priscilla gray
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I didnt realise i needed bedding??? I got a herman today! I want to look after him as best i can.. as much help an advice would be appreciated!!
humidity
- Thread starter Demi J
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your tort needs humidity and he needs to be able to dig in moist substate. have you read the care sheet i posted on the thread you made?
priscilla gray
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Yes.. im passing it to my husband to read through aswel ☺ all so new its actually like having another baby in the house
I would suggest putting more bedding in there if you have any left, as they do like to dig. Looks like the substrate is pretty shallow and will dry out easily.
Demi J
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Okay! So I bought a new tank its a 30x12x12! Is it big enough? The temperature is at 90 and the humidity is at 15. Is that okay? Should I still cover sides and bottom with cardboard? How deep should I put the bedding? Thank you everyone for your help. I appreciate it very much now I just need to work over time during spring break.
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The humidity is too low. It should be somewhere near 80%. Where do you have the probe for the humidity?
Demi J
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What do I need to make the humidity to go up?
Mavrik
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Good of you to be asking for help instead of just going it alone and finding out the hard way.
The tank you just bought, I believe is a 20gal long tank if I am remembering my measurements correctly. That will do for maybe a few months before your tort outgrows it and needs even more space. Your sulcata is going to outgrow any enclosure that you can buy pre-built VERY quickly. I have my Sulcata, who is roughly 2 yrs old and 8in shell length, in a 4' by 4' wooden tortoise table with a warm side with a basking spot and a hideaway and a cool side with a hideaway.
The ambient humidity for my guy sits at about 60% -- your guy being smaller, should have an even higher humidity than that. To raise the humidity, you have a few options. You can buy yourself a nice spray bottle and mist the enclosure a few times a day, you could invest in a humdifier that takes the physical work out of misting, and/or you could try to cover part of the enclosure with plexi or something of that nature (I use Saran Wrap actually) that will help keep the humidity in. Whatever your choice, make sure to invest in a good humidity gauge to monitor the humidity so you know whether you need more or less humidity in the enclosure.
The tank you just bought, I believe is a 20gal long tank if I am remembering my measurements correctly. That will do for maybe a few months before your tort outgrows it and needs even more space. Your sulcata is going to outgrow any enclosure that you can buy pre-built VERY quickly. I have my Sulcata, who is roughly 2 yrs old and 8in shell length, in a 4' by 4' wooden tortoise table with a warm side with a basking spot and a hideaway and a cool side with a hideaway.
The ambient humidity for my guy sits at about 60% -- your guy being smaller, should have an even higher humidity than that. To raise the humidity, you have a few options. You can buy yourself a nice spray bottle and mist the enclosure a few times a day, you could invest in a humdifier that takes the physical work out of misting, and/or you could try to cover part of the enclosure with plexi or something of that nature (I use Saran Wrap actually) that will help keep the humidity in. Whatever your choice, make sure to invest in a good humidity gauge to monitor the humidity so you know whether you need more or less humidity in the enclosure.
Demi J
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Okay so kinda of a silly question where would I put the suran wrap and he keeps getting into the water bowl and the coco fiber is in his shell and eyes is that okay? What should I do? How deep should I put his bedding?
As a tortoise owner, I will tell you right now that keeping your water dish clean is a futile attempt. No matter what bedding, they will find a way to drag it into their water. Every time I change my tortoises water, she walks right in 5 seconds later to dirty it up again.
The great thing about coco coir is that it can be ingested with no issues. So even if some were in the water dish, and he drank it, it's no problem. I highly doubt your little guy is bothered by being dirty, so I don't think the fiber on his face or inside his shell will be an issue.
As for the depth in substrate, I don't know about sulcatas. The tortoise species I have doesn't really dig, they actually steal other animals burrows in the wild instead...but I have about 5 inches of substrate.
The great thing about coco coir is that it can be ingested with no issues. So even if some were in the water dish, and he drank it, it's no problem. I highly doubt your little guy is bothered by being dirty, so I don't think the fiber on his face or inside his shell will be an issue.
As for the depth in substrate, I don't know about sulcatas. The tortoise species I have doesn't really dig, they actually steal other animals burrows in the wild instead...but I have about 5 inches of substrate.
Demi. Please read the care sheet. It tells you everything you need to do and exactly how to do it. It tells you what substrate to use and how much, what size enclosure to use, how to set up the heating and lighting, all about humid hide boxes, etc...
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
You can put large pebbles, too big for the tortoise to get into his mouth, or pieces of slate around the water bowl and then he will be wiping his feet off before he gets into it. This will help keep it cleaner. Make sure the substrate is damp, he will get it on him but that's not a big deal. If it gets dry and dusty it will irritate his eyes. Just put the saran wrap or tinfoil or whatever you were using over the top opening of the tank but not directly under the UVB or heat light.
Demi J
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Awesome I'm not going to keep dusting him off then. How do you keep the substrate moist because the top is drying out? The night emitter I have is 60 watts is it going to provide enough during the night?
You can pour water into the substrate and stir it around with your hands. Or you can missed the top layer if you want to. You can put your CHE on a thermostat and set it to the temperature you want. Do you have a temperature gun or humidity gauge? I recommend you get them. These are the ones that I use, there are many different examples of good ones.
Demi J
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Another questions instead of using a screen can I use wood to place over the tank?
yes you can, this is how my tank was done when I had my boxies as hatchlings. I completely covered it with aluminum foil so the wood never got hot. They did great in it. I however do not like the tanks anymore and now that's for my kids geckos.
OOhh, lovely, what type of gecko is that? Lovely from what I can see.
I have Moorish gecko's wild in my upstairs storeroom and they come into my bedroom in the spring and summer through the windows. And most welcome they are.
Sorry Demi J for my going a little off topic, but you're obviously caring, concerned and willing to learn. You're asking all the right questions and getting loadsa good answers and please don't think your question's are silly, we're all still learning and by reading and asking questions and listening to advice we all get better at caring for our reptiles.
Wood is fine, lots of people seem to use it and don't forget to soak your tortoise a coupla times a week, this also helps keep your tort from drying out and my Tidgy loves it.
Wood is fine, lots of people seem to use it and don't forget to soak your tortoise a coupla times a week, this also helps keep your tort from drying out and my Tidgy loves it.
