Humidity Inquiry

[Taco & Tortilla]

Hello,

Little bit of background, I am an industrial refrigeration mechanic so air quality is my business at all points of my day. You can imagine the lengths I have gone to set up a the proper air quality for my Red Foot and Marginated hatchlings.

My question is, to what extend should I be holding the required humidity in the basking spot specifically? I have two Exo-Terra Combo meters for each enclosure, on on the hot side under the basking light and the other inside the cold side hide as that is where they will spend most of their time if the choose to venture to that side of the enclosure.

Should I be striving for 80% (Red Foot) and 60-70% (Marginated) even under the basking area or maybe move that combo meter to a more central spot in the enclosure and invest in a temperature only sensor for the basking area?

Sorry if its a little confusing, I can clarify if needed.

Ryan.

 

[Yvonne G]

I have never been that detailed with my tortoise-keeping, so you have to wait for others to chime in. I just wanted to let you know that your post hasn't fallen on deaf ears. I don't have humidity gauges or thermometers. Most of my tortoises live outside - the RFs in a rain forest type environment, the Russians in an open, grassland type environment, etc. And whatever weather shines down on them, that's what they get, regardless of humidity and heat.

My indoor enclosures are a different story. The leopard hatchlings live in a closed chamber with 80F degrees all over the whole enclosure and so much moisture/humidity inside that the glass doors are always speckled with moisture. The same goes for the desert tortoise hatchlings.

So, my advice would be to don't worry about a temperature gradient for baby tortoises. Give them 80-85F all over the whole enclosure with a moistened substrate and an enclosed enclosure.

You can find our care sheets pinned towards the tops of our species specific areas here on the Forum.

 

[Markw84]

Hello,

Little bit of background, I am an industrial refrigeration mechanic so air quality is my business at all points of my day. You can imagine the lengths I have gone to set up a the proper air quality for my Red Foot and Marginated hatchlings.

My question is, to what extend should I be holding the required humidity in the basking spot specifically? I have two Exo-Terra Combo meters for each enclosure, on on the hot side under the basking light and the other inside the cold side hide as that is where they will spend most of their time if the choose to venture to that side of the enclosure.

Should I be striving for 80% (Red Foot) and 60-70% (Marginated) even under the basking area or maybe move that combo meter to a more central spot in the enclosure and invest in a temperature only sensor for the basking area?

Sorry if its a little confusing, I can clarify if needed.

Ryan.

The humidity directly under the basking light will always be lower. As you know, we are talking relative humidity. So when you achieve perhaps 90% humidity on the cooler side of the enclosure, under the light it may well read 60%. I do shoot for a median point in my enclosures for my humidity reading. I like to see it close to 90%. The nice thing is that even a very slight temperature gradient will then allow condensation to form on the shell of the tortoise when it has moved from a "cooler" area to a warmer area. At 85%-90% humidity, just 2° temp difference can reach the dew point. I normally see several of my young tortoises will their shells wet when I take them out for their daily soak.

I believe all tortoise species benefit from high humidity their first 2 years of growth as their shells ossify.