Reptile & Amphibian Forums

does anyone know a good way to keep my cherry head red footed tortoise's cage humid? i know humidity is important, but right now all i do is spray down her whole cage a few times a day, but i don't feel like that is doing enough. her cage is not enclosed, either, if that matters. thanks!

I have recently had the same problems as you. After long debate I have realized that I need some sort of a cover on my tortoise table. I have mine in my basement with an average temp of 72 degrees. Whatever misting, spraying, soaking I do the dry air of the house eats it up right away. Fighting a losing battle here in Illinois during the winter.

I recently sized up some plexiglass and placed it over my enclosure. The only part open air...is for my heat emitter and my hide...which is covered. I then put a large cup full of water and newspaper in the tank which assists me after I mist daily. The humidity has stayed over 75% with this set-up for a while. (only a two day experiment so far...so this is not a guaranteed solution, but an on-going test with good results.) I still have been misting, but I feel like I can leave my house now for an evening without worry

I hope this helps some.

Thanks for the idea. I haven't wanted to put a cover on it because I like it better with her tank uncovered, but I guess you are probably right that I need to get some type of lid. what was the newspaper for, was it just in the cup of water, or did you mean you used it for substrate? because i have topsoil and sphagnum moss as my substrate.

I have a cherry head. He is still very small....3 in.....so I have him in a 55 gal virvarium. There is a mixture of forest floor (bought in the pet store) mixed with top soil, and it is about 6 in. deep. I planted small rose of Shannon, and some spring mix..tropical moss...chicks and hens. on one side is a half log with long fibered moss under it. That is the hot side. On the cool side I have another little house (but I just bought a small water fall to hold the humidity a little better). On the top of the cooler side I have a long florescent uvb light, and on the hot side there is a heat emitter. They are over a screened top with a glass cover in between. The hot side is stable at 86-90 degrees. The cool side is stable at 76-79 degrees. The humidity holds steady at about 80. You have to water the plants so the humidity stays pretty good. Of course it will only be good for about 2 years. I feed greens for two days, and then fruit the third day. Then greens for the next two days....etc.

I have two Yellow Foots (They say they need more humidity than red foots). I live in a very dry house - people around often comment how dry the air is. All I do is keep my yellow foots on moist sand (How you would keep a pot plant) and have a wading pool.

About temperature - I have my temperature set to 75 during the day and 68 at night. I have noticed this is much lower than most people report. I find if it climbs much higher than 75 my little guys try to escape - if given a chance they will hide in a cool dark place (around 70 degrees). My Torts have no pyramiding - but more a slight depression on their shells.

Low humidity in their box is around 40% (House gets down to 10%).

I try to wash my torts every day (Use to soak but find washing is just as good) and mist them with a water spray as often as I can.

I put a cup of water with the newspaper soaking in and above the water. It helps out a little if you don't have a mister, humidifier or other water devices. I have Cypress Mulch as my substrated and it seems to hold water pretty well.

I still need to work out some more kinks as my humidity is still falling below 70%. I think since I have a slight opening for the heat emitter the humidity gets sucked out of there.

The breeder I got mine from told me to soak the mulch with good amount of water. Once I do that he also then said to mist as well.

You do not need to maintain the humidity in the whole enclosure to 70%. Not that I advise this but as a child I raised a redfoot for 24 years on sand with not added humidity and he did fine with no pyramiding. Tortise lived 29 years just fine. Humidify the hide box. I use cypress mulch for my redfoots but do not leave it too moist as you can get shell problems with fungus. I have a hole 1 inch dia cut in the top of their hide box. Then I staple a large sponge to the underside of the roof. Then I can water the sponge thru the hole without disturbing them and the moist sponge keeps the hide very humid. I had a seperate hide box with no added humidity that they never used so I took that out.
Tom

That is a great idea. What do you use for a hide box and how big is it? Can you post a picture of your set up? This is my first tortoise, and he is only 2 3/4 in long.