Tortoise Home Humidity

[kaleandpeppers]

Hi,

I just got a Russian Tortoise, and I can't seem to get the humidity above 30%, but I know it needs to be at least 50%.

I bought special tropical coconut fiber substrate to mix in (as directed when I asked petsmart for help) and I spray, but still no luck.

Any ideas?

 

[Tom]

Cover the top more. Use a large shallow water bowl, like a terra cotta saucer, offer a humid hide (I use black upside down dish washing tubs from Walmart with a door hole cut out), and dampen the substrate more by pouring water on it.

Also make sure you are using a decent hygrometer and not one of those unreliable stick on dial type ones.

 

[Yvonne G]

If your new Russian tortoise isn't a baby, you don't need to worry about the humidity. A full grown Russian doesn't need extra humidity.

 

[kaleandpeppers]

I don't think he's a baby but he's definitely not full grown.

I just ordered a better hydrometer and thermometer (digital with a suction cup probe). I had that stick on one. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[Pittrock]

Consider using a humidifier in the room during the cold winter months - and as others have said - get a digital hygrometer for more accurate humidity measurements.

 

[kaleandpeppers]

Okay. With a humidifier AND spraying often AND special tropical soil AND a digital reader they said to use I'm still getting low readings. A vet told me that I didn't really need to worry though because he's not a baby and he seems good.

 

[Tom]

This depends largely on YOUR individual situation. I find that the people who say don't worry about humidity and soaking, tend to live in more humid areas, or already have moderate humidity in their enclosures and homes. Excessively low humidity is a big problem for me, in my area and my enclosures. Single digit humidity is not good for any tortoise anytime. We all use the phrase "low humidity" or "high humidity" very casually. I think we need to put numbers to it. If your humidity is lower than 20%, I don't think that is good for any age russian. With out some effort, humidity is always below 20% in my enclosures. Russians can certainly tolerate a wide range, but I think less than 20% is excessively low. I shoot for 40-60%, but I also offer a humid hide, and soak them regularly. If I lived in FL or Mississippi, I would worry about it a lot less.

A word of caution about taking advice from a vet: They have a long history of dispensing bad tortoise advice. Frankly, the texts they study are just plain wrong and full of this bad info. I have seen them personally. There are exceptions. I have met many VERY good vets who have actual hands on tortoise experience themselves, but the majority don't. We have at least two good one's right here on the forum, so good ones are out there. The problem is: How does a new tortoise keeper discern between a good vet and a not so good vet? Use caution is all I'm saying. Vets who don't know tortoises sometimes end up inadvertently killing tortoises. Vets are just people. They don't get a whole lot of tortoise specific instruction in vet school.

 

[kaleandpeppers]

The vet I was talking to owns a Russian tortoise so that made me feel better, but thank you for the words of caution.

How often do you soak and exactly how do you do that?

 

[Tom]

I soak hatchlings of every species daily for the first six months at least. After that it depends on the situation. If they are outside all day on a hot dry sunny day here, I always soak on the way in for the night. In their regular enclosures which have humidity in the 40-60% range, I soak the older ones 2-4 times a week, depending on many factors. They always have drinking water, but I think the soaking helps too. For older adults that live outside, it just depends on the weather. Hot and dry I soak more. Cold and wet, I don't soak at all.

I use tall sided opaque tubs with warm shallow water for soaking. I try to do this somewhere warm so the water doesn't cool too much during the soak. Frequently I will dump and refill the soaking container if they poop and I'm still wanting more soak time.