The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

[randomdemon]

There are an infinite variety of these set ups, so your question is impossible to answer.

Ventilation is what removes the warm humid air we are trying to create, replacing it with colder drier room air. We want to minimize ventilation, but most enclosures have vents built in on the sides or backs or both. None of these enclosures are air tight. None of these enclosure will cause suffocation.

The best analogy I have found is this: Trying to heat and humidify an open topped enclosure is like trying to heat your house in winter with no roof on it. It can't work. Its just physics. Don't you close up your doors and windows on a cold winter night? What venting is in your house? You don't suffocate because just like these types of enclosures, there is ample air movement in and out, even though we minimize it to keep the house warm in winter, or in my case here in summer time, I keep my house closed up to keep the AC in and the 37C heat out.

The idea behind a closed chamber is to greatly reduce the circulation of room air which is the wrong temperature and humidity, with our enclosure air. Some venting is fine, but not too much. Your thermometer and hygrometer will be your best guide. If you are having trouble maintaining the correct temperatures or your humidity is too low, you can reduce the ventilation some. If its getting too hot and humid, you can use a lower wattage bulb, or increase ventilation a bit. Every enclosure requires some "adjusting" to get things just right, and in most cases, seasonal adjustment is necessary too.

Thank you Tom

Where I live in the UK the current temperature and humidity are not far short of your recommendations and although the temperature does fluctuate, it is always very humid, or 'muggy' as we brits like to whinge about. I was previously keeping the enclose at just over 80% with the top panel open (it is a glass top so can be closed) with no issues at all but the tort seems to become very lethargic when I close it and the humidity rises. (Temp is on a thermostat so that remains the same either way.)

Unfortunately he was sold to me with the 'desert tortoise, low humidity, advice which I fully believed as I've seen nothing to contradict this in over a year of research over here, speaking with other owners, vets, 'specialists' and some internet research. A number of people advised up to 80% humidity for babies, which is what I had prepared for and had a custom built adaptable enclose made to house him so I'm lucky in that respect as it can easily maintain your recommendedations but tort doesn't seem as happy? Could it be because it's such a drastic change for him? Should I maybe build up to higher humidity or is keeping him around 80% OK? He just becomes very lethargic but stays in the hotter end right under the bulb. When I open the top he becomes more active again.