Humidity & Night time temp

[Love4tortoises]

Hello there again,

I have gotten my tank conditions under control (finally!) and just wanted to get some opinions/help on a couple things...

First, I am not home during the day because I work full time and wanted to see if there was something I could use to keep the tank at about 80% humidity. When I am home on the weekends, I am able to mist it with a spray bottle to keep it up, but during the week when I am working, I cant do this... Is there something I could use and put on a timer to keep the humidity up??

Second, the tank conditions during the day are great! Basking spot is 100-110 and the cool side of the tank is 80. During the night though, the tank drops to about 70 or so... I know that my goal is to keep it no lower than 80, but I am not achieving this... I do have a 100W CHE on all night long, but this doesnt seem to do it... Opinions on this would be great too!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dizisdalife]

If you haven't already done so, cover the enclosure top, or as much of the top as you can. It would help hold the humidity in and help keep the heat up. A thermostat to control the CHE should also be used.

 

[Love4tortoises]

If you haven't already done so, cover the enclosure top, or as much of the top as you can. It would help hold the humidity in and help keep the heat up. A thermostat to control the CHE should also be used.

Yes, the top of the enclosure is completely covered throughout the day and night. To keep my temps up where they should be, the CHE is on 24/7. I am pretty sure I have a solution for the heating at night time, but now just something to keep the tank humid while I'm not home to mist it.

Thank you for the response!

 

[Tom]

70 at night with humidity is courting disaster. Please fix this right away, however you need to.

For both your humidity and heat issues, you are fighting a losing battle with an open topped enclosure. Make your life easy and buy or build a closed chamber. You electrical usage will drop by three quarters or more, and your temps and humidity will be perfect all the time with little effort.

Do a search for "Reptile Island". They make good custom enclosures, at great prices and they have three locations. You'll have to see which one is closest to you.

 

[Love4tortoises]

70 at night with humidity is courting disaster. Please fix this right away, however you need to.

For both your humidity and heat issues, you are fighting a losing battle with an open topped enclosure. Make your life easy and buy or build a closed chamber. You electrical usage will drop by three quarters or more, and your temps and humidity will be perfect all the time with little effort.

Do a search for "Reptile Island". They make good custom enclosures, at great prices and they have three locations. You'll have to see which one is closest to you.

Yes, Tom, I know that 70 at night is not good, which is why I am trying to solve it ASAP. I am 99.9% sure I have figured out the night time temp dilemma so that is not a worry any longer! Thank you for the suggestion on the closed chamber and where to get them! I really appreciate it! I will definitely look into that. One last question, could night time temps be kept too high? Is it a problem if they stay in the same temp range as they do during the day?

I was hoping I would hear from you, Tom, so thanks so much.

 

[Dizisdalife]

High temps could lead to dehydration and other health problems. If you can keep the ambient temp in the enclosure at 80-85F night and day it would be okay. Just have that daytime basking spot at 100F.

Some members use foggers/misters on timers to keep the humidity up. You might look into one of these for your enclosure.

 

[Love4tortoises]

High temps could lead to dehydration and other health problems. If you can keep the ambient temp in the enclosure at 80-85F night and day it would be okay. Just have that daytime basking spot at 100F.

Some members use foggers/misters on timers to keep the humidity up. You might look into one of these for your enclosure.

Thanks so much! I do have a water bowl in the enclosure at all times so he does have access to water when he needs it. I am definitely going to work on getting the night time temps down to around 80 and keep it that way. The day time temps are great, so night time is my goal now. I really do appreciate the advice on a mister. That sounds like the perfect solution for me during the day! I will keep changing things around and working on that night time temp and keep you posted on how it's going. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

 

[Tom]

In theory, yes, night temps could be too high. As long as he's hydrated and humid, it should be okay. Tropical species do not need a drop in temperature for night time in my experience. I've been keeping sulcatas and leopards with no night drop for about 5 years now. No issue with it yet. I've started over 300 babies this way.

In my large 4x8' enclosures I uses two ceramic heating elements and run them 24/7 on a thermostat. This keeps it the correct temp, never too hot or cold, and still leaves it dark at night for them.

Reptile thermostats can be found for around $30 online or at any reptile store. Cheap, really easy to use, and they work great.

 

[Love4tortoises]

In theory, yes, night temps could be too high. As long as he's hydrated and humid, it should be okay. Tropical species do not need a drop in temperature for night time in my experience. I've been keeping sulcatas and leopards with no night drop for about 5 years now. No issue with it yet. I've started over 300 babies this way.

In my large 4x8' enclosures I uses two ceramic heating elements and run them 24/7 on a thermostat. This keeps it the correct temp, never too hot or cold, and still leaves it dark at night for them.

Reptile thermostats can be found for around $30 online or at any reptile store. Cheap, really easy to use, and they work great.

Thanks so much, Tom! I run 2 CHE's at night to keep the temp from dropping below 80 and one on during the day as well as with a 100w bulb for light. The 2 I have on at night keeps it from dropping below 80 but also keeps one side of the tank around 95-100. I want to make sure I'm raising a healthy sulcata from the start, so I want to do everything I can to make that happen! If he has access to water 24/7 then do you think having the night time temp on one side of the tank at 100 is bad? I really value your opinion and want to make everything as perfect as I can. This being my first tortoise, I want to learn what's best!

 

[Tom]

Yes, I think 100 at night is too hot and unecessary. More electric heat leads to more dryness, and it's just wasteful. Pop a thermostat in there. It just plugs into the wall and you plug your CHEs into it. This will run your CHEs as often as needed to keep the temp where you want it, but never overheat your enclosure.

 

[Love4tortoises]

Yes, I think 100 at night is too hot and unecessary. More electric heat leads to more dryness, and it's just wasteful. Pop a thermostat in there. It just plugs into the wall and you plug your CHEs into it. This will run your CHEs as often as needed to keep the temp where you want it, but never overheat your enclosure.

Thanks so much! I will invest in one of those today! thermostat and a mister should be just what I need .

Thanks!!

 

[Love4tortoises]

Hello Tom & Joe,

I wanted to let you both know that I have gotten the day and night time temps under control. Hot spot during the day is around 105 and the cool side is about 85-87. At night I have managed to get both sides of the tank to hold at 80 degrees all night long! My dad brought home some insulation so I surrounded the back and sides of the tank with it as well at covered the top with tin foil and that did the job! Thank you both so much for the advice. I dont know what I would be doing without this forum!!

I attached a picture of the set up so you both can see it

Thank you, thank you!

 

[Dizisdalife]

Hey that's great. A much better job than I could have done. When you see new growth come in smooth it will seem worth the effort.