Can UV get through humid hide?

[mchiu]

My little guy tends to spend 90% of his day buried inside of his hide. If he's not in it, he's eating or in his water dish.

My question is, can the UV from the MVB penetrate through the plastic and get to him? It's still too cool here to let him outside so he's entirely dependent on the MVB (aside from any calc + D3 supplements I might give him) for UV.

I ask because he didn't defecate for at least a week and then this morning had a very big one so I'm not sure if it's just him not getting enough UV to digest his food properly or something else.

 

[ascott]

Uv rays can not get through solid objects....however they can fill space ....let's see if I can get the right words here

So like when the sun is out and shining down on your house, it can not shine down through the roof or walls but it can shine through the windows as it fills space and can travel into shaded areas researched up to four feet....now when I say it shines through the window I do not say it to promote people to place their torts in front of window glass for uv rays because the window glass reflects a large amount of the uv rays...

If you are running your uvb light too many hours and/or the light is too much for a young tort this may cause the tort to retreat out of the uv rays....perhaps run your heat source(s) and then try to run your uvb light in the morning for a couple of hours and then turn it off until around high noon then turn it off after a couple hours...see during the down time if your fort becomes more active about instead of his hide...also, do you have a plant cluster area that he can go and hide under to give him an alternate out of the hide area to chill out under?

My other concern would be that uv rays are not the main trigger for a torts digestion...but rather proper temps are a big trigger for hunger and elimination of body waste....what temps are you running in the cool side middle and basking sides...do you run a night heat source as well?

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One more thing to remember is that babies have a natural hide desire....but it is a good idea to make tweaks and such to make sure all set up is on mark...then you can feel confident and comfortable that the hiding is due to survival" don't want to be eaten" instinct...lol...

 

[mchiu]

My UVB and heat source are the same bulb since it's a mercury ballasting bulb so I can't exactly separate the two.

In regards to a plant cluster, the closest I have is a half log that he tends to hide under at night partially at night.

The basking spot is about 110F, the cool side is 85F which is underneath the night heat source.

If it helps, he's been eating everyday and I haven't seen any loss in appetite and he's definitely been urinating.

I'm not concerned about his need to hide, since I did read that young torts tend to do it as part of a survival instinct, and at 8-9 months he's probably still feeling it. I just can't be sure if he's getting enough UV when he spends most of his time hiding in under the plastic.

 

[wellington]

No uv does not go through plastic or glass.

 

[Len B]

very large poops from leopards are normal.

 

[Kristina]

No, the UV cannot penetrate the plastic. However, neither can UV penetrate dirt and rocks. My point is, inside, he is hiding in a man-made plastic container. Outside, he would be hiding under dirt and rocks

It is questionable how much UV is really necessary to keep a tortoise healthy. In my experience, it is a small amount. He should be getting plenty during the times that he is out and about.

Personally, I would lower your basking temps to 95-100*. You can do this by raising your bulb. What is the temperature in the hide area?

 

[mchiu]

The temp inside the hide is about 90F.