Humidity

[benterence]

What would be the ideal humidity levels for a 4/5 year old Horsfields? My table varies between 50 and 65%, is this okay??? He also gets outside time when the weather allows. Basking temp is 34 cool end 26 and areas between a steady gradient between the two. He has rocks under his basking lamp that he loves stretching out on. His hide is a few degrees cooler and sometimes he opts to sleep in there and sometimes not. Night temps are 21/22 he seems to regulate his temp himself just wanted everyone's opinion???

Thanks

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Good question.

Truth is I have no idea. My 4 Russians all live outside full time here in Southern California. They are all about 5", WC and have a pen large enough to offer them micro climates. I have no clue what they would need for humidity if housed indoors.

Hold tight and someone who keeps them inside may have an answer for you soon.

BTW, where in the World are you?

 

[benterence]

The uk, the weather here at the moment is horrendous, cloudy and stormy then patches of sun, he goes out whenever I can allow but it's not even hitting 16 degrees in the last week or so :-( so much for summer!!! And thanks for the reply

 

[WillTort2]

When my Russians are inside I try to keep the humidity around 60%. If it's above 65% I don't dump their water bowls into the substrate. It it's below 55% I add extra water and stir up part of the substrate.

In winter with the heat running I'll even hand up a wet bath towel in their room to increase the humidity.

Bear in mind, I'm in a coastal area of VA therefore the average humidity here is higher than most areas.

Good luck.

 

[benterence]

On days when it's sunny he's outside, a few weeks back we had a about 7 days of glorious sunshine and he was outside between 8 and ten hours a day, i just brought him in at night as I was worried about cats/foxes etc. as the weather is so bad at the moment I just wanted to make sure that inside was as close to perfect as possible! My hydrometer is one of the exo terra dial versions (would love to know people's opinions on the reliability) he seems happy enough, pooing and eating well and pretty active. He has a repti glo 10.0, a 100w basking spot lamp at one end and a 40w basking lamp half way down. (His indoor enclosure is 5ftx3ft) plus completely enclosed hide area. I use coco coir as a substrate and he has a couple of other hides in the form of half logs. I have read that Russians need a drier habitat so have been reluctant to add sphagnum miss to his hide. I only got terry when he was four and had already started to pyramid slightly as he was fed on fruit and commercial salad, and Komodo tortoise food. He's now on a variety of weeds and gets nutrebol twice a week and calci dust 3 times a week. Apologies in advance for the long post but after reading other replies to posts I'm aware that the more detail the better hehe

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When my Russians are inside I try to keep the humidity around 60%. If it's above 65% I don't dump their water bowls into the substrate. It it's below 55% I add extra water and stir up part of the substrate.

In winter with the heat running I'll even hand up a wet bath towel in their room to increase the humidity.

Bear in mind, I'm in a coastal area of VA therefore the average humidity here is higher than most areas.

Good luck.

Thank you, though western VA means little to me as I'm in the uk... So 60-65% is the ideal??

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Since you asked...
Dial hydrometers are awful and very unreliable! Get a digital one. I spent only $9 on mine. It does temperature, humidity and records the highs and lows over a 24hr period.

Heather
Sent from my Android TFO app

 

[benterence]

Ohhhh, okay will do! Guess its pointless worrying over the results unless I'm sure the readings are correct, what make is yours???

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

What would be the ideal humidity levels for a 4/5 year old Horsfields? My table varies between 50 and 65%, is this okay??? He also gets outside time when the weather allows. Basking temp is 34 cool end 26 and areas between a steady gradient between the two. He has rocks under his basking lamp that he loves stretching out on. His hide is a few degrees cooler and sometimes he opts to sleep in there and sometimes not. Night temps are 21/22 he seems to regulate his temp himself just wanted everyone's opinion???

Thanks

Humidity in that range is fine for Russians, and they can go lower, too. Just give them a moist substrate to burrow into for when they want to experience a more humid microclimate.