Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone,

Has anyone ever successfully kept their redfoot's humidity at a fairly high level? I'm not sure what to do with mine...I have a misting system from Big Apple Herp that sprays three times per day for 2 minutes each time. It keeps the middle of his enclosure wet. I also mist the entire enclosure in the morning and several times throughout the afternoon/evening when I'm home from work. I try to keep his hide (a plastic flower pot that he spends a lot of time in) as humid as possible--it has some moss in it to retain moisture). His water is at one end of the enclosure, and his heat source (a ceramic heat emitter) is at the opposite end. Finally, he gets a soak at least 4 times per week (which, coincidentally, he despises--I get that irate redfoot face I've come to know so well).

The problem is that I've noticed his humidity always registers below 40% by the ceramic emitter. Do you think that's because I have it positioned so close to the heat source? Should I move it to measure the humidity elsewhere in the enclosure--which is definitely a little small (a 20 gallon tank), but which he's stuck in for a month or so until I design and build a bigger enclosure? He eats well and seems active when I take him outside, but I do notice that his eyes are quite "wet." I think EJ mentioned that this was a sign of a low humidity environment...Does anyone have tips for how to improve humidity? I'm primarily concerned because I notice that his skin seems a little dry--he's had a dry spot on the top of his head since we got him, but it hasn't diminished much...Any suggestions? Ideas for how to boost humidity when I build a bigger enclosure? Am I doing the right thing now? Thanks for all of your help!

This is another one of those cases where you are going to drive yourself nuts if you strive to provide what 'they' think your tortoises need.

If you're basing your husbandry on how RFs live in the wild, they are found from near desert conditions (as in sparsely vegetated islands with little fresh water...) to a kind of deciduous forest edge to grasslands. They seem to prefer the grasslands.

The point is that they do not need a constantly high humidity. If you provide a humid hide and a place they can wallow you should have it covered. More important is a decent temperature range.

The eyes do seem to tear if it is low humidity but if the animal is well hydrated I don't see where the concern should be.

If you want total humidity control you are going to have to go the route of a total enclosure which I don't think is necessary.

The RF comes from areas very similar to some Leopard tortoise habitat where there is periods of torrential rain followed by drought.
-----
Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care