Humidity and helping them to cool down?

[tinkthetortoise]

Hi everyone, i have an 11 year old russian and we're in the process of moving house so his vivarium isn't in an ideal place - the room he's in gets very very hot. Any tips on how to keep him cool as well as giving him the heat he needs? I know that's very awkward. He's trying to dig a lot, I'm assuming that's because he wants to regulate his temperature, and the amount of substrate he has isn't as much as we'd like and it's not ideal but it's all we can provide whilst we're sorting the new house. I'm also a bit unsure of how to keep the right humidity levels for him? I was told when we got him that if we spray the ground it causes respiratory problems, is this true? Is there anything else we can do to keep it humid for him? Thanks in advance.

 

[method89]

what is the temp of the room? could you give him a window AC? Pictures of your setup will help us give you better answers. You can pour water into a corner and then mix it into the substrate to keep it damp but not muddy or watery.

 

[tinkthetortoise]

what is the temp of the room? could you give him a window AC? Pictures of your setup will help us give you better answers. You can pour water into a corner and then mix it into the substrate to keep it damp but not muddy or watery.

I've attached a picture - apologies it's in the dark but he's off for the night now, he has a uvb bulb and basking light in there i'm not too sure if you can see that in it. I'll definitely try dampening the substrate, he has a ready mixed one for russians we got off a reliable source with great reviews. I'm not 100% on the room temperate but it's a lot hotter than his vivarium would normally be in. We're also getting the tank converted into a tortoise table in the next few weeks as I know that is better them. I'm thinking of leaving a fan on in there at the parts of the day when it's hotter to regulate the temperature - do you think that'd help?

 

[Tom]

I've attached a picture - apologies it's in the dark but he's off for the night now, he has a uvb bulb and basking light in there i'm not too sure if you can see that in it. I'll definitely try dampening the substrate, he has a ready mixed one for russians we got off a reliable source with great reviews. I'm not 100% on the room temperate but it's a lot hotter than his vivarium would normally be in. We're also getting the tank converted into a tortoise table in the next few weeks as I know that is better them. I'm thinking of leaving a fan on in there at the parts of the day when it's hotter to regulate the temperature - do you think that'd help?

We can't know anything until we know what the temperature is. For someone who lives in snow, 10 Celsius feels hot to them. It gets very hot where Russians come from. Over 40 C. I don't see it getting that hot in the UK unless you have him in a glass box in a sunny window.

What you think feels hot, might be ideal for your little tortoise, or it might be too cool even. You need to use a digital thermometer and read the actual temperatures.