How do I keep the humidity for my 2 1/2 year old tortoise between 40% and 60%? I believe I read that that's what it should be for a Russian tortoise around his age.
His cage is 4x2x1.5 (I think it's this one from AP cages https://apcages.com/collections/terrestrial-cages/products/t11-48l-x-24w-x-18h), has a long UVB bulb on 12 hrs a day, has a CHE, has a warm hide and cool hide, has two small vents in the back, a tortoise-sized water dish (planter saucer), and I'm slowly switching the substrate away from aspen shavings to orchid bark.
I recently bought GreenAll Microbark from a plant nursery nearby (like this https://www.ebstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Micro-Bark-400x713.jpg), based on information I read in this forum for where to find orchid bark. I added enough to fill half the cage last week, making it maybe 4 inches or so deep so that my tortoise could burrow into it. I stuck a humidity monitor in there, something similar to this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H1R0K68/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20. After I did that, the humidity gauge went from I think 30% to 80% within hours. To bring it back down, I opened the glass cage doors a bit, and added back more aspen shavings, which helped, although I know that stuff is too drying, hence trying to switch. I also turned the heat up a degree. Got things down to 68%. Now that some days have passed, it's mostly staying between 35% and 65% (the higher humidity at night).
For the first couple of years, I bought CaribSea Coco Soft coco coir (like this one https://www.happypet.co.uk/komodo-orchid-bark-forest-terrain.html but not from that shop), until that became unavailable. Then, after a vet suggested I try orchid bark, I switched to Komodo orchid bark online (like this one https://www.happypet.co.uk/komodo-orchid-bark-forest-terrain.html) from other countries (Canada mainly), and then stopped being able to find that too. My tortoise seemed to get perfect bills of health from his primary vet all that time. I wasn't gauging the humidity until just this year, but the glass doors to his cage never fogged up, and with the GreenAll microbark they did.
I'd like to switch him over entirely to this stuff, since I know he shouldn't be on aspen shavings or such dry substrate, but suspect the humidity will jump again, and I don't want to do this incorrectly. Anyone have any tips on how to keep the humidity down?
His cage is 4x2x1.5 (I think it's this one from AP cages https://apcages.com/collections/terrestrial-cages/products/t11-48l-x-24w-x-18h), has a long UVB bulb on 12 hrs a day, has a CHE, has a warm hide and cool hide, has two small vents in the back, a tortoise-sized water dish (planter saucer), and I'm slowly switching the substrate away from aspen shavings to orchid bark.
I recently bought GreenAll Microbark from a plant nursery nearby (like this https://www.ebstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Micro-Bark-400x713.jpg), based on information I read in this forum for where to find orchid bark. I added enough to fill half the cage last week, making it maybe 4 inches or so deep so that my tortoise could burrow into it. I stuck a humidity monitor in there, something similar to this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H1R0K68/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20. After I did that, the humidity gauge went from I think 30% to 80% within hours. To bring it back down, I opened the glass cage doors a bit, and added back more aspen shavings, which helped, although I know that stuff is too drying, hence trying to switch. I also turned the heat up a degree. Got things down to 68%. Now that some days have passed, it's mostly staying between 35% and 65% (the higher humidity at night).
For the first couple of years, I bought CaribSea Coco Soft coco coir (like this one https://www.happypet.co.uk/komodo-orchid-bark-forest-terrain.html but not from that shop), until that became unavailable. Then, after a vet suggested I try orchid bark, I switched to Komodo orchid bark online (like this one https://www.happypet.co.uk/komodo-orchid-bark-forest-terrain.html) from other countries (Canada mainly), and then stopped being able to find that too. My tortoise seemed to get perfect bills of health from his primary vet all that time. I wasn't gauging the humidity until just this year, but the glass doors to his cage never fogged up, and with the GreenAll microbark they did.
I'd like to switch him over entirely to this stuff, since I know he shouldn't be on aspen shavings or such dry substrate, but suspect the humidity will jump again, and I don't want to do this incorrectly. Anyone have any tips on how to keep the humidity down?
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