Humidifier?

[Rhyno47]

So my little sulcata Isaac's enclosure has about 3 inches of substrate, (coconut husk and sand.) The substrate is easily kept moist and therefore should keep humidity high at the bottom of the tub. But its so dry here is literally sucks the moister out of the air. On the surface of the substrate it is about 70 to 80% humidity on a good day. But above that Iwhere my tortoise breathes) is is 50 to 60%. I was thinking about an ultrasonic fogger. I could get a small one for a 10 gallon tank and set it on low. Isaac is in a 50 gallon rubbermaid so it shouldnt create the "fog" that it would in a small vivarium but instead a high humidity that is constantly beigng replenished. Does this sound ok?

If your wondering, inside the house it hovers around 40% humidity here. Outside is a different story but he is too small and temperatures fluctuate a lot around here day to day, plus we have very cold dry winters and very hot humid summers here.

 

[spring pace]

sounds like a good setup for issac for now, id add another inch or two of substrate since hes still so small , itll be good for him. when galileo my sulcata was that small and living inside i had a humidifier for him during the winter because we have the same type of weather as you do. smiles, spring & galileo

 

[Madkins007]

One thing to remember about ultrasonic humidifiers, and a lot of other 'cool mist' options, is that they will cool the air about 10 degrees F. This is not a problem as long as you are ready for it.

Some people think ultrasonic humidifier mist may contribute to respiratory issues as well. I don't know much about this aspect for Sulcata- maybe someone else can chime in on this?

 

[Yvonne G]

Maggie could tell you better, but if I'm remembering correctly, Bob was having respiratory problems one winter up in Oregon, and her vet advised her to add a humidifier to the shed. I'm not sure if Maggie set up a vaporizer or what, but adding the warm mist helped Bob get over whatever it was that was bothering him.

Yvonne

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I do use a vaporizer for Bob. But it's a warm mist not a cold one. Cold and wet is really bad while warm and wet is alright.
I use a vaporizer like what you would use for a human baby. Costs about $10 at the drug store.
I would really hesitate to use something that made a cold mist.

 

[Rhyno47]

So I'm testing this thing out. I have done some research and an ultrasound fogger does lower the temperature. But only in a sealed terrarium and only to the temp of the water. Mine is open air and I put a under tank heat pad under the container of water. It has been running for over an hour now and the temp is at 79.9 on the cool end. Also the deeper the water the less fog created. Mine is deep so it only raises the humidity to a decent level. I can see how this could easily go wrong. Granted I'm going to keep an eye on it.

A large humidifier that is at department stores sounds great for a large tort but its just to much for this little guy. Sounds great for the future though.

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One more thing. I will only turn it on for the morning hours. It should, and i stress should, create a morning dew like atmosphere; Im hoping. I might get a Time-Switch for this.