I need Advice

[Tracy Gould]

I have been trying to increase the humidity in Shelbys table and managed to get it to average 60 to 70. I use Aspen and bark chips at the moment but this seems to dry out quickly i have ben told to put some mosser Lee Sphagnum moss in her hide. I know to soak this them squeeze it till its damp but not dripping, Is there anything else i need to know about this stuff like does it need to be broken down and is there any danger linked to this stuff, like eye damage, infections, shell rot, ingestion problems. If this stuff is safe i plan on mixing it with the aspen and bark around the heat spot to get humidity up around there and i will put it in her plastic hide but i will leave her log dry so she as a dry spot to hide if she wants, I will not be putting it in the covered area as its also the cooler area and i have read cool and damp is a bad combo, am i correct in doing this.

Well I seem to like writing essays lol

 

[Isa]

You should not put water in the aspen or mix it with a damp substrate. I have 2 Hermanns, in Hermy's enclosure, the substrate is aspen and there is one humid hide (wet sponge glued on top of the hide) and in Popcorn's enclosure, it is aspen and in a little pot, I put humid Shpagmum moss, so he can go there if he needs something humid. I know some people here use humid substrate, I am sure they will come and answer you question

 

[GBtortoises]

For small tortoises indoors I use a substrate that consists of about 60% organic soil (potting or topsoil), 30% coconut coir and the rest ground sphagnum & leaf litter. I have found that this substrate retains moisture well and allows for good footing and digging for the tortoises. I spray it 2-3 time daily and stir it up and soak it well about once a week. I do it so often because all of my tortoises are all kept in a designated room in the winter with lots of lights on. That combined with my house heat tends to make the room dry so I am constantly adding moisture to the room in order to maintain an ambient humidity level of about 60-65%. So a moist substrate is necessary. I don't worry so much about providing a specific moist hide box since the entire enclosure offers plenty of moist spots.

If I could get me photobucket account to work I'd post some photos of the substrate. No luck at the moment!

 

[greeks]

I put sphagnum in my hide box, also. I use plain aspen for most of the enclosure and a small area of coconut coir kept damp where I keep the edible plants. I personally wouldn't mix the sphagnum throughout. (I keep Greek tortoises, not Hermanns, though).

I haven't heard of any problems with the moss - it seems pretty universally recommended for use safely. If you're concerned, clean it with an antimicrobial reptile spray (rinse well!) and keep it in one small area and see how the tortoise likes it. Mine love it and go into their hide boxes fairly frequently. Mine generally dries out completely in a couple days and it's easier to re-wet this way, being in one spot. I've not seen any of my tortoises ingest it and with it not being part of the overall substrate they don't accidentally eat it when eating their food.



___________________________________

~Shauna

1.0.0 Ibera greek tortoise (Turkish variety)
0.3.0 Jordanian greek tortoises

 

[Tracy Gould]

Ok thanks I will just put it in her hide, and i will not mix it with the aspen then, I may try the Coir too as i can not get the humidity above 70 at the moment i hit 70 then falls to 60 fair quickly

 

[greeks]

60% isn't bad. Is there a reason you want to have humidity 70% or higher? Young tortoises should be fine at 60-65% and the older the tortoise the slightly less you can keep the levels - I keep my older tortoise at about 50%. Super high humidity is for tropical species. I believe with drier lands torts you increase the risk of fungi and bacteria growth and/or respiratory infection with moisture.

 

[Tracy Gould]

60% isn't bad. Is there a reason you want to have humidity 70% or higher? Young tortoises should be fine at 60-65% and the older the tortoise the slightly less you can keep the levels - I keep my older tortoise at about 50%. Super high humidity is for tropical species. I believe with drier lands torts you increase the risk of fungi and bacteria growth and/or respiratory infection with moisture.

Its not so much keeping it higher but at the moment i am struggling to keep it at 60 it tends to drop to 50 if i do not mist the table, I have been reading the posts about keeping the torts in humide table and to keep the wet to help with pyramiding i was happy before that keeping it around 50 but after ready all the post i thought i was doing it wrong. I know there are problems linked top high humidity but also know peole are linking keeping them too dry to Pyramiding. I will add the moss and coir to the table and try and keep it at 60/65 hopefully with the better moisture retaining stuff it will not dry as fast