How do I read the humidity gauge
- Thread starter DoingTheBestICan
- Start date
Greetings.
To quickly answer, if you have a young Sully that you are raising in an enclosed chamber, you want your humidity reading in the high end of humidity 80% or higher & ambient temps at least 80 F all the time.
You should take a read on the best way to raise a young Sulcata.
➡➡ https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threa...se-a-sulcata-leopard-or-star-tortoise.181497/
In the mean time, look into getting a better temp/humidity gauge. AcuRite makes some good cheap ones that have a probe. The problem with the type u have is most ppl stick one high up in their tank where the heat or lights are, not where the tortoise is.
Key info from the care sheet
Babies hatch during the start of the rainy season. It is hot, very humid, rainy, and marshy in some areas. There are puddles and lush green growing food everywhere. In some areas there is a dry season, but the hot monsoon season is when babies hatch, and babies find humid microclimates to hide in during drier times. In extreme conditions they aestivate and don't eat or grow at all when its hot and dry. Keeping your hatchling in a dry, desert-like enclosure, is a big mistake and an invitation to disaster. It is also very un-natural for these animals. Damp substrate, a water bowl, and a humid hide should all be pre-requisites. Along with this, warm temps day and night are necessary. Sulcatas, leopards and stars are NOT prone to shell rot at all, and they do not get respiratory infections in these damp conditions as long as temps are kept up. I shoot for no lower than 80 degrees day or night year round, and all three of these heat loving species do well with a day time ambient approaching 90 degrees. Humidity is at 80+% all the time. Most people keep them too cool and too dry. Adults can tolerate colder temps and drier conditions in some circumstances, but this care sheet is for hatchlings and babies and is aimed at helping them thrive, not just survive. I know the books, the breeders and the "experts" all say the opposite of this. They are wrong. They've been wrong for 30 years. For 20 of those years I was wrong right along with them. Some of us have learned and advanced. Some have not. Keep this in mind when consulting a vet, or a potential breeder or seller that you want to buy from. As soon as they contradict this info and tell you "this is a desert species", you will know NOT to buy from them.
To quickly answer, if you have a young Sully that you are raising in an enclosed chamber, you want your humidity reading in the high end of humidity 80% or higher & ambient temps at least 80 F all the time.
You should take a read on the best way to raise a young Sulcata.
➡➡ https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threa...se-a-sulcata-leopard-or-star-tortoise.181497/
In the mean time, look into getting a better temp/humidity gauge. AcuRite makes some good cheap ones that have a probe. The problem with the type u have is most ppl stick one high up in their tank where the heat or lights are, not where the tortoise is.
Key info from the care sheet
Babies hatch during the start of the rainy season. It is hot, very humid, rainy, and marshy in some areas. There are puddles and lush green growing food everywhere. In some areas there is a dry season, but the hot monsoon season is when babies hatch, and babies find humid microclimates to hide in during drier times. In extreme conditions they aestivate and don't eat or grow at all when its hot and dry. Keeping your hatchling in a dry, desert-like enclosure, is a big mistake and an invitation to disaster. It is also very un-natural for these animals. Damp substrate, a water bowl, and a humid hide should all be pre-requisites. Along with this, warm temps day and night are necessary. Sulcatas, leopards and stars are NOT prone to shell rot at all, and they do not get respiratory infections in these damp conditions as long as temps are kept up. I shoot for no lower than 80 degrees day or night year round, and all three of these heat loving species do well with a day time ambient approaching 90 degrees. Humidity is at 80+% all the time. Most people keep them too cool and too dry. Adults can tolerate colder temps and drier conditions in some circumstances, but this care sheet is for hatchlings and babies and is aimed at helping them thrive, not just survive. I know the books, the breeders and the "experts" all say the opposite of this. They are wrong. They've been wrong for 30 years. For 20 of those years I was wrong right along with them. Some of us have learned and advanced. Some have not. Keep this in mind when consulting a vet, or a potential breeder or seller that you want to buy from. As soon as they contradict this info and tell you "this is a desert species", you will know NOT to buy from them.
Last edited:
DoingTheBestICan
New Member
DoingTheBestICan
New Member
Hi thank you for the new gauge suggestion! I’ll check it out. Currently it’s in a dog house with a 6 year old Sulcata actually. Is the reading on my gauge okay or am I interpreting it incorrectly?
Yes, that “range” is good....BUT you really don’t know the accuracy. They can be horribly inaccurate! It’s really not good to house them together. You have a young hatchling in with six year old?
Minority2
Well-Known Member
No those mechanical measuring instruments are of poor quality and are too inaccurate to trust. You can practically flick the thing and it'll generate a completely different reading in the opposite direction. Your typical digital unit these days are far more reliable to go with as most of the economy models available will measure within a +1/-1% accuracy.
DoingTheBestICan
New Member
No I don’t have a young hatching haha. I’m not sure where that came from. I have a six year old Sulcata and was wondering if I am reading the humidity temp correctly. I’m considering getting a new one like someone has suggested above.
My bad I guess you had a a hatchling as well. Up above you said - “Currently it’s in a dog house with a 6 year old Sulcata actually.”
No problems.... keep it hot n humid.
No problems.... keep it hot n humid.
DoingTheBestICan
New Member
Sulcatas are NOT a desert species. That is old incorrect info. They come from grasslands and forest edges, not deserts.
Humidity is not as critical for them as they get older and larger.
Those stick on dial type gauges are inaccurate and unreliable. Get something similar to this from the hardware store:
I also use the Accu-Rite ones and they work fine.
Dog houses can work for summer, but do you have a insulated night box made for winter? Here are a couple of ways to do it:
Single Tortoise Night Box
I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...
tortoiseforum.org
Double Door Night Box
As the years have gone by and I build more of these boxes, I learn more and more each time. This one is the latest and I incorporated everything I've learned over the years. I also tried to take lots of pics so I can explain in more detail some of what is going on. It will take multiple posts to...
tortoiseforum.org
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