Is humidity really good for a baby sully?

[elpatron_jrz]

The vet told me no, causes respiratory problems so who can I trust?

 

[abclements]

Trust Tom! The vet is semi right though. High humidity plus low temperatures equals high chances if respiratory infections. High temps plus high humidity equals one happy healthy and smooth sully! if you follow Tom's threads perfectly, temps included, you shouldn't have problems with ever!

 

[WillTort2]

From what I've read, Yes, humidity and warmth.

Good luck. And you should read Tom's threads.

 

[abclements]

I forgot to mention, Tom's posts are in Wellington's signature block. She posts all the time, so search for a post from her and click on the links in her signature! Shell probably be along sometime tonight or tomorrow morning to jump on this thread too! She just loves the opportunity to pass on Tom's outstanding advice on keeping sullies!

 

[elpatron_jrz]

My sully got sick and i took it to the vet and told me that its dehydrated not to h keep a bowl of water in with him becus its to humid .and everyone here keeps there babies himid idk convince me ppl...hes getting fluids for 5 days and antibiotic injection for 5 days see how that goes

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[Jesse977]

I have followed Toms advice and my sully is very healthy and has a nice smooth shell. Your vet is wrong.

 

[Beck]

Re: RE: Is humidity really good for a baby sully?

My sully got sick and i took it to the vet and told me that its dehydrated not to h keep a bowl of water in with him becus its to humid .and everyone here keeps there babies himid idk convince me ppl...hes getting fluids for 5 days and antibiotic injection for 5 days see how that goes

Sent from my LG-MS695 using TortForum mobile app

I'll let the experts handle this one, but I had to say. Your vet said your tort was dehydrated (not enough water) and his/her advice was to remove the torts only access to water in the enclosure?!? How does that make sense for any living being? Why would it make sense for a tortoise? Just a thought.

Vets, along with human doctors are taught things in school, that eventually become outdated and often turn out wrong. They should do constant research to make sure they are giving up to date care for your little one.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using TortForum mobile app

 

[Sh3wulf]

Many vets are misinformed about the requirements of young sulcatas and leopard torts. The requirements for proper development and a healthy tort are established in the first few months. A smooth shell mandates enough moisture to develop without pyramiding. A dehydrated tortoise will have pyramids, not to mention other horrible internal injuries can occur to major organs.
In the wild these babies are laid into wet ground, burrows that hold the moisture. They incubate and hatch into this humidity, and when the finally emerge from their nice humid nest, they come out to the rainy season, feeding on all the bountiful green growth, drinking and bathing in puddles and getting continuously soaked from the dew off the plant life they are grazing in. Temperatures in this season are still extremely warm, thus the humidity is very high. Those animals that hatch in this environment are the strongest and survive to be the big beautiful tortoises people love.
This is the support I have researched after reading through Toms method for raising the wet method.
You have your one vet explaining what has for a long time been believed to be the correct way to raise your tort, however this is an antiquated practice, and causes health issues and distress for young torts.
This whole forum is full of individuals raising healthy, happy, smooth torts that rarely if ever require vet care.
The choice is obviously yours to make, but if you read the forum and talk to individuals here, I think you will see the combined knowledge of a group of individuals who are passionate about torts and wouldn't lead you astray.
Benny has been growing at a tremendous rate, and I'm happy to say very smooth since I started the wet method with him.
Keep reading, keep educating yourself, and happy tort parenting to you.
Here is a pic showing how Benny was pyramiding when I got him (result of dry, vet recommended method)
Followed by his growth after implementing the wet method. All white is new growth and very smooth I'm happy to report.


Two kids, One husband, One Hines57, One Leopard Tortoise, and a room at the sanitarium lol

 

[wellington]

First, find another vet. This one doesn't have a clue about tortoises. Second, read Toms threads below for the proper way to house a sulcata, with high humidity. Tom has done the experiments and home work for you, how many experiments has your vet done? Guess what, pet stores don't know what they are talking about either.

 

[mchong9606]

I don't have a sulcata, I have a 3 month old leopard. But they are raised the same. I am using Tom's method of high humidity and warmth, minimum 80 degrees to a maximum or 110 degrees under a MVB light. I haven't had any issues and my little guy is heathy and happy. The key is the heat and the humidity together. Take out either one and THEN you will have problems.

 

[FLINTUS]

It does appear humidity is important in shell development, however it is not the only factor in pyramiding and a hatchling CAN be raised smoothly without high humidity if the rest of the care is correct. There is never one way of doing things and that is important to remember. That said, your vet does seem to be confused over his terminology and general knowledge.

 

[mchong9606]

I agree with Flintus, there is more than one way to raise a healthy tort. But to my benefit and many others, people like Tom have experimented with different methods to raise healthy sulcatas and leopards. So in my mind, if I just follow his footsteps with minor changes I'll get the same results. I do agree with others that your vet is not up to speed with tort care.

 

[thereptileenthusiast]

Your vet is dead wrong. If he was right, my sulcatas who have live outdoors in South Florida in 60-90% humidity year round would have died years ago. The idea that sulcatas must stay dry is based on the incorrect assumption that they are roaming around bone dry deserts all day. They don't actually live in the full on desert, but rather in the marginal areas where the desert meets the savannah and grass and vegetation are plentiful. In reality they stay within their humid burrows 90% of the time.
Very little is known about hatchling behavior in the wild, presumably because they stay hidden within dense vegetation where it is humid. Vegetation in these marginal areas is soaking wet in the early morning, even in the dry season. A hatchling sulcatas shell would get soaked every morning and the vegetation that he eats would be wet. Now here's the really shocking part. The foremost researcher of sulcatas in Senegal only recently observed his first hatchlings. You won't believe where he found them. In a SWAMP. Here's the link: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-36666.html

 

[wellington]

Yes, there are other ways as mentioned above, however they don't have a leopard or a sully. The other ways don't seem to be proving to grow quite as smooth as Toms way. Besides, Toms way is a healthy and smooth way and does not rule out the need for proper diet and exercise either.

 

[thereptileenthusiast]

Case in point:
As I was typing my last post, it began thundering outside and the usual heavy afternoon downpour of our South Florida summer rainy season began. I have always observed that both my redfoots and sulcatas prefer to come out and graze during light to medium rain, but for obvious reasons, I usually don't observe them during heavy rains. I decided to run out back to the sulcatas enclosure during a brief letup and see what Ndamukong was up to. He was very happily munching on the wild muscadine grape vines that cover one wall of his area. Just after I snapped this pic, it began thundering and coming down in buckets again. As I ran for cover in the house(about 250 feet away), Ndamukong seemed oblivious to the rain and continued with his meal. Here he is enjoying 100% humidity. You will notice he has small bumps in the center of each scute. This was the pyramiding he developed as a hatchling living indoors in a dry terrarium with his previous owner.

 

[wellington]

Nice. I think he's wondering why your running out of the beautiful rain

 

[thereptileenthusiast]

It does appear humidity is important in shell development, however it is not the only factor in pyramiding and a hatchling CAN be raised smoothly without high humidity if the rest of the care is correct. There is never one way of doing things and that is important to remember. That said, your vet does seem to be confused over his terminology and general knowledge.

I bolded the qualifying word that makes flintus' post correct. By saying without HIGH humidity, he acknowledges that SOME humidity is vital in the form of a humid hide and a water dish that is available at all times to the hatchling for drinking and soaking. I have yet to see a hatchling raised under the bone dry conditions this vet is recommending that has a smooth shell, regardless of diet. In fact, the conditions the vet is recommending(no water dish or humidity whatsoever) would certainly lead to death by dehydration. If they CAN be raised with high humidity and it results in a better chance for smooth shells, why not?

 

[Millerlite]

You don't necessarily need high humidity enclosure, humid hides work well and i know multiple people that raised them without high humidity temps above 80 method. Provide water, and soak young ones to make sure they stay healthy, provide an area with a little more humidity if you don't have overall humidity and you can avoid pyramiding. I've raised sulcatas outdoors too and they did not pyramid, there are multiple ways to prevent pyramiding and it takes a overall effort to prevent it. As far as people using close chambers, I'm actually a fan do non close chambers because air flow is just as important as humidity, I live in so ca. It's dry and I keep my humidity up in my enclosure with out it all closed up restricting air. This I can imagine can cause ri quick if you don't monitor the enclosure daily. If temps drop too as said above with a high over all humidity that can cause Ri. Really tho hydration is needed your vet saying he's dehydrate means you need to soak him more. Sometimes a water dish isn't enough for a young tortoise.

 

[ascott]

You don't necessarily need high humidity enclosure, humid hides work well

Agree here....and add, a tortoise needs to be able to have an opportunity to "dry out" their shell and breath to remain healthy....so to offer a cool dry area is just as important as providing a warm humid hide area/humid area of the enclosure....along with natural sunlight and good diet topped off with good exercise ...

 

[wellington]

Sorry, disagree. They can be in a closed chamber with just the air exchange that would happen when the lid is opened to feed or take out for soaking and do not have to dry out. Tom has the proof. Don't forget, it also depends on where you live as to if you need to totally close the chamber. heck, i have higher humidity where i live in the city of chicago, then my sister inlaw who lives in the same city. Also, in the past there are a few members that were experimenting and decided to switch to Toms methods, as theirs weren't producing as smooth of a tort as Toms. A tort can still be healthy pyramided, but why wouldn't you want them to look like they were meant and also be healthy. I'd love to see pics of some low humidity torts and just a humid hide tort compared to Toms. Maybe it all depends on the amount of pyramiding one still considers smooth?
Either way, your vet is not the one to listen too.