margosha
Member
Ok. Thank you for putting up with all my questions!
Russian Tortoise baby temps & humidity
- Thread starter margosha
- Start date
Ok. Thank you for putting up with all my questions!
Hey so I read all of this thread maybe one thing that was missed by @Tom was that your substrate was packed down.... correct me if im wrong but should it not he loose? And mixed up every so often to help with the humidity? With it packed down you dont get the air flow for the humidity.
I keep it packed down to reduce the mess. I haven't noticed any difference in humidity between packed or posse coco coir.
Ive never tested it myself, but in theory with a deeper substrate any extra water would sit at the bottom and if its packed only the water that wicks up would evaporate vs if it is broken up the air and moister can pass.
My box turtles are big enough that after about a week everything is packed down, but i also have a coco fiber mixed with wood chips or repti bark not sure if that makes a difference.
The theory makes sense, but in practice, having it packed down works just fine. We'd have to test this with lab grade equipment to see if it really made any difference. Having raised a whole lot of babies of a couple of temperate species on packed coir, I can tell you that it works well enough when packed.
Dont get me wrong im not dissagreeing with you, I know what you have done and the information you provide this forum, I was simply adding my thoughts and explaining my understanding of why ive been doing it.
Merilyn (Tortoise lover)
Member
You're worrying too much
margosha
Member
You're worrying too much
Omg you don't even know haha. I am so worried about him all the time!
margosha
Member
Well I'm back and worrying again haha.
The A/C got turned on in my building today, and I noticed that now with the air circulating differently, the humidity is much lower under the lights, dropping into the 50s. But if I try to remedy that by closing off more of the tank, it gets WAY too high everywhere else. Is the lower humidity under the heat ok?
The A/C got turned on in my building today, and I noticed that now with the air circulating differently, the humidity is much lower under the lights, dropping into the 50s. But if I try to remedy that by closing off more of the tank, it gets WAY too high everywhere else. Is the lower humidity under the heat ok?
Your Russian baby doesn't require as much humidity as the leopards and sulcatas do. Lower humidity should be just fine.
Mine is running anything from 55 to 75, I’m happy with that. I’ve always read that Russians should be kept dry etc until I came here and everyone recommends some humidity and damp substrate. I don’t wet my substrate too much though as I am still worried about shell rot, I tend to just mist it a couple of times per day and tip a jug of water over it once or twice per week.
margosha
Member
Sigh, it's me again. With yet another worry about temps.
This might seem like a silly question, and I'm probably definitely overthinking it, but... when measuring temps, should I be looking more at the ambient temperature or the temperature of the substrate? For instance, I noticed today that the thermometer read 77 degrees on the cool side, but when I used my temp gun pointed on the ground, it read 71 in spots, since the soil is damp. When we're told to keep certain temps, are those "air" temps or "ground" temps? I'm mostly concerned about the ground getting too cold at night.
@Tom I would love your input on this... you're also welcome to tell me to chill out haha.
This might seem like a silly question, and I'm probably definitely overthinking it, but... when measuring temps, should I be looking more at the ambient temperature or the temperature of the substrate? For instance, I noticed today that the thermometer read 77 degrees on the cool side, but when I used my temp gun pointed on the ground, it read 71 in spots, since the soil is damp. When we're told to keep certain temps, are those "air" temps or "ground" temps? I'm mostly concerned about the ground getting too cold at night.
@Tom I would love your input on this... you're also welcome to tell me to chill out haha.
Air temps are what we are referring to. Your temp gun will pick up cool spots where evaporative cooling is taking place.
margosha
Member
Thank you!!
My IR gun arrives today... how on earth do you measure the air temp? Sorry if that sounds dumb. Surely if you point it, it’s going to be measuring substrate temp?
margosha
Member
Haha, yeah the gun can't measure air. I measure the air temp with a regular old thermometer that's sits about substrate level.
So when people say their basking spot is ??? Degrees, what are they measuring? Just the heat of the slate under the lamp?
margosha
Member
I believe so. I have a thermometer on the hot side that measures the basking area, and then if I want to test the basking spot I used the temp gun on a rock that I have directly under the lamp... just to make sure it's not too hot/cold right under the bulb. I also like to see how hot the top of my tort's shell gets when he's basking
I believe so. I have a thermometer on the hot side that measures the basking area, and then if I want to test the basking spot I used the temp gun on a rock that I have directly under the lamp... just to make sure it's not too hot/cold right under the bulb. I also like to see how hot the top of my tort's shell gets when he's basking
I’m going to have fun tonight with this thermometer. I bet it gives me all kinds of readings I’m not expecting and I’ll panic lol I currently have2 digital probes in my tank so I’m hoping all is correct and it’s just for a third layer of reassurance.
margosha
Member
Oh yeah I test everything with it out of curiosity! I also use mine to test the soaking water. When it reads 85 degrees, I know it's time to change the water.
