Confirmation of habitat (New keeper)

[John Davies]

Hi, firstly a massive thanks for everyone's input into this forum. I have recently acquired a 9 month old lepoard tortoise called Sheldon and this forum has been invaluable for advice and information. I have other reptiles snakes and lizards but this is my first tortoise, so I have one or two queries that I hope someone can help me with. Humidity is so far proving to be a difficult one. So many different opinions on what it should be for a baby. As low as 30 and as high have 70 have been suggested and I'm not really sure of the level of humidity I should be providing now. I keep his enclosure at around 30-40. The temp I am happy with and he has daily mistings, a bath every other day and access to fresh water throughout the day. Is this sufficient or should it be lower or higher humidity?
For the time being he is currently living in a smaller viv as I'm still unsure if I want to use a tortoise table or just use a larger viv. So some input on what people have found better would be greatly appreciated. Im going to upload a few pictures to just get some suggestions on whether or not his set up is ok for him, thanks in advance. Can't seem to upload pictures from my phone so I will add later from my laptop.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, John and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and Sheldon.
i expect someone will move this post to either the introductions forum or the leopard tortoises one, as you'll get more attention in one of those, I expect.
I'll let someone with experience of leopards answer your questions, just wanted to say hi.

 

[Jodie]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I keep my Leopards in an enclosed tortoise table with humidity at 80%. Minimum temp 80F. I soak daily. This is for the 1st couple of years to prevent pyramiding. My trio is a year old now and doing great.
This is Andy. I recently took pics of her, because I am very pleased with the pattern develpment. Not that I had anything to do with that, but she is growing smooth.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum!

 

[John Davies]

Hi, firstly a massive thanks for everyone's input into this forum. I have recently acquired a 9 month old lepoard tortoise called Sheldon and this forum has been invaluable for advice and information. I have other reptiles snakes and lizards but this is my first tortoise, so I have one or two queries that I hope someone can help me with. Humidity is so far proving to be a difficult one. So many different opinions on what it should be for a baby. As low as 30 and as high have 70 have been suggested and I'm not really sure of the level of humidity I should be providing now. I keep his enclosure at around 30-40. The temp I am happy with and he has daily mistings, a bath every other day and access to fresh water throughout the day. Is this sufficient or should it be lower or higher humidity?
For the time being he is currently living in a smaller viv as I'm still unsure if I want to use a tortoise table or just use a larger viv. So some input on what people have found better would be greatly appreciated. Im going to upload a few pictures to just get some suggestions on whether or not his set up is ok for him, thanks in advance. Can't seem to upload pictures from my phone so I will add later from my laptop.

Hello and welcome to the forum. I keep my Leopards in an enclosed tortoise table with humidity at 80%. Minimum temp 80F. I soak daily. This is for the 1st couple of years to prevent pyramiding. My trio is a year old now and doing great.
This is Andy. I recently took pics of her, because I am very pleased with the pattern develpment. Not that I had anything to do with that, but she is growing smooth.View attachment 129810

Thanks for that info can i ask how your keeping it so humid I'm there? There was an error in mine it's 40-50. I have only had him a few days and from what I can gather it looks like he has already pyramidal a little bit, hence wanting.to make sure I get this right before it becomes a problem.

Hello and welcome to the forum. I keep my Leopards in an enclosed tortoise table with humidity at 80%. Minimum temp 80F. I soak daily. This is for the 1st couple of years to prevent pyramiding. My trio is a year old now and doing great.
This is Andy. I recently took pics of her, because I am very pleased with the pattern develpment. Not that I had anything to do with that, but she is growing smooth.View attachment 129810

Thanks all for the welcomes . Wow so humidity need s to be a lot higher the! How are you keeping if that high if you don't mind me asking. I'm using sphagnum moss and misting and about 50 is the highest I can get the humidity up too. Is this because of the viv I'm using. I've only had him a week and I belive he is slightly pyrimded already so I want to get this sorted before it becomes serious. Andy looks stunning

 

[John Davies]

Thanks for that info can i ask how your keeping it so humid I'm there? There was an error in mine it's 40-50. I have only had him a few days and from what I can gather it looks like he has already pyramidal a little bit, hence wanting.to make sure I get this right before it becomes a problem.

Thanks all for the welcomes . Wow so humidity need s to be a lot higher the! How are you keeping if that high if you don't mind me asking. I'm using sphagnum moss and misting and about 50 is the highest I can get the humidity up too. Is this because of the viv I'm using. I've only had him a week and I belive he is slightly pyrimded already so I want to get this sorted before it becomes serious. Andy looks stunning

Thought that first message didn't send, sorry.

 

[Jodie]

Mine is completely enclosed. If your viv is open on top the humidity escapes. I use coco coir with coco husk fiber on top. I keep it moist. My enclosure is not pretty, but effective.
It is a table. We built a cold frame and covered it with plastic.

 

[Jodie]

You could put a cover on the viv. You want the lights inside. Some use tin foil and make a tent over the whole thing.

 

[John Davies]

You could put a cover on the viv. You want the lights inside. Some use tin foil and make a tent over the whole thing.

My viv is enclosed asides from.the ventilation of course and I have lighting is good. Temp are spot on. I will have to have a play around with it in the morning as he's sleeping now. I will also post some pictures of my setup as soon as I can. It doesn't matter how it looks if I imagine your tort is much happier being kept in good conditions. A happy healthy tort is all that matters

 

[Jodie]

What are you using to measure humidity and where in the viv is it located? Maybe it is not accurate?

 

[Tom]

There are two main schools of though on this. The old school considers this a desert species and recommends they be kept dry and with low humidity. They make all sorts of incorrect predictions of health maladies if this advice is not followed. Their information is based on decades old incorrect assumptions about what happens in the wild. I know these people well. I used to be one of them.

The new school of thought says to simulate the African rainy season that these tortoises hatch into. Warm, humid, wet. I've done it both ways for many years and there is absolutely no doubt that tortoises do much better with some hydration and humidity. Just look around this forum for hundreds of examples.

Read these for more info on the subject:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[John Davies]

What are you using to measure humidity and where in the viv is it located? Maybe it is not accurate?

What are you using to measure humidity and where in the viv is it located? Maybe it is not accurate?

I use a hygrometer. i was thinking about that, maybe I'd be better off with a electronic one
I've have some pictures here, maybe this might shed some light

 

[John Davies]

There are two main schools of though on this. The old school considers this a desert species and recommends they be kept dry and with low humidity. They make all sorts of incorrect predictions of health maladies if this advice is not followed. Their information is based on decades old incorrect assumptions about what happens in the wild. I know these people well. I used to be one of them.

The new school of thought says to simulate the African rainy season that these tortoises hatch into. Warm, humid, wet. I've done it both ways for many years and there is absolutely no doubt that tortoises do much better with some hydration and humidity. Just look around this forum for hundreds of examples.

Read these for more info on the subject:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Thank you for the information Tom. I'll be sure to read through it. Yeah it's confusing opposite sides of the spectrum. I think i will be going the new school way i have had a look through and seen . Would this be just while he is young? Do they prefer less humidity as an adult? Sorry for all the questions!

 

[Tom]

Your tortoise looks great John, but that viv is way too small now. You need something much bigger, but I still recommend something closed in. An open table will not lead to good results.

Also, it seems you might already realize it, but those stick on dial type thermometers and hygrometers are not accurate or reliable.

 

[Tom]

Thank you for the information Tom. I'll be sure to read through it. Yeah it's confusing opposite sides of the spectrum. I think i will be going the new school way i have had a look through and seen . Would this be just while he is young? Do they prefer less humidity as an adult? Sorry for all the questions!

Looking at your set up, it seems you've already gone "new school". When they are older they can tolerate lower humidity levels with fewer negative effects on their growth. Just don't ever let them be cold and damp at the same time. Warmth is the key.

 

[John Davies]

Yeah, I'm planing on getting him a new home i just wasn't sure if a viv or tabletop would be better a viv makes sense seeing as i need a higher humidity. Yeah, i have come to that conclusion i have a habbistat thermostat which i need to set up so that will help with the temp. I guess its a good investment to get a digital hydrometer then. Thanks, I'm not sure if he has started to pyramid or not. He has spent his first 9 months in quite arid conditions.

 

[Jodie]

I use a hygrometer. i was thinking about that, maybe I'd be better off with a electronic one
I've have some pictures here, maybe this might shed some light

This is a cute setup. I like the hides. The substrate looks dry. I pour water into my substrate every other day or so. When you go bigger. Plants help. I plant grass directly in substrate.

 

[John Davies]

This is a cute setup. I like the hides. The substrate looks dry. I pour water into my substrate every other day or so. When you go bigger. Plants help. I plant grass directly in substrate.

Thanks jodie I did try and put some plants in but there wasn't really enough room it's something I will be doing in the next week or so when.I get his new home. The substrate is damp but not soaked. The idea of planting grass is goo!

 

[Gillian M]

I use a hygrometer. i was thinking about that, maybe I'd be better off with a electronic one
I've have some pictures here, maybe this might shed some light

A lovely enclosure and a beautiful little tort. GOD bless.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, John!