nothing bad happens. Most of the time a more moderate approach is all that will be necessary. By three years old you have already passed the "critical" point, so it matters even less for you. Its not critical for you and your situation. Just a little damp should work fine. The most important factor is do NOT let your tort catch a chill with all that humidity. If you have a power failure in the middle of winter on a cold night, it could be a problem. I try to keep it at 80 all the time. I another year or two, you'll be able to let things dry up a bit in the indoor enclosure if you want. Once they reach a certain size, the dry air and cooler night temps are fine.

Yes, I know a thing or two about pyramiding. Your tortoise is a little bit pyramided, but far less than most leopards. I appears someone did a pretty good job raising him/her. I guessed male on your other thread, but it is still too early to tell for sure.

 

[Bronson]

Thank you very much for all your advice and opinions. You can rest assured it will definatly be used in how I raise my tortoise!

Thanks ,
Bronson

 

[Tom]

Awwww shucks. You're welcome. Just keep us posted on how it all goes, and no one will complain if you regularly post updated pics so we can watch him grow and prosper. His weight still concerns me. I'd love see updates on that too.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I don't think anything NEEDS to be sopping wet. I'm just saying that I've tried it and nothing bad happens. Most of the time a more moderate approach is all that will be necessary. By three years old you have already passed the "critical" point, so it matters even less for you. Its not critical for you and your situation. Just a little damp should work fine. The most important factor is do NOT let your tort catch a chill with all that humidity. If you have a power failure in the middle of winter on a cold night, it could be a problem. I try to keep it at 80 all the time. I another year or two, you'll be able to let things dry up a bit in the indoor enclosure if you want. Once they reach a certain size, the dry air and cooler night temps are fine.

Yes, I know a thing or two about pyramiding. Your tortoise is a little bit pyramided, but far less than most leopards. I appears someone did a pretty good job raising him/her. I guessed male on your other thread, but it is still too early to tell for sure.

Does he know anything about pyramiding?????hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
no, not much hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

[Bronson]

Lol. Yes yes I've recently come to learn that Tom knows more about pyrimiding than the eqyptians!

But I'm new! Cut me some slack! Lol

 

[Bronson]

Day 2 of the humid hide seemed normal until I decided to feed my leo. Upon exiting the hide to come out to eat my leo was blowing bubbles out of it's nose quite frequently. I have watched my tortoise for many hours over the past year and I have never seen this before. I'm a little worried and can't help but think there is a connection betweed the humidity and the bubbles. Should I let the hide dry out? Should I remove it all together? I'm just not sure what to do.

Thanks fellow leopard owners,
Bronson

 

[Tom]

Well you've been making lots of changes lately. It could be from any number of things or any combination of things. To be safe remove the humid hide or put dry stuff in there and make sure all of your temps are up where they should be all over the enclosure. Warm things up about 10-15 degrees more than normal and that should knock it out.

The only time I've ever seen this happen is when they are humid/damp AND cold all at the same time. Are you using night heat? What are you using to check temps?

 

[Bronson]

Thanks for responding so quickly as usual Tom. I removed the humid hide. I'm going to monitor my tortoise and if the bubbles do stop I will replace the damp substrate in the humid hide with dry and place it back in the enclosure. At night I do have a heat source for the hide but it just started getting hot out so we just started using our AC. I think you're right I think it got to cool in the hide during the night. I did check the temp of the hide in the morning and it was 83ish which doesn't sound real low. But I think if i'm going to keep using a humid hide I will have to obtain a more substanial heat source. Sorry to bother you so much Tom. You're just TOO knowledgable.

Bronson