Humidity For Hermann's

[TheLittleNinja]

So the other day, I noticed that Donatello had some dark spots on his neck that didn't come off when I gave him his first bath. They'd been there when he'd arrived here and I chalked it up to being some leftover mulch from his previous enclosure that had gotten stuck on him. I did some research and found that it was in reality dead skin as a result of dehydration, so I immediately put him in a 15 minute soak (going to do it again today to be safe) and started hunting for ways to maintain humidity in his enclosure so I can nip this problem in the bud before it gets worse.
Usually (I did this for my leopard gecko's enclosure once) I pour water on the substrate then turn on his lights to make sure that it got good and humid in there, but I'm noticing that the humidity level on the temp gauge is still between 40-50% and read that the hatchling Hermann's tortoises need at least 80%. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can build humidity and maintain it? (I'm using a 50/50 of topsoil and sand as a substrate)

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

is he a hatchling for an adult? can you post some pics of the dots on his skin is concerning you. also can post some pics of his enclosure?

 

[THBfriend]

Usually (I did this for my leopard gecko's enclosure once) I pour water on the substrate then turn on his lights to make sure that it got good and humid in there, but I'm noticing that the humidity level on the temp gauge is still between 40-50% and read that the hatchling Hermann's tortoises need at least 80%. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can build humidity and maintain it? (I'm using a 50/50 of topsoil and sand as a substrate)

Maybe your humidity meter is inaccurate. Where did you hear that Hermann's tortoises need "at least" 80% humidity? I'd say it's up to 80%. Between 50% and 80% should be fine, with young tortoises requiring slightly higher levels than older ones.
Some people here say that sand is a bad substrate, as it might cause impaction when ingested. I did experiment with sand and soil mixtures and didn't like them (because of how the sand stuck to the tortoises). But if it works for you, I won't persuade you to get rid of it.

 

[TheLittleNinja]

Maybe your humidity meter is inaccurate. Where did you hear that Hermann's tortoises need "at least" 80% humidity? I'd say it's up to 80%. Between 50% and 80% should be fine, with young tortoises requiring slightly higher levels than older ones.
Some people here say that sand is a bad substrate, as it might cause impaction when ingested. I did experiment with sand and soil mixtures and didn't like them (because of how the sand stuck to the tortoises). But if it works for you, I won't persuade you to get rid of it.

Well, I'd read it on a care sheet I'd found on a website (can't recall the name at the moment). Right now it's right on 50% . I'd heard that two, and I don't particularly care for sand myself, hence why I started to add more topsoil to the substrate to make it more like 75% topsoil and 25% sand. I've considered putting in mulch, but I've heard that that too can hurt them. There's so many different opinions on which ones to use and which ones not to use as well as how much humidity they need or don't need that it's hard to figure out which ones are reliable sources and which ones aren't. =/