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Have a question, how do you maintain humidity levels on an open tortoise table?
Humidity levels ina tortoise table
- Thread starter Watsonpartyof4
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The only way to really be able to do this is to cover 1/2 to 3/4 of the table. I have a tote box for my tort. I placed the lid on it and cut holes where the lights and heat sources went. I then lined the holes with tin foil so the heat wouldn't melt the plastic. You can also use wood or plexiglass to make a cover. I also use coconut coir and a small humidifier.
You can't. This is why I don't recommend tortoise tables for an animal that needs humidity. Closed chambers are a much better way to go for this, and because your heat and humidity doesn't just rise up and into the room, you also end up using a fraction of the electricity with a closed chamber. There is a thread on this in the links in my signature.
Hold your hand above a light fixture when it is on. A tremendous percentage of the heat you are trying to generate to warm your tortoise, just goes up and into the room. This means that to get enough heat down onto the tortoise, you have to use bigger bulbs to compensate for the loss. These bigger bulbs will then have a drying desiccating effect, which you have to try to over come with more water. More water causes more evaporation which cools things which leads to even more heat being needed, which causes even more evaporation... You get the idea. In a closed chamber ALL of the heat is contained where you want it. As the heat evaporates moisture, giving you the humidity that is so desirable in most tortoise situations, it all stays righ there in the enclosure where you want it. I have a 4x8' closed chamber. I use two 60 watt CHEs on a thermostat to maintain ambient. These are almost never on. I use a 65 watt basking light and it heats up the entire enclosure all by itself. I also use a 4' fluorescent strip light, and what little heat that generates also stays inside the enclosure and gives me that "tropical" feel that is so good for tropical tortoises.
Hold your hand above a light fixture when it is on. A tremendous percentage of the heat you are trying to generate to warm your tortoise, just goes up and into the room. This means that to get enough heat down onto the tortoise, you have to use bigger bulbs to compensate for the loss. These bigger bulbs will then have a drying desiccating effect, which you have to try to over come with more water. More water causes more evaporation which cools things which leads to even more heat being needed, which causes even more evaporation... You get the idea. In a closed chamber ALL of the heat is contained where you want it. As the heat evaporates moisture, giving you the humidity that is so desirable in most tortoise situations, it all stays righ there in the enclosure where you want it. I have a 4x8' closed chamber. I use two 60 watt CHEs on a thermostat to maintain ambient. These are almost never on. I use a 65 watt basking light and it heats up the entire enclosure all by itself. I also use a 4' fluorescent strip light, and what little heat that generates also stays inside the enclosure and gives me that "tropical" feel that is so good for tropical tortoises.
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