Need a little help on humidity!

[Nixxy]

Okay guys, so this is my first winter with a tortoise. Up until this month, the humidity was no issue. But this January has been brutally cold where I am, and very dry.

I have been changing the substrate more, and spraying it with water plenty. But it doesn't seem to be doing much help. I have an old humidifier running in the room, near the enclosure, as well.

Also, to help with dry skin, outside of the soaking...Is Aloe or Vitamin E okay to rub on my tortoises skin? It's not very dry, but it still isn't what it usually is.


Thanks for any help. I use a mix of 2 substrates, generally. Coco Coir and a moss mulch like one, I can't come to think of the name.

 

[mainey34]

Have you tried covering your enclosure 1/2 to. 3/4 to keep humidity in?

 

[RedfootsRule]

Why not hook the humidifier directly to the enclosure? Some 3/4" aquarium tubing, a pvc fitting siliconed to the output of the humidifier, and vuola.

Don't put anything on your tortoises skin, on its shell...Anything. They rarely have a positive effect, and can possibly have a negative one.

Also, how sealed-up is the enclosure? Cover it completely in plexi-glass, or some form of tarp.

 

[Nixxy]

Yeah, I was under the impression putting something on wouldn't do much good, if any. I know especially covering the shell in anything is a terrible idea.

It's got a large portion in the front that isn't sealed...I very much like the idea of the plexi-glass. Can you get it at hardware stores? It'd be a simple fix to get some properly measured pieces cut..Would I just lay them on top of it? Or would they need to be sealed somehow?

I've got some aquarium tubing I can use to run the humidifier into the enclosure, so that should help. My only worry is that the humidifier puts off a bit of heat, and the vapor that comes out can also be quite warm. Perhaps I could have it so it comes out on the top of the enclosure and so she can't touch it as it comes out? I'd imagine it'd also be cooled down by the time it goes through the tubing.

 

[mhbgirl]

Take a towel and fold it in half. Thoroughly soak it in warm water and squeeze alot of the water out so the towel isnt dripping too much, and then cover half of your tortoise enclosure with the towel after spraying the substrate. This works really well for keeping the humidity relatively constant.

 

[RedfootsRule]

Depends on your definition of hardware store. Home depot and loses should carry it. It can be just laid on top, or screwed down, or zip-tied down..Buy laying it down works fine so you can take it off it needed.

I've heard tales of the hotter humidifiers burning torts because of hot steam, but this is only because they can sit right in the stream...Run it like you said so it blows across the top of the cage, and there should be no issue.

 

[Nixxy]

Alright, that should be easy enough to do. I can easily have it aimed to blow across, and have it also high enough so she is unable to get to it anyway.

I think the most practical thing would be laying it down, then. It'd certainly make cleaning and adjusting her enclosure easier than if it was screwed in.

 

[Redstrike]

Good substrate will also provide lots of humidity, I'm about to try the method outlined below because I've about had it with mulches:

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/soilmixforterraria.htm

As others have said, covering at least 3/4 of the enclosure is also key. Mine are completely covered with plexiglass on top

 

[FLINTUS]

I use a soil, leaflitter and moss substrate for mine.

 

[Watsonpartyof4]

Yeah, I was under the impression putting something on wouldn't do much good, if any. I know especially covering the shell in anything is a terrible idea.

It's got a large portion in the front that isn't sealed...I very much like the idea of the plexi-glass. Can you get it at hardware stores? It'd be a simple fix to get some properly measured pieces cut..Would I just lay them on top of it? Or would they need to be sealed somehow?

I've got some aquarium tubing I can use to run the humidifier into the enclosure, so that should help. My only worry is that the humidifier puts off a bit of heat, and the vapor that comes out can also be quite warm. Perhaps I could have it so it comes out on the top of the enclosure and so she can't touch it as it comes out? I'd imagine it'd also be cooled down by the time it goes through the tubing.

I use plexiglas on top of my vivarium. The top has three framed openings so I have three pieces and they do not fit perfectly, that way I can adjust for air flow... You don't want it sealed completely! If it gets to hot you can slide a piece over etc.

 

[Madkins007]

Remember the basic laws of physics- heat rises, and the rising heat will take humidity with it.

There are a lot of ways to do this, but my favorite version is fairly simple.
1. 4" minimum of cypress or similar substrate. I prefer 6+. Add about 1" of water to the bottom.
2. Enclose the habitat as much as physically possible. Add a few air holes down low on one side and up high on the opposite side.
3. Use appropriate heating, within the enclosure. Consider options like ceramic emitters or waterproof heat cables.
4. If possible, heat the 'water pool' at the bottom. It only needs to be about 90F.

The water is wicked up into the substrate, then vaporizes as humidity by the heating. It remains in the habitat for a bit until it finds a way out. As it leaves, cool dry air comes in from the lower vents. As the cool, dry air moves across the warm, moist substrate, it converts to warm humid air and rises... making a nice cycle. It takes a little work to get it balanced- covering or adding holes, adding water or heat, etc., but once it is going, it does most of the work automatically.

 

[Nixxy]

Madkins, would it be at all possible to see some pictures of your setup?

I understand housing 5 it'd be larger and a bit different than only one, as in my case. But I'd like to see it! It'd help me a lot, I think.

 

[Madkins007]

https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/Indoor-Housing

This does not use all the things I mentioned earlier because I was using under-soil warming ropes, so it generated enough heat and humidity that I could get away with the larger top openings for the air to escape. Even with the big holes, it was pretty common for the plexiglass to be fogged over.

 

[Tortoise]

Madkins 007 --under soil warming ropes sound great-where would someone find them.Is this what you refer to also as waterproof heat cable or are these two separate things?
I may try this for my red foots.

I use a watering can full of warm water every day to saturate most of enclosure-I have thick peat moss and some of that I top dress with mulch to help keep water containers cleaner from their muddy feet.(which is helping )