humidity question for new Russian

[Nimbledoe]

I have a 5 1/2 in. female Russian. (don't know age) Do I have to worry about the humidity if she soaks/ drinks nearly everyday? I place her in her water dish everyday and at minimum she has a nice long drink at least every other day. I have a 6 foot long enclosure with temp range 95 at one end under her uvb to 65-70 at the other end in her hide. Her substrate is a mix of coconut/coir and ciprus mulch. Which is pretty dry. Her humidity is 20 to 30 percent. Do I have to spray the substrate?

 

[rhondak]

She looks so cute just chilling in the water.

 

[wellington]

The humidity should be around 50%

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Russian tortoises are native to Central Asia, where the climate is semi-arid to arid. They do well with an ambient humidity of 20-60%.

Tortoises also need a moist substrate, though, where they can dig or burrow, and have a humid microclimate. That way, they can increase the humidity they experience by about 20%.

Coco coir is a good substrate, and cypress mulch is not bad, either. Both retain moisture and provide a humid microclimate. However, in an open enclosure (which is good for a Russian), any mist you spray on them will simply evaporate away relatively quickly. Better to just take the tortoise out every few weeks and add some water directly to the substrate. Mix it up to spread it evenly, so that it is moist but not damp. Then put the tortoise back in. Doing this will allow the substrate to hold onto the moisture for several weeks, until you need to repeat it again. It's easier to do this with coco coir alone, compared to a mixture with cypress mulch.

It's great that your Russian is using her water dish to drink and soak. However, she also needs a moist substrate to help her stay well-hydrated. Feeding her rinsed greens glistening with warm water is another good way to help her get the moisture she needs.

 

[Nimbledoe]

Russian tortoises are native to Central Asia, where the climate is semi-arid to arid. They do well with an ambient humidity of 20-60%.

Tortoises also need a moist substrate, though, where they can dig or burrow, and have a humid microclimate. That way, they can increase the humidity they experience by about 20%.

Coco coir is a good substrate, and cypress mulch is not bad, either. Both retain moisture and provide a humid microclimate. However, in an open enclosure (which is good for a Russian), any mist you spray on them will simply evaporate away relatively quickly. Better to just take the tortoise out every few weeks and add some water directly to the substrate. Mix it up to spread it evenly, so that it is moist but not damp. Then put the tortoise back in. Doing this will allow the substrate to hold onto the moisture for several weeks, until you need to repeat it again. It's easier to do this with coco coir alone, compared to a mixture with cypress mulch.

It's great that your Russian is using her water dish to drink and soak. However, she also needs a moist substrate to help her stay well-hydrated. Feeding her rinsed greens glistening with warm water is another good way to help her get the moisture she needs.

Thank you so very much for explaining this to me so thoroughly. I will take your advice and add moisture to the substrate the way you suggested. Katie

 

[saberfire06]

Russian tortoises are native to Central Asia, where the climate is semi-arid to arid. They do well with an ambient humidity of 20-60%.

Tortoises also need a moist substrate, though, where they can dig or burrow, and have a humid microclimate. That way, they can increase the humidity they experience by about 20%.

Coco coir is a good substrate, and cypress mulch is not bad, either. Both retain moisture and provide a humid microclimate. However, in an open enclosure (which is good for a Russian), any mist you spray on them will simply evaporate away relatively quickly. Better to just take the tortoise out every few weeks and add some water directly to the substrate. Mix it up to spread it evenly, so that it is moist but not damp. Then put the tortoise back in. Doing this will allow the substrate to hold onto the moisture for several weeks, until you need to repeat it again. It's easier to do this with coco coir alone, compared to a mixture with cypress mulch.

It's great that your Russian is using her water dish to drink and soak. However, she also needs a moist substrate to help her stay well-hydrated. Feeding her rinsed greens glistening with warm water is another good way to help her get the moisture she needs.

That is a great suggestion about dampening the substrate every few weeks instead of just misting. I've been having issue with my humidity too especially with the substrate drying out.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Here's another trick I use. I freshen my Russians' water dish every morning. When I do, I just dump out any old water directly onto the coco coir substrate. This continually renews the moisture level everyday, but doesn't make things damp. When I do mix up the substrate every few weeks, sometimes I don't even need to add more water, because the moisture from the dumped water dish just gets spread out over the enclosure.

Coco coir and other substrates can be dry on the surface, but may still be moist underneath. Mixing things up every few weeks returns moisture to the surface layers. Of course, if it's getting dry to a greater depth, adding some more water is necessary prior to mixing. Dumping the water dish just keeps things moist longer, and usually means I don't need to add as much water on substrate-mixing days.