My tortoise's table is very dry and dust. How can I make it more humid for her? I don't use sand, only sterilized top soil.
Thanks,
Mia.
Thanks,
Mia.
Humidity!!!
- Thread starter Mia&Felicity
- Start date
Firstly, tables are near impossible to keep humid. The open top means that the moisture evaporates. To raise humidity, you need a closed chamber - an enclosure with a lid.
Then you take all the decor out of the enclosure and get a jug of water. Tip water in to the substrate and mix with your hands. Repeat until all of it is evenly damp right into the corners and right down to the bottom.
Spraying with water from a plant spray bottle will help to slow the rate at which the substrate dries out, but you will need to repeat the exercise with a jug of water every so often.
Personally, I don’t like topsoil as a substrate as it tends to go muddy and/or compact hard when damp. I prefer fine grade orchid bark or coco coir which both hold moisture well without getting muddy. Never choose a substrate that contains moisture retention granules, perlite, fertilisers, sand or any other additive.
Then you take all the decor out of the enclosure and get a jug of water. Tip water in to the substrate and mix with your hands. Repeat until all of it is evenly damp right into the corners and right down to the bottom.
Spraying with water from a plant spray bottle will help to slow the rate at which the substrate dries out, but you will need to repeat the exercise with a jug of water every so often.
Personally, I don’t like topsoil as a substrate as it tends to go muddy and/or compact hard when damp. I prefer fine grade orchid bark or coco coir which both hold moisture well without getting muddy. Never choose a substrate that contains moisture retention granules, perlite, fertilisers, sand or any other additive.
Ok, thanks. [emoji3]
You have a tortoise that is no longer a baby judging by your profile picture. Very high humidity isn’t essential for a tortoise that size.
An open table with damp substrate (use the method I detailed earlier) should be fine.
An open table with damp substrate (use the method I detailed earlier) should be fine.
What size hermanns tortoise are we talking about?
Dampening the substrate and using a different substrate is the answer.
Dampening the substrate and using a different substrate is the answer.
Dirt that has been allowed to go completely dry, then walked on over and over by little tortoise feet turns hydrophobic, that is, it repels water. It's pretty hard to get it to accept water again once it gets that way. If you don't want to dump it all out and start over, you'll need to add water then get your hands in there and mix it up, squeezing the dirt until it accepts the water. There are chemicals you can use, even a couple drops of dish soap, however, I wouldn't go that route with a tortoise being in contact with it constantly. Once you have the soil accepting the water and it's moist all over, you keep spritzing water over it as it dries out.
You can avoid all this by changing your substrate to one of the barks/mulches that we use. I prefer orchid bark, but I have used and liked cypress mulch.
You can avoid all this by changing your substrate to one of the barks/mulches that we use. I prefer orchid bark, but I have used and liked cypress mulch.
She was the smallest one in the brood. She is 2 1/2 years old, and weighs 153.7 grams. See also can fit in the palm on my hand but I am a child so that's not much help. I reacon that she is 10cm from head to tail.
I am about to change her substrate anyway because I am building an extension on her current table.
Thanks for the advice!
What age is no longer a hatchling because she is 2 1/2 years old?
Thanks so much for the help!
There is no exact scientific definition of these terms. Here is my general way of defining their age groups:
Hatchling = Recently hatched, still has an egg tooth. Egg tooth usually disappears by around 6 weeks.
Baby = 6 weeks to one year.
Yearling = One year to a day shy of two years.
Juvenile = Two years and until they reach subadult size.
Subadult = Technically large enough to reproduce, but not quite full adult size. An example could be a 16" male sulcata.
Adult = When they've reach "normal" adult size for their sex and species.
In some cases, if a yearling grows fast, I might call them a juvenile before their second birthday, but this depends on their size. I'm mostly referring to sulcatas and SA leopards in this case.
At 4" and 2.5 years old, I would call yours a juvenile.
Awesome. Thanks! [emoji16]
