Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi! My Hermann tort seems to be drying out. The top of his head and his little face looks really dry. The only thing I have changed recently is that instead of carpet on the bottom of his pen I mixed play sand and bark. About half and half. Could this be drying him out? I soak him about every other day but just recently upped it to once a day and he seems like he might be looking a little better. It is still too soon to tell. What does everyone think? Am I doing something wrong? Thanks for any info you may have!
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Becki

1 Husband
4 kids
2 Hermans
1 Dog
2 Finches
2 Betta
1 Cat

I have a 3" russian tortoise. I do soak him about once a week, and I keep him on a sand substrate. At night he digs into the sand (just enough to cover his legs). I add a little moisture to the sand to keep the humidity above desert levels. I do this by spraying a little water near his hide spot. The moisture spreads throughout the area but raises the humidity just a little where he sleeps.

By doing this he appears to be adequately hydrated and shows no external signs of drying out.

Thanks for your help! How often do you spray water on the sand mix? I just started to spray a mist of water all over the pen but I wasn't sure how often I should do this and how wet should I make it? Should I just spray one area or the whole pen? Thanks again!
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Becki

1 Husband
4 kids
2 Hermans
1 Dog
2 Finches
2 Betta
1 Cat

I just spray a couple times a week. You don't want it to be soaking wet, just a little humid. You'll have to experiment because you have bark in with your sand, and that'll hold more humidity than plain sand. Maybe you'll spray just once a week. Also depends on the humidity levels in your house. Seems that most houses with central heat/air are dry.

Thanks! I will try spraying it once a week and see how it goes. Thanks for the help!
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Becki

1 Husband
4 kids
2 Hermans
1 Dog
2 Finches
2 Betta
1 Cat

I would change substrates to a 50/50 mix of topsoil and cypress (or whatever bark you like). I have had great luck with this combo, much better than with any combination of sand! (andmist like brad said, I do it once a day!)

-Ian