New Tortoise Owner

[MotoXCiCi]

New tortoise owner and first post! My little leopard tortoise hatchling arrived today and is extremely active and healthy. I had originally planned on having a semi-closed enclosure but the heat was escaping and the humidity was very low except in the little hide. I took the advice from this forum and now have it covered and the ceramic heater is keeping the tank 80-90 degrees. The only issue I am having is with humidity. I just can't seem to get it to stay high throughout the enclosure. It varies from 50 percent to about 90 where I have some wet moss. Any tips on getting this higher? I wet the substrate but was afraid to get it too wet so it's just a bit damp. I also placed the water dish under the heater hoping this would help but it doesn't seem to be making much of a difference.

 

[wellington]

Use coconut coir or orchid bark or mix of the 2 and get it wet. Not dripping wet but pretty wet. Dont use moss they eat it and it can be dangerous.

 

[Yvonne G]

I use orchid bark (fir bark) and I pour a whole pitcherful of water over it and mix it up with my hands. It doesn't matter if it's too wet, because there really isn't a "too wet". Anyway, the heat dries out the top layer pretty quickly and you're left with a nice moist substrate and a very humid enclosure.

 

[MotoXCiCi]

Thanks for the quick response! I am using orchid bark but I think I may have been too conservative about getting it wet. I will try to add more water.

 

[MotoXCiCi]

Well I wet it down and the humidity is already going up! How often should I add water to the substrate? I have a spray bottle that I can use for daily mistings.

 

[Maro2Bear]

It’s almost easier to get a bucket, dump in the substrate, add a very healthy amount of (warm) water. Let the substrate soak in as much as it will hold til it is super saturated (won’t absorb any more water). Then dump that substrate into your enclosure. Once your substrate is fully wet like this it really stays nice and moist & keeps up the humidity.

 

[ParkourMexican]

It may be over the top but I use an ultrasonic humidifier with a built in hygrometer or humidistat to maintain a constant humidity in my enclosure. That way I can keep the substrate as damp as I need. But then again I have a little Elongated hatchling (a forest species) so I prefer to have a high ambient humidity as opposed to simulating a humid microclimate that a grassland species would seek out.