Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok so what would you suggest for a almost 1 yr old sulcata? and how would you suggest getting the right humidity indoors?i live in upstate ny and its gettng too cool outside for his outdoor pen i have moved him into his indoor one its 4'by3'and i have grass hay as a subtstraight any ideas?

Well the issue discussed in the article reffered to below is one that is at this point very contentious to say the least. But it seems from the results of this study (and some "unoffical" studies done over the last few years)is that it MIGHT be helpful to provide a small area of the enclosure which has a high humidity for hatchling sulcatas.

I don't think ANYONE would agree that making a whole enclosure wet or even fairly humid is a good idea for desert/grassland torts like sulcatas.

BUT if your enclosure is large and MOSTLY DRY, the torties might benfit from having a hide box which has a high humidity.

But we really should be careful about jumping to conclusions from the results of this study as many more like it need to be done. And we should NOT be misinterpreting the results to say that "sulcatas need high humidity" This is surely not the case based on field studies . Further, the risk of humidity combined with cool air are great.

With that said it should be noted that many people keep sulcatas in warm humid places (florida, brazil for example) with no apparent problems.

However it still seems that the best advice is too keep them warm and dry, offer a warm basking site and possibly allow for a high humidity hide which does not cause the rest of the enclosure to become overly moist.

Many keepers of forest species like red foots and american box turtles have found that having a humidity gradient (so that one region is more wet than another), analagous to the thermal gradient that we all use for reptiles so that one area is warmer than another, is helpful in raising hathclings. It seems likely that something similar may eventually be widely recommended for tortoises from more arid climates but as I am not a tortoise person (and far from expert) i will refrain from advising it.

I certainly agree, I don't think a sulcata should live in a tropical jungle humidity either but, when you think of how dry a house can get with the heater cranking, even with regular soakings it's important to consider how dry the air is.

I think I am going to start running the humidifier at night, when it is really dry.

Also, my tort is outside in MO humidity during the summer (very high.) I worry about what effect the high humidity has on him and the drastic change when he comes inside.

Also, high humidity can cause respiratory illness just as low humidity can.

guess you just have to have a good balance.

Hello. I read your post about the ongoing resp. problem. I'm
not sure how big your 5 year old sulcata is unless I missed it.
Anyways, that's not the issue, but I would caution you to be
very careful with the soakings in the "indoor" times. If you're
keeping him inside it's probably cold in your state (MO), and
you mentioned having the heat running. In the winter months I
was very careful not to soak my baby long and don't wet my sulcata now,
at all in the winter. It's still nice here though, and I do
mist his head with a mister and sometimes his shell a bit, but I
don't let him get wet or hose him. If it's raining and he chooses
to go outside he can, but has access to a heated cottage where
his basking temperatures are running 120 F plus. He has ample room
to move from there and just watch the rain which he sometimes
does as he has a large window access point which is open all day
even if the door is shut to the cottage.
If I did soak him maybe once a week in the winter when he was
small I was careful to dry him completely and he was put back to
bask. I don't think night time would be a good time to run a
humidifier. He never slept below 80 degrees (by choice) as
a baby and even now. I can't soak him now and he's fine.
It's not rainy season 365 in Africa, yes I've been, it's
dry enough to crack your lips off.
What substrate are you using inside? I strongly recommend
kenaf plant lizard litter, sold as Life mate also for small
animals. If your sulcata is sick I'd keep him dry and very
warm for now. I wouldn't soak him at all at this time.
His health is most important, not looks or cleanliness or
any experimental issue.

Sulcatas in their native range dig these ungodly long burrows. What do you tink determins the length of those burrows. Someone else here keyed onto the fact that if they have a humid hide they don't dig. Why do you think that might be?
Ed

not trying to have an idealistic husbandry discussion.

Her tortoise has an ongoing resp. problem, that's why at
this time I strongly suggest she stop soaking it in water
which gets cold fast (as we all know) and don't add humidity
to the cool night air for crying outloud, those two things
seem like the worst thing to do.

For someone with a well tortoise, I still would never
recommend adding moisture to the night air with an
artificial humidifier - for a sulcata, that's ridiculous
adding humidity to the entire enclosure at night.

As per anything else that I say, people should do what they
want, just my observation. My sulcata isn't perfect but he's
pretty decent, healthy and has a great personality and is
actually bigger than a softball - boasting about a perfectly
smooth (so far) small tortoise seems brash to me. Let's see
how they continue first.