Humidity help !

[Kristina.d]

Hi! I have a new red footed tortoise that hatched maybe 2-3 months ago, it was held for me to give to my son as a gift. I did a lot of research and I thought I had a good set up for him but I can’t seem to keep the humidity where it needs to be. I am using a tortoise table with a mesh top on part of it and a solid top for his night time hide, I used the coconut fiber substrate for the bottom and also have moss in some areas. I’m saturating the moss and misting the substrate but the humidity doesn’t stay in the 70s very long. I’m at work and I have a wifi camera on his table
And the ambient temp is 82 and humidity is at 55%. When I left I had it up to 74% but it fell quickly. I’ve read that in these open top tables it’s not suitable to use a mister but I’m not sure what else I can do. I was thinking to just have the mister set up to wet an area with moss but now I’m not sure. I was thinking I could cover half of The wire top with a plexiglass panel maybe ? I have him inside the house but I could also move his table to an enclosed patio which may help with the humidity. I’m not really sure how to get things right for him. Any suggestions ?

 

[quatre5]

while mine lived in one of those boxes as a hatchling i found it was quite easy to get a clear shower curtain and double sided tape and seal off the entire mesh part of the lid. The uvb strip easily can sit inbetween the mesh and plastic and cut out a whole just large enough to fit majority, but not the whole, heat lamp and seal it down to the lamp with the tape as well. The plastic significantly helps hold heat and moisture in. I did a fogger for the longest time until i found MRREPTILE mister system on amazon. Set that up with zoomeds control unit makes a pretty maintenance free set up. Also keep in mind, if temp goes up the humidity will go down and vice versa. I have home made set ups now both fully covered in plastic sheets and humidity goes down to 55-60 daytime and back to 80s at night and the misters only go for about 5 minutes a day in the morning.

 

[Tom]

Hi! I have a new red footed tortoise that hatched maybe 2-3 months ago, it was held for me to give to my son as a gift. I did a lot of research and I thought I had a good set up for him but I can’t seem to keep the humidity where it needs to be. I am using a tortoise table with a mesh top on part of it and a solid top for his night time hide, I used the coconut fiber substrate for the bottom and also have moss in some areas. I’m saturating the moss and misting the substrate but the humidity doesn’t stay in the 70s very long. I’m at work and I have a wifi camera on his table
And the ambient temp is 82 and humidity is at 55%. When I left I had it up to 74% but it fell quickly. I’ve read that in these open top tables it’s not suitable to use a mister but I’m not sure what else I can do. I was thinking to just have the mister set up to wet an area with moss but now I’m not sure. I was thinking I could cover half of The wire top with a plexiglass panel maybe ? I have him inside the house but I could also move his table to an enclosed patio which may help with the humidity. I’m not really sure how to get things right for him. Any suggestions ?

Hello and welcome. First, remove the moss ASAP. It will likely be eaten and it is an impaction risk. It does not raise the humidity anymore than anything else being wet in the enclosure, like the substrate.

As you are seeing first hand, open topped enclosure cannot work. You need a large closed chamber with all the heating and lighting inside. Covering the top might help a little, but having the lights outside makes a chimney effect that draws all the heat and humidity up and out. I prefer to use large enclosure made of expanded PVC material as it works well as an insulator and its it impervious to moisture and wetness. Another option that will work at least quickly for you is to put the entire enclosure inside a large portable greenhouse to contain your humidity.

Be very careful with wetness and a RF. Your enclosure looks way too wet in the picture. Constant wet conditions, like from a mister, will cause shell rot/fungus in this species. They need their substrate to be relatively dry on top most of the time. 3-4 inches of fine grade orchid bark works best for this. It can be damp in the lower layers to keep humidity up, but relatively dry on top where the tortoise is walking. Adding more water to an open topped enclosure will not work. Containing the humidity in a closed chamber is the only thing that will work.

Having another safe enclosure outside is okay to use once in a while for a short time for a baby, but babies do not do as well when kept outside too much. They do much better inside in stable controlled humid warm conditions.

Someone sold you the wrong type of enclosure and likely the wrong bulb too. Bad advice for tortoises is everywhere out in the world. Here is a thread to help you sort through all of that:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Totally agree with Tom.

You have the right idea to cover mesh. The easiest thing you can do - is to use aluminium foil for cover, leaving no gaps around lamp fixtures. If you have large tall plastic storage boxes - they can work as well.

Please, watch temperatures closely after installing a cover.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I agree with everything I read. But that enclosure will quickly start rotting and will fall apart quickly if you attempt to adapt it for a RF.
WOOD is not a good material for a closed chamber enclosure

 

[Kristina.d]

Totally agree with Tom.

You have the right idea to cover mesh. The easiest thing you can do - is to use aluminium foil for cover, leaving no gaps around lamp fixtures. If you have large tall plastic storage boxes - they can work as well.

Please, watch temperatures closely after installing a cover.

I thought I did enough research before I got him but I guess not. I see a ton of threads about this now but I don’t really see easy solutions for a proper enclosure.. is there something ready to use that I can order? I’m not really able to build and modify stuff and I want something that looks presentable and is a nice space for him too. I live in south Florida so earlier when I suggested putting him on an enclosed patio it was my thought that it would help with the humidity

Totally agree with Tom.

You have the right idea to cover mesh. The easiest thing you can do - is to use aluminium foil for cover, leaving no gaps around lamp fixtures. If you have large tall plastic storage boxes - they can work as well.

Please, watch temperatures closely after installing a cover.

Totally agree with Tom.

You have the right idea to cover mesh. The easiest thing you can do - is to use aluminium foil for cover, leaving no gaps around lamp fixtures. If you have large tall plastic storage boxes - they can work as well.

Please, watch temperatures closely after installing a cover.

Totally agree with Tom.

You have the right idea to cover mesh. The easiest thing you can do - is to use aluminium foil for cover, leaving no gaps around lamp fixtures. If you have large tall plastic storage boxes - they can work as well.

Please, watch temperatures closely after installing a cover.

are there any ready to use enclosures that would be suitable for him and la

Totally agree with Tom.

You have the right idea to cover mesh. The easiest thing you can do - is to use aluminium foil for cover, leaving no gaps around lamp fixtures. If you have large tall plastic storage boxes - they can work as well.

Please, watch temperatures closely after installing a cover.

Totally agree with Tom.

You have the right idea to cover mesh. The easiest thing you can do - is to use aluminium foil for cover, leaving no gaps around lamp fixtures. If you have large tall plastic storage boxes - they can work as well.

Please, watch temperatures closely after installing a cover.

Are there any ready to use enclosures I can buy that would be good for him? I don’t want to have to retrofit plastic tubs .. I’m willing to spend whatever I have to to make sure he has a proper home. I see this topic a ton in this forum but I don’t really see an easy solution that doesn’t involve having to make your own enclosure.

 

[Kristina.d]

I thought I did enough research before I got him but I guess not. I see a ton of threads about this now but I don’t really see easy solutions for a proper enclosure.. is there something ready to use that I can order? I’m not really able to build and modify stuff and I want something that looks presentable and is a nice space for him too. I live in south Florida so earlier when I suggested putting him on an enclosed patio it was my thought that it would help with the humidity




are there any ready to use enclosures that would be suitable for him and la


Are there any ready to use enclosures I can buy that would be good for him? I don’t want to have to retrofit plastic tubs .. I’m willing to spend whatever I have to to make sure he has a proper home. I see this topic a ton in this forum but I don’t really see an easy solution that doesn’t involve having to make your own enclosure.

This website keeps popping up adds and making it impossible to reply I’m sorry for the incomplete messages

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

This website keeps popping up adds and making it impossible to reply I’m sorry for the incomplete messages

No worries.

The best enclosures so far are Smart Enclosures by one of the well-known forum members - markw84 (here is the link to his FB page: https://m.facebook.com/SmartTortoiseKeeper).

Then goes Animal Plastics (https://apcages.com/) - they have large order queue, but sometimes have overproduction enclosures ready to ship and with a discount. And Kages (https://reptilekages.com/) - I haven't seen reviews on these ones.

However, when your tortoise grow up a bit it's better to move it outdoors. South Florida climate is almost perfect for them (you will still need to provide a heated night shelter, though, and a simple indoors "motel" box for extreme cold weather).

 

[Tom]

Are there any ready to use enclosures I can buy that would be good for him?

@Markw84 makes "Smart Enclosures" that are the most perfect baby tortoise life support system ever. I've bought two so far for myself, and I've helped friends set up a bunch of them. The cost includes all of the heating and lighting already installed, and its cheaper than if you went and bought all the stuff separately and built it yourself.

The base model is 4x3 feet and will last a couple of years for a hatchling. When the tortoise gets too big, you can buy the expansion pack and make it a 8x3 foot enclosure, which will then last long enough until it is time to move him outside full time with a heated night box.

This is a closed chamber and it makes heat and humidity maintenance easy. You really don't have to do anything once you set your thermostat and timers, and your baby lives in a perfect environment.

You can message Mark here on the forum, and I think he is on FB too if you do a search for "Smart Enclosures".

 

[Kristina.d]

No worries.

The best enclosures so far are Smart Enclosures by one of the well-known forum members - markw84 (here is the link to his FB page: https://m.facebook.com/SmartTortoiseKeeper).

Then goes Animal Plastics (https://apcages.com/) - they have large order queue, but sometimes have overproduction enclosures ready to ship and with a discount. And Kages (https://reptilekages.com/) - I haven't seen reviews on these ones.

However, when your tortoise grow up a bit it's better to move it outdoors. South Florida climate is almost perfect for them (you will still need to provide a heated night shelter, though, and a simple indoors "motel" box for extreme cold weather).

I ordered a 4x2x2 pvc enclosure from zen habitats. They ship same day and are rated well from what I have read and seen on YouTube. When he’s bigger I can add on to it and I live in a condo now but hopefully in the next 5 years I have a house with a backyard so I can build him something 😁