Going Nuts! Humidity problem!

[Christina Chornomud]

I have a baby redfoot tortoise. His name is Michaelangelo (I know super original lol). Anyhow where I live, it is naturally between 55-60% humidity. I bought a glass tank, yes I know humidity escapes. But... his tank drops from 80% all the way to 55% whether the light is on or off....i spray his entire tank with a spray bottle and it goes up to 80%. I have a humidifier that I used and I actually put a plastic bag around it so it would go into the tank (the opposite side of my baby Michael). There was literally steam /condensation on the glass and it didn't go above 80%! I have spaghnum moss which is semi-damp. It will be at 80% for awhile and then I will go check and it's back down to 55% what on earth else could i do? i tried the damp towel trick, doesn't work even a little bit. Any other tips or hints ? it's driving me nuts! should i just buy a humidifier? it seems like that should be unnecessary because of where I live, but i don't know what else i can do!

 

[Levi the Leopard]

A closed chamber will solve your problems.

 

[Christina Chornomud]

Well I have a tank, so basically long story short I need less air going in? or what makes the closed chamber better? Cuz I have an old pool liner in my backyard I could cut to size, or maybe I could find a piece of wood and cut it to the appropriate size or a plastic bin/bins or something. I gotta work with what i have for now. when he upgrades, ill consider a closed chamber

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I've found that there are different levels of humidity in different areas of my indoor tank. By my home made humidifier, it's around 80%. At ground level nearby it's close to the same and the readings taper off towards the dryer end of the tank where the sleeping quarters are and up to where I've mounted my meter to about 35-40%. I have orchid bark covered by garden soil. The orchid bark stays damp. The soil, at least on the sleeping side stays pretty dry. I've just added a rather large "spicy" basil plant to see if it helps much. I let my baby go outside for several hours each day where it is nearly 100% humidity and 82-90 degrees.

 

[naturalman91]

Well I have a tank, so basically long story short I need less air going in? or what makes the closed chamber better? Cuz I have an old pool liner in my backyard I could cut to size, or maybe I could find a piece of wood and cut it to the appropriate size or a plastic bin/bins or something. I gotta work with what i have for now. when he upgrades, ill consider a closed chamber

just cover the top of the tank and you should be fine but he still needs his light so whatever you cover it with make sure that you cut holes for the lights

what makes a closed chamber better is you can hold humidity for a long time depending on how well you have it set up and if you use your heating fixtures on a thermostat they won't kick on nearly as much, with my current closed chamber i can go a month or two without misting and hold perfect humidity.

 

[Christina Chornomud]

for now, just to test, i am covering it with a recyclable plastic bag (about 3/4 of the way) . i immediately noticed that the humidity rose to 90% after I misted this time...oh my gosh I should have asked so much earlier! Thanks so much!!

 

[lisa127]

for now, just to test, i am covering it with a recyclable plastic bag (about 3/4 of the way) . i immediately noticed that the humidity rose to 90% after I misted this time...oh my gosh I should have asked so much earlier! Thanks so much!!

You can cover the screen top with heavy duty aluminum foil and just cut out holes for the lights. Tape it around the edges so it stays. That's what I did when I used a tank and it worked great.

I have never in my life measured the humidity. I have box turtles and I just keep the substrate slightly damp and spray each day. And as babies did what I said above. I never measured the humidity and they grew beautifully and healthy.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

A closed chamber works like a closed bathroom door after you take a hot shower. Closed door keeps the steam in the room. Opening the door or window lets all the hot air escape.
In your tank, the hot, humid air rises up and out. The more you cover- the more you trap. The more holes/ vents/ openings- the more humid air that escapes.

I covered my tanks screen lid and for 2 years kept a wonderfully humid environment without a humidifier. I didn't even mist regularly.

 

[tortdad]

I have a 100% closed chamber and it hold humidity like a champ. Make sure you are measuring the humidity levels down at tort level, not the top of your tank.


0.0.1 Redfoot (Spike)
0.0.1 Cherryhead Redfoot (Bruce Wayne)
1.0 Sulcata (Hal Jordan)