keeping humidity up in outdoor enclosures?

[theelectraco]

Starting making the plans on my.Redfoots outdoor enclosure I will be building this spring, and I was wondering what everyone does to keep the humidity up? The only thing I could think of was adding coco coir over the soil and keeping the grass hosed down. Maybe a misting system?..

 

[wellington]

Plain grass/weeds, etc and run a sprinkler a couple times a day. IDK, that's what I would do.

 

[theelectraco]

I am going to plant new grass(seed) in the area im using soon so I can get a root system going and some decent grass coverage. Currentoy there is just mulch and dirt which im going to take out.

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Also, i know i saw somewhere where there is a seed mix of diff tortoise weeds i can grow? Anyone know what it was called?

 

[Momof4]

I put in a misting system that goes off 4x a day. Lots of plants.

 

[theelectraco]

I have no sprinkler system so Im guessing a misting system woukdnt work but I wouldnt mind manually doing it anyways.

 

[N2TORTS]

Here is an outdoor RF setup , if you notice on the 4x4 post there is a black mist line. This helps keep the humidity up without saturating the surrounding area ( I do that manually ) and conserves on water by using only an ultra fine mist.

Here is a good link for tortoise type plants , identification , and such ….
http://www.anapsid.org/mainplants.html

Another thing I do and the torts love it …… is just buy wild bird seed “sprinkle , keep wet and let sprout ….” you will find the torts go nuts for the young sprouts.

JD~

 

[theelectraco]

I actually just sprinkled some hamster seed into my torts substrate yesterday and its already sprouting. Give him a little grass to eat in the meantime.

 

[Itort]

Last summer I bought an Aeromist portable misting system (a wand type on a 2 to 6 ft extending post) which worked very well covering a 16 ft x 16 ft area. It hooks up to a garden hose and runs about $40 to $50. I also put bird feeders in the enclosure and the thrown seed sprouts and eaten by torts. As I live in the snow belt the seed thrown in winter has a good chance to establish before it is warm enough for torts.

 

[Jacqui]

I just used PCV piping and a couple shower heads made for the sprinkler systems and made one that hooks to my hose. I think it cost about $10. Some enclosures it's just manual watering that I do. Dense plantings of various height plants helps, as would things that break the sun's rays (and even the wind) except in certain spots in the enclosureis a big help. Then heavy mulching at the surface areas to hold in the moisture also.

 

[MasterOogway]

I am going to plant new grass(seed) in the area im using soon so I can get a root system going and some decent grass coverage. Currentoy there is just mulch and dirt which im going to take out.

---

Also, i know i saw somewhere where there is a seed mix of diff tortoise weeds i can grow? Anyone know what it was called?

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www.carolinapetsupply.com is were I purchased my tortoise seed mix. They sprout fast.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I have lots of plants and weeds in the outdoor pen..its very thick and heavily planted. I just hose it down as needed (more often on super hot summer days) and a my little leopard would hide under the leaves those areas stayed pretty humid. They must have cuz he is still perfectly smooth.

A mister for a Redfoot sounds like a great idea!

 

[jaden21]

I am going to plant new grass(seed) in the area im using soon so I can get a root system going and some decent grass coverage. Currentoy there is just mulch and dirt which im going to take out.

---

Also, i know i saw somewhere where there is a seed mix of diff tortoise weeds i can grow? Anyone know what it was called?

---

www.carolinapetsupply.com is were I purchased my tortoise seed mix. They sprout fast.

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where on the website is the tortoise seed mix?? thanks

 

[TortoiseWorld]

It is not safe for humans or dogs to drink from a garden hose so it is probably also not safe for a tortoise. The lead, toxins, bacteria, pathogens, can stagnate in the hose and then it's possible this would be sprayed on the grass, food and water your tortoise ingests, which could lead to illness and poisoning. They do sell "drinking safe garden hoses" you should use. Always flush out the old stagnate water in a hose before using, especially if the hose was laying in the sun all day. Better to be on the safe side.

http://www.google.com/webhp?source=...06,d.b2I&fp=128683f65643549a&biw=1491&bih=834

 

[Redstrike]

A humid hide could be installed outdoors. It could be as elaborate as the most expensive materials you can think of or as simple as digging a pit in the ground and using some boards as a top covered by dirt (creating a false burrow of sorts - think mine shaft).

 

[TortoiseWorld]

That's a good idea, maybe also a ZooMed heat cable in the humid hide set on a timer to keep the temps up at night.
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...06,d.b2I&fp=cd0d3b7248fb31eb&biw=1491&bih=834

 

[Redstrike]

That's a good idea, maybe also a ZooMed heat cable in the humid hide set on a timer to keep the temps up at night.
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...06,d.b2I&fp=cd0d3b7248fb31eb&biw=1491&bih=834

I use heat ropes in my enclosures and I will say they aren't great at heating air space. What they are good at is providing conductive heat to up humidity (in wet/moist substrate) and I'd recommend one of the waterproof ropes for any application over those that are "water resistant". I'm happy to spend $5-10 more if it reduces fire risks. They would work great in a humid hide setup, but I don't think it would be a good idea in my aforementioned "mine shaft".

Here are the two that I have used and am happy with. 100% water proof and very high quality.

Hydor Hydrokables:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006JLPGI/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Big Apple Herp:
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Flexible-Heat-Ropes