New mom to a baby Russian! What humidity is best?

[Earthy]

Hello all!
I have my 7 month old Russian Tort Aughra in a 40 gal breeder tank. Her substrate is coco coir mixed with a little Repti-bark, she has a basking spot of 95° and the enclosure temp ranges to 72° on the opposite side. 10.0 UVB that’s the length of the enclosure, and 2 pots half buried in the substrate filled with sphagnum moss that she uses as hides.
I’ve gotten many mixed answers on what humidity is best for babies and I’d love some more input!
I have a pump sprayer that I use in the morning to saturate the substrate & sphagnum just enough that it doesn’t get muddy. The hydrometer reads around 75% after that, but will drop down to around 50% within 30 min after spraying.
At the moment I’m only spraying her enclosure 2x a day. Humidity is never under 40%.
Please let me know if I should change anything!
Thanks tortoise fam x

-earthy

 

[biochemnerd808]

Welcome, and congrats on your baby!

I use a combination of spraying the surface and shell a few times a day (warm water!) and pouring warm water in with a pitcher or cup, to wet the underlayers of the substrate. The susbtrate should be wet enough that if you pick up and squeeze a handful, water comes dripping out.

Most inexpensive hygrometers are not very accurate in measuring humidity. So I wouldn't necessarily trust the number on there.

Have you covered all or most of the top of the tank? When I used a glass breeder tank, I used plexiglass to cover most of the top, and heavy duty aluminum foil around the lights. This will create more of a closed chamber.

It will also help keep temps steady if you wrap 3 sides of the tank in thst silver bubble wrap insulation.

Have your read the caresheet @Tom wrote? https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/

 

[Earthy]

Welcome, and congrats on your baby!

I use a combination of spraying the surface and shell a few times a day (warm water!) and pouring warm water in with a pitcher or cup, to wet the underlayers of the substrate. The susbtrate should be wet enough that if you pick up and squeeze a handful, water comes dripping out.

Most inexpensive hygrometers are not very accurate in measuring humidity. So I wouldn't necessarily trust the number on there.

Have you covered all or most of the top of the tank? When I used a glass breeder tank, I used plexiglass to cover most of the top, and heavy duty aluminum foil around the lights. This will create more of a closed chamber.

It will also help keep temps steady if you wrap 3 sides of the tank in thst silver bubble wrap insulation.

Have your read the caresheet @Tom wrote? https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/

I definitely haven’t been spraying it to the extent of being able to squeeze water out of it. Is there a certain percentage you try to keep yours at? Or are you just going off of squeezing it? I’ve just been leery of keeping it super moist from what I’ve read about respiratory infections/becoming sick from cooler damp conditions.
The top of her enclosure is just a split folding screen which makes sense why so much humidity is lost to quickly! Again, little leery of not having enough air flow if the top is covered up.

 

[Tom]

I definitely haven’t been spraying it to the extent of being able to squeeze water out of it. Is there a certain percentage you try to keep yours at? Or are you just going off of squeezing it? I’ve just been leery of keeping it super moist from what I’ve read about respiratory infections/becoming sick from cooler damp conditions.
The top of her enclosure is just a split folding screen which makes sense why so much humidity is lost to quickly! Again, little leery of not having enough air flow if the top is covered up.

I don't worry about the ambient humidity much for Russians. I like the substrate to be damp, and I provide a humid hide or two.

You need not worry about reducing airflow to keep humidity up. As long as they can warm up each day under a basking lamp, or out in the sun, they will not get sick. If left in a cold wet tank with no heat, then they would eventually get sick. Covering all or most of the top will help hold in heat and humidity, and it will. not harm your tortoise in any way. It will help prevent pyramiding and also keep the tortoise better hydrated.

Moss should never be used with tortoises. They eat it and it can cause impaction. Dampening the substrate under your hides does the same thing with no risk.

Read that care sheet that Katie linked for you. Most of the tortoise care out in the world is old, out-dated, wrong, and based on incorrect assumptions about their lives in the wild.

Ideal humidity for a young growing Russian tortoise should be 50-70%. They can tolerate it much lower as adults as long as they are well hydrated, but moderate humidity is good for adults too.

 

[biochemnerd808]

I definitely haven’t been spraying it to the extent of being able to squeeze water out of it. Is there a certain percentage you try to keep yours at? Or are you just going off of squeezing it? I’ve just been leery of keeping it super moist from what I’ve read about respiratory infections/becoming sick from cooler damp conditions.
The top of her enclosure is just a split folding screen which makes sense why so much humidity is lost to quickly! Again, little leery of not having enough air flow if the top is covered up.

Read Tom's care sheet that I linked above. It will answer these questions/address what you are leery about.
You need night heat. Humid + cold = respiratory infection. Humid + warm = smooth, healthy growth

It's not the spraying that makes the substrate that wet btw. - it's pouring in warm water that then wicks up and evaporates into the air.

Covering the setup mostly with plexi won't create an air tight environment. There is enough air, especially since you will open it up to soray a few times a day.

For my RT babies I aim for humidity between 60-95% depending on the daytime (when the basking lights turn off, the temps fall somewhat, and the air humidity rises.

I use a 50W CHE (ceramic heat emitter) for night heat, with a Hydrofarm thermostat set to 78 degrees.

 

[Earthy]

Thank you so much that care sheet is super helpful!! I’ll make some adjustment to her set up I really appreciate it.

 

[Earthy]

Hey @Tom, have you ever had any issues with mold growth in your enclosures due to the enclosed warm humid environment? I haven’t experienced it yet due to my enclosure not being able to hold humidity well enough, but I’m just trying to stay a step ahead for when I change the set up to a closed chamber environment so that it can be as healthy and successful as possible for Aughra.
If you have tips on how to avoid that I would love to hear them! Springtails, venting, substrate recommendations, etc.
Thank you!

 

[Tom]

Hey @Tom, have you ever had any issues with mold growth in your enclosures due to the enclosed warm humid environment? I haven’t experienced it yet due to my enclosure not being able to hold humidity well enough, but I’m just trying to stay a step ahead for when I change the set up to a closed chamber environment so that it can be as healthy and successful as possible for Aughra.
If you have tips on how to avoid that I would love to hear them! Springtails, venting, substrate recommendations, etc.
Thank you!

No. There is enough air movement that it doesn't happen. These enclosures are not air tight. We just restrict the air flow enough to keep humidity high.

 

[Earthy]

No. There is enough air movement that it doesn't happen. These enclosures are not air tight. We just restrict the air flow enough to keep humidity high.

Right on! Do you have any photos of your set ups that you could attatch?

 

[Tom]

Right on! Do you have any photos of your set ups that you could attatch?

New Stack of Animal Plastics CLosed Chambers

AKA: Tom's baby emporium. @GStars asked for a pic on my new baby raising enclosures the other day. I only had a partial, but I took a fuller one today. Each cage is 96x30 and divided in the middle into two 48x30 cages for starting babies. The colored tape on each upper right corner shows the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Earthy]

New Stack of Animal Plastics CLosed Chambers

AKA: Tom's baby emporium. @GStars asked for a pic on my new baby raising enclosures the other day. I only had a partial, but I took a fuller one today. Each cage is 96x30 and divided in the middle into two 48x30 cages for starting babies. The colored tape on each upper right corner shows the...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you!

 

[Mrs.Jennifer]

Hey @Tom, have you ever had any issues with mold growth in your enclosures due to the enclosed warm humid environment? I haven’t experienced it yet due to my enclosure not being able to hold humidity well enough, but I’m just trying to stay a step ahead for when I change the set up to a closed chamber environment so that it can be as healthy and successful as possible for Aughra.
If you have tips on how to avoid that I would love to hear them! Springtails, venting, substrate recommendations, etc.
Thank you!

Hello! I have an adult Russian who used to be in an open-topped enclosure here in Connecticut. I fought to keep temperatures and humidity up by using an electric space heater and humidifier for the room. My husband and father built a PVC enclosure as a birthday present last year, and it has been a DREAM! No more humidifiers and heaters! Lower electricity bills! Best of all, happy and healthy tortoise. I’m not looking back!

P.S. No mold growth on the orchid bark substrate.