Humidity help please

jam1972

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Hi can some one please advise me I'm very new to this .cant seem to get my humidity up as it is only at 40 and I believe it should be at about 60-70 how can increase it..
 

Dizisdalife

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Hi can some one please advise me I'm very new to this .cant seem to get my humidity up as it is only at 40 and I believe it should be at about 60-70 how can increase it..
To get advice on how to make an improvement it would help to have a few pictures of your enclosure and a description of what you are doing now. It could be as simple as the accuracy of the hygrometer that you are now using. Can't wait to see the pictures.
 

jam1972

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Hi .
I have a horse field she is about 3 months and is in a tort table.the pet shop gave me a bag of tortoise sand ..ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1421963965.266562.jpgImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1421963992.751200.jpgImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1421963965.266562.jpg
 

russian/sulcata/tortoise

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Yvonne G

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Did you get paperwork with that tortoise? Reason I ask is because it looks quite a bit older than 3 months.

Replace your substrate with something like coco coir or orchid bark, wet it good then cover the habitat.
 

Dizisdalife

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A substrate like coconut coir or orchid bark will hold moisture and resist mold. You may want to line the bottom and sides of you enclosure with plastic before you do this. You will want a couple of inches of substrate so that the top layer is mostly dry, but the lower layers are very moist. Your humidity should be higher. If not, then cover as much of the top as you can to trap the moisture in. Many of us build enclosures that are totally enclosed so that we can more accurately control the temperature and the humidity.
 

crimson_lotus

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With the right substrate you should raise your humidity considerably. I have a closed chamber with coco coir and sphagnum moss and I get a constant 80-90% all day and night.

Make sure your temperatures are high enough when you raise the humidity. If it's 70 degrees in there and your humidity is at 80%, you're going to have a sick tortoise.
 

bouaboua

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sand can cause impaction in a tortoises intestines if eaten. replace it with a better substrate like coco coir, cypress mulch, or orchard bark. the substate should be moist. how often do you soak your tortoise?
Again! ! !

Very well put Nick. You are very good! ! ! !
 

Gillian M

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A very warm welcome to the :tort:forum. You'll enjoy it here and get the help you need.
 

PixelAdams

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I second everything said. I recently started my first tortoise off in an open topped Rubbermaid bin, but I quickly realized I couldn't get the get the humidity above 40%, so I've started covering the top. Aluminum foil works well for this over the lamps. Also pour/spray water into the substrate regularly. As long as it's not muddy on top it's fine.

Another thing, it looks like your humidity gauge is a few inches above the ground. It you put it down where the tortoise walks the humidity will be higher there, if you are properly wetting the substrate.
 

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