Humidity Question

[farber2028]

So this morning I woke up and it had rained over night. It was on the warmer side so the humidity was way up. We had our windows open and when I came to my tort the humidity in her enclosure was 80%. My question is I know there's plenty of ways to keep the humidity up but is there anyway to make it lower? I mean I understand the problem here is because the windows were open but if that happens can you do anything to reverse it?

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

What species of tortoise do you have? Some require high humidity, others low humidity. If your tortoise does need low humidity, there are dehumidifiers you can buy, but they are expensive. Sounds like just keeping the windows closed would be the easier and cheaper solution.

 

[farber2028]

I have a Greek and the humidity is usually 30%-50%. It just jumped up today and was curious to see if anybody had an idea to lower it.

Sent from my XT881 using TortForum mobile app

 

[pfara]

Try turning the AC on for a bit. Should lower the humidity decently quick.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I have a Greek and the humidity is usually 30%-50%. It just jumped up today and was curious to see if anybody had an idea to lower it.

Sent from my XT881 using TortForum mobile app

Is it a northern Greek (like T. graeca ibera) or a southern one (like T. graeca floweri). If it's a southern one, high humidity is not necessarily bad for them. The Greek tortoises in parts of Israel live in very humid conditions, for example. At any rate, I don't think it's necessary to buy a dehumidifier.

 

[farber2028]

Geo, from what I understand she's a Jordanian Greek. Since Jordan is close to Israel, I'm guessing the climate would be the same?


Thanks for the quick fix pfara.

 

[Tom]

Electric heat and a dryer substrate will do it. Normal house heating and A/C will do it too.

 

[GBtortoises]

I have a Greek and the humidity is usually 30%-50%. It just jumped up today and was curious to see if anybody had an idea to lower it.

Sent from my XT881 using TortForum mobile app

Is it a northern Greek (like T. graeca ibera) or a southern one (like T. graeca floweri). If it's a southern one, high humidity is not necessarily bad for them. The Greek tortoises in parts of Israel live in very humid conditions, for example. At any rate, I don't think it's necessary to buy a dehumidifier.

I agree with Geo, Greek subspecies, especially those that inhabit costal environments, or whose environment is affected by coastal conditions (air movement, etc) are very accustomed to higher humidity. This particulary true during the night time when the humidity can rise considerably from the daytime levels.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Geo, from what I understand she's a Jordanian Greek. Since Jordan is close to Israel, I'm guessing the climate would be the same?


Thanks for the quick fix pfara.

Yes, Jordan and Israel are home to populations of T. graeca floweri. In the drier parts of their range, the humidity is about 20%, but in the wetter parts, it can be 80% or higher. So, I wouldn't worry about high humidity with a Jordanian or Golden Greek. In fact, these and many other tortoise species need a moist substrate they can dig into, so they can experience a more humid microclimate on drier days if they want to.

Oh, and yes, air conditioning does dry out the air in addition to cooling it. This is why homes in the more humid parts of the US can still have relatively low humidity indoors.

 

[farber2028]

So in conclusion I guess you're saying I don't have to worry about humidity too much with Rafiki?

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This is nice to know because here in Iowa, our summers are usually very humid. I was hesitant to let her be outside too much because when it gets warm here it's usually 70-80% humidity. What I find kind of strange though is when you try to research the climate of Jordan most of what you find is hot and dry summers with cooler and wet winters if I remember right.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

So in conclusion I guess you're saying I don't have to worry about humidity too much with Rafiki?

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This is nice to know because here in Iowa, our summers are usually very humid. I was hesitant to let her be outside too much because when it gets warm here it's usually 70-80% humidity. What I find kind of strange though is when you try to research the climate of Jordan most of what you find is hot and dry summers with cooler and wet winters if I remember right.

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Yep, areas with a Mediterranean climate are also known as winter rain regions, because that's when they get their precipitation. Nevertheless, you can have an arid summer with relatively high humidity when you're close to large bodies of water. That's what it's like in the Levant (Israel and Jordan).

I think Iowa is a pretty good place for a pet southern Greek.