keeping the enclosure humid

[jobeanator]

i have my yearling redfoot thats about 2-3 inches in length in a rubbermaid tub that he lives in. i have moss for him and i mist it and fog it 2-3 times a day, but it still gets so dry in there due to his heat emitter. is there something im doing inccorect or something i should be doing?

 

[Neohippy]

I've heard literally dumping some water in helps. then just mist as needed.

I keep their basking dish directly under my heat emitter, and it seems to help. Also, live plants seem to be helping quite a bit.

The key seems to be keeping their hide humid, if that's moist, they always have humidity even if their enclosure goes dry during the day.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Pour water directly on the substrate and then mix it all up with your hands. Then mist it as needed. In 1 or 2 days you'll have to pour water in again. I also cover about half the enclosure with foil, that seems to help also...

 

[dewbert]

I agree. Dump water in there and do it again every few days. Eventually you'll get it saturated and then misting/spraying will keep it nice.

 

[jobeanator]

i have most of his enclosure covered with the lid to the container, and i have a gap where the i have the heat emitter. ive never tried dumping water in there. i have a fogger for him that he seems to enjoy, and it keeps it moist for a day then it looks like a desert the next day. does the foil help keep the humidity and moisture in more then the lid i have covering it?

 

[terryo]

I put lots of plants in there. I keep most of them in their little pots, and bury them in the substrate, so when I water them the water goes out the drainage holes in the pots and wets the under part of the substrate. This raises the humidity a lot. Also I mist the plant leaves in the AM. When Pio or Izzy comes out to eat, I mist them. They love that....just sit there like they are in the rain. I used to keep the substrate really wet, and Pio started to get a shell fungus...and after the treatment, and he got better, I started to just water all the plants. Also I keep long fibered moss in his hide and wet that and then squeeze it out and fluff it up every other day, so it is damp not wet. I cover the top of the vivarium with clear wrapping tape and just leave enough openings for the heat emitter and the long tube light, which also leaves openings for air flo. All this keeps it very humid in there, but not wet.

 

[jobeanator]

what type of plants would you reccomend to put in ? or what plants do you have in your enclosure?

 

[Bryan]

Anyone on here from Florida? I live in Hawaii and I am really wondering just how much of these things I'll have to do because the temps and humidity here (specifically where I live) are very similar to Bahia Brazil. I would assume that some misting here and there would be good, keeping plants in the enclosure, and misting them when they eat, but I won't have a heat emitter and will only have a light for them for the plants and to give them their daylight cycle. Should I be o.k. only with a humid hide and doing what I mentioned above?

 

[terryo]

Bryan, If you don't use a heat emitter, I think your humidity will be fine. The heat emitter is what dries everything up in my viv.
Jobeanator, I have mostly pothos and little Rose of Sharon in my indoor vivarium. Also a little palm tree...some pansies, which I always have to replace as he eats them...some creeping jenny. I have a big Rose of Sharon Tree in my yard, and it lets off seeds so I have loads of babies that I pick and put in the viv. I have to keep replacing them because Pio eats them right up. Sometimes I throw in some spring mix seeds and when the little sprouts come up he eats them too. This is my favorite site for plants that are OK.
http://www.africantortoise.com/edible_landscaping.htm

 

[Madkins007]

As for wetting the substrate for Red-foots... make sure it does not make the substrate cold. If it is warmed from below somehow, this is a GREAT option. If it makes the top of the substrate cool and clammy, it won't help as much as it could. I find my soil is warm under the emitter, and cold away from it if I do not GENTLY warm it to about 80-85F

Another option is a humid hide. Take a plastic tub or box with a lid, cut a hole in the side. Fluff up a bunch of loose, damp moss in it, and park it in the hottest part of the tank. You can make it even more humid, without making it clammy, by sewing a big wad of moss in a linen or thin fabric bag then soaking it in warm water and hanging it in the hide or a semi-enclosed area.

Or, try a warm vapor humidifier set up so the mist is ducted into the habitat. Some flexible duct material can be attached to a hole in the side of the pen and duct-taped around the vaporizer's output. Putting it on a timer that works several times a day is great!

In a big habitat, you can actually use a small tropical fish tank. A large, heavy tank filled with water that is heated to just a few degrees over the air temp will generate a lot of humidity. And the fish make tasty snacks if you go that route. A heated fountain is a gorgeous addition to an indoor habitat.

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

Be careful about watering the substrate, it should never turn into a swamp because that can lead to shellrot and other problems. The air should be humid. Best thing is to find out where the humidity is escaping and cover it with plexiglass or glass or whatever, mist a few times a day, and buy sphagnum moss and soak it, wring it out, and put it all over the enclosure