Misters?

[mckenzieg]

Hello, all!

I have a question for ya. Does anyone have some sort of misting device other than a spray bottle? It just dries out really fast in Charli's enclosure, even with a humidifier. I spray all day long, but can really only do that on weekends. I have no idea if there is such a thing as a little misting device, but was just curious if anyone has gone so far as to rig something up.

Thanks!

 

[Az tortoise compound]

We use a PVC misting system in our outdoor enclosures. For indoors? either a spray bottle or a personal mister but either of those two are manual. It sounds like you need something on a timer. I don't know if it's even possible, but I always think about the scent dispensers on the wall of business bathrooms. They spray a mist activated by motion or on a timer. Maybe you can adapt something like that?

Like I said, maybe not even feasible. Just throwing it out there

 

[JohnathanO]

Have you tried mist king? I've seen them set up displays at some shows I've been to, seems to work pretty good.

http://www.mistking.com/

 

[Madkins007]

You may want to get a cheap humidity gauge before you get anything else- you can have high humidity and still have dry surfaces. Put a gauge right down near the substrate, get a reading, then try it in a hide for a reading.

 

[Len B]

The best Mister -Fogger that I found is the DeVilbiss Heavy Duty Nebulizer Compressor,(#8650D) They are not cheap but they work great and are simple to use. It is adjustable up to 90 psi, but I keep the pressure down so that I get over 24 hours out of a quart of water. Len

 

[PeanutbuttER]

I thought this was very ingenious. I'm tempted to give it a shot plus it looks very affordable

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjiXI5UIf3I&feature=related

 

[Badgemash]

We're currently using the Zoo-med reptifogger on the leopards and just leaving it on during their daylight hours. I tried linking it with their Hygrotherm automatic humidity/temperature control device, but that thing was a total waste of money so I returned it. Letting the fogger run during the day on the lowest setting is enough to keep the hides and half of the hot end moist, but not reach the cool end or a part of the basking area. That way they can choose what sort of environment they want to hang out in. I do turn it off at night though so the evaporation of the fog doesn't drop the temps too low. It seems to be working really well so far, sometimes I catch Mr.T parked up under the nozzle soaking up the mist.

-Devon

 

[Madkins007]

The pump system shown in the YouTube video is a sweet set-up! I had a few thoughts watching it...

- The clear vinyl tubing he is using is not really rated for pressure. I would use the milkier poly tubing instead.

- I would really want to have a way to run some bleach through that every so often to inhibit mildew in the tubing.

- To prevent the clogged mister heads, I would add a good in-line filter system, and/or use filtered or cheap distilled water to begin with. This will also help reduce the residue on the windows.

- I've seen a variant of this in which they added a lawn sprinkler timer to the main water tube. It takes a few fittings to get it in there, but your typical decent hardware store staff can help.

I've used pump sprayers in my old big indoor habitat, and strongly suggest a decent one like he used- the cheapos on the market are cheap in every respect and don't hold up well.

I may add something like that to the Tortarium, but I think if I do, I would also want to add a drain to prevent too much saturation in the substrate.

I wonder if there is a cheap, safe way to warm the water? Drill an access hole in the side, cut the end off a decent submersed fish heater, position it inside and thread the cord through the hole, seal the hole, add a new plug?? Maybe safer to wrap a warming pad and insulation around the tank?

 

[Tom]

Zoo-Med also makes a mister in addition to their fogger. I haven't used it yet, except just to test it, but I think it would be perfect for some applications. Its more of a "sprayer" than a "mister". You can adjust the frequency AND duration of the sprays. Maybe I'll dig it out and start using it. Here' a pic of the package:

 

[PeanutbuttER]

The pump system shown in the YouTube video is a sweet set-up! I had a few thoughts watching it...

- The clear vinyl tubing he is using is not really rated for pressure. I would use the milkier poly tubing instead.

- I would really want to have a way to run some bleach through that every so often to inhibit mildew in the tubing.

- To prevent the clogged mister heads, I would add a good in-line filter system, and/or use filtered or cheap distilled water to begin with. This will also help reduce the residue on the windows.

- I've seen a variant of this in which they added a lawn sprinkler timer to the main water tube. It takes a few fittings to get it in there, but your typical decent hardware store staff can help.

I've used pump sprayers in my old big indoor habitat, and strongly suggest a decent one like he used- the cheapos on the market are cheap in every respect and don't hold up well.

I may add something like that to the Tortarium, but I think if I do, I would also want to add a drain to prevent too much saturation in the substrate.

I wonder if there is a cheap, safe way to warm the water? Drill an access hole in the side, cut the end off a decent submersed fish heater, position it inside and thread the cord through the hole, seal the hole, add a new plug?? Maybe safer to wrap a warming pad and insulation around the tank?

I found it while searching youtube a while back to see how people keep humidity up for their non-tortoise reptiles. I was hoping to find some ideas and this guy's set up was really cool.

Question though, how would a lawn sprinkler timer help? You would still need to press the button to make it go off wouldn't you?

I like the idea of using an aquarium heater, but I think that using a heat pad wrapped around it would be better/ slightly less work/ no risk of ruining the airtight seal needed. However, it would be less energy efficient I'm sure...

I'm glad to hear your ideas on how to make his set up better so that now if I do do it, I'll do it right.

 

[Orpexo]

Zoo-Med also makes a mister in addition to their fogger. I haven't used it yet, except just to test it, but I think it would be perfect for some applications. Its more of a "sprayer" than a "mister". You can adjust the frequency AND duration of the sprays. Maybe I'll dig it out and start using it. Here' a pic of the package:

I bought this (zoo med habba mist) and put it in my tortarium, for the same reason as the OP. Also I wanted a sprayer more than a mister. The frequency and duration settings are great, quantity of water reserve is good. But It is not perfect.

There are two sprays. One directly at the top of the machine that you can only rotate to a direction horizontally, so you cannot really use it since you cannot direct it to the ground. The second sprayer is put at the end of a flexible tube so that you can direct it where you want. But be carefull not to have this end under the machine, or water will drip constantly :/ So the problem is that you have to be careful where you place the machine. The tube is not verry long. The sprayer, even at 35 cm heigth, will spray a surface of approx 10cm diameter maximum on the ground.

In the end it sprays only a very small part of my enclosure. (I placed it on the warm side as it dries faster). I have only one tort and the habba mist would have been perfect only if it add 3 or 4 sprayers at the end of tubes, instead of one. And with longer tubes than the one given.

The thingy going through the top side of my enclosure is a kind of tube to refill water from the top of the tortarium.

 

[mckenzieg]

Thanks, all. I have a humidifier reader at the bottom of the substrate that reads 16% during the day and 24% during the night. Is that adequate?

 

[bettinge]

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...s/-/mister-moisture-automatic-misting-system/

I have one of these I use for Chameleon cages. Its a very good system, much nicer than the Zoo Med Habba Hist ( I have one of those as well). The Habba Mist can handle running to empty, however the Mister Moisture cann not and will burn out the pump if run dry!

 

[Tom]

Thanks, all. I have a humidifier reader at the bottom of the substrate that reads 16% during the day and 24% during the night. Is that adequate?

Not in my opinion. Read this:
http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies


I keep my young sulcatas at 80-90% humidity with humid hides that stay 99-100%. This is a complete reversal from what most of the books and internet sites tell you. I used to keep mine the old-fashioned way too and I got stunted, pyramided, 43 pound 12 year old males out of it.

Take a gander at my current babies being raised the way that's detailed in the above care sheet:
http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-The-End-Of-Pyramiding?page=18

 

[mckenzieg]

Tom--

My baby was already pyramiding when I got her in April at 4 months old, and I didn't know at the time that that wasn't how he was supposed to look. I did read your care sheet (at the link) when I joined here in October, and have changed a LOT of things. He is eating and happier now, but that is a significantly low humidity compared to what you recommend. How to make it more humid in there? I don't even know that my humidifier, sitting on the floor, is doing anything to raise that level. Thank you for the info. There's a lot to learn about being a good sulcata mom.

 

[Balboa]

Another paper will be coming soon. See if I can get myself banned again. LOL

For commercial solutions I like this
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Misting-System

its really not a bad price when you consider the pump. Aquarium pumps don't usually have the kind of pressure needed to really get a good mist, and pumps that do are spendy. You could easily stick an aquarium heater in the bucket, just don't let it go dry! A cooler may be more economical to heat and hold more water to boot.

you can get those same misters that kit comes with for cheap at the hardware store. Somewhere I read about someone hooking up an aquarium air pump to a spray cannister and putting that on a timer. I've been meaning to try that, as that would be really cheap to do. (I think have about 20 air pumps in the garage from the old under gravel filter days).

I like to humidify the air in the tank more than mist it, and its not hard to either put a humidifier right in the enclosure, or duct a humidifier into it.

 

[Tom]

Tom--

My baby was already pyramiding when I got her in April at 4 months old, and I didn't know at the time that that wasn't how he was supposed to look. I did read your care sheet (at the link) when I joined here in October, and have changed a LOT of things. He is eating and happier now, but that is a significantly low humidity compared to what you recommend. How to make it more humid in there? I don't even know that my humidifier, sitting on the floor, is doing anything to raise that level. Thank you for the info. There's a lot to learn about being a good sulcata mom.

My Daisy was heavily pyramided when I got her at three months too. After two years in the "right" conditions her new growth is looking very good. She'll always have her little "knobs" to remind me of how it used to be, but its all good now.

Here is what I do to raise the humidity in my enclosures. You can use some or all of this depending on your situation:

-House them in an aquarium style enclosure and cover most of the top. Just leave enough room for your heat lamp.

-Use a moisture friendly substrate like cypress mulch or coco coir and keep it wet. Not damp, WET. You'll have to dump water on it regularly. Spraying only barely wets the surface.

-Spray your tort and the whole enclosure several times a day.

-Use a proper humid hide box. This works no matter where you live.

-Use a big shallow water bowl. I let lots of it spill when I dump and refill them. (As long as there is no poop in it.)

-Humidify the whole room. This can be difficult in some areas. If I leave my reptile room door open for 5 minutes, I lose 20-30%, and it takes an hour to build it back up.

-In order to get all this moisture into the air it has to evaporate. This will cool things off significantly, so watch your temps. You may have to up the wattage on your bulbs or move them a little closer. It takes some trial and error and several adjustments, but you'll get there.

 

[Madkins007]

(snip)
Question though, how would a lawn sprinkler timer help? You would still need to press the button to make it go off wouldn't you?
(snip)

You rig the timer up and open the other valves, and lock the trigger to 'spray'. Good timers let you do things like '5 minutes on every hour'. This way it activates during the day.

If you want a simpler way to start things, consider a drip system. Set a large container up above your habitat. Either poke a SMALL hole in the container or install a small tube and valve to provide the drip. Now, just need it to drip somewhere it helps. (Most of this helps most in a mostly closed, well-drained, warm, smaller habitat!)

Dripping into the water dish makes moving water, which evaporates better and seems to attract the tortoises, at least sometimes. The dish will overflow helping to wet the substrate.

Dripping into a plant with a well-drained pot keeps the plant wet and adds to humidity that way.

Dripping onto a wall of moss or a wicking material gives a large surface to evaporate off. Heating and/or providing moving air on the moss helps even more.

Dripping down a wall of cork, fake rock, etc. gives you added humidity as well.

I've been trying to think of how I could combine a dripping waterfall that ended up in the drinking/wading pool, then overflow into the substrate (well-drained and heated from below) on my budget.

 

[mckenzieg]

Thanks again, Tom! I will try these! I have coconut coir now, but don't keep it wet enough, so that will help. Also, closing my door and covering the surface of the enclosure. All of which I don't already do. I didn't realize the little hide boxes you created actually encouraged moisture, but I can see that now. Thanks for all the tips!

Tom--

My baby was already pyramiding when I got her in April at 4 months old, and I didn't know at the time that that wasn't how he was supposed to look. I did read your care sheet (at the link) when I joined here in October, and have changed a LOT of things. He is eating and happier now, but that is a significantly low humidity compared to what you recommend. How to make it more humid in there? I don't even know that my humidifier, sitting on the floor, is doing anything to raise that level. Thank you for the info. There's a lot to learn about being a good sulcata mom.

My Daisy was heavily pyramided when I got her at three months too. After two years in the "right" conditions her new growth is looking very good. She'll always have her little "knobs" to remind me of how it used to be, but its all good now.

Here is what I do to raise the humidity in my enclosures. You can use some or all of this depending on your situation:

-House them in an aquarium style enclosure and cover most of the top. Just leave enough room for your heat lamp.

-Use a moisture friendly substrate like cypress mulch or coco coir and keep it wet. Not damp, WET. You'll have to dump water on it regularly. Spraying only barely wets the surface.

-Spray your tort and the whole enclosure several times a day.

-Use a proper humid hide box. This works no matter where you live.

-Use a big shallow water bowl. I let lots of it spill when I dump and refill them. (As long as there is no poop in it.)

-Humidify the whole room. This can be difficult in some areas. If I leave my reptile room door open for 5 minutes, I lose 20-30%, and it takes an hour to build it back up.

-In order to get all this moisture into the air it has to evaporate. This will cool things off significantly, so watch your temps. You may have to up the wattage on your bulbs or move them a little closer. It takes some trial and error and several adjustments, but you'll get there.