Little advice please

[ustwoandthekids]

My partner picked me up a baby redfoot yesterday it looks healthy and active, but it does have a white ish head think just where it's dry or dusty, have bathed it and looks little better anything else I can do to improve it?

 

[tortdad]

Keep up with the soaks. Mine loves head rubs so I dip my finger in the water and rub his head when exfoliates the dry skin. Keeping them warm and humid helps. What temperature and humidity level are you keeping it at?

 

[ustwoandthekids]

Temp in basking end 33c (91f) roughly and cool end around 28c (82f) humidity I've been trying to keep at around 80% + but keeps dropping really quick

 

[lismar79]

It is hard to keep up humidity in an open top enclosure. Can you cover it, if not already?

 

[N2TORTS]

There are a few ways to help with your humidity....one is to buy a warm air humidifier, Or .....you can set up a simple " wick" system with your enclosure. Strips of wool , cotton or even sponges...a large container of H20. Place your container on top and insert "droop" strings in your water, with the remainder leading down into your enclosure. A good moss pile as substrate underneath and Wham~o....gravity will slowly " wick" the water down with out making a mess, and also provide lots of moisture (along with your heat) = Humidity. This a very cheap and easy way , but efficient.
JD~

Get rid of some of that bark ..and provide a "snuggle down" area using the best method by far , Green Moss. ( Not dyed)

 

[ustwoandthekids]

Thanks for the advice will give it a try.

It's in a vivarium not open top enclosure

 

[ksanchez]

There are a few ways to help with your humidity....one is to buy a warm air humidifier, Or .....you can set up a simple " wick" system with your enclosure. Strips of wool , cotton or even sponges...a large container of H20. Place your container on top and insert "droop" strings in your water, with the remainder leading down into your enclosure. A good moss pile as substrate underneath and Wham~o....gravity will slowly " wick" the water down with out making a mess, and also provide lots of moisture (along with your heat) = Humidity. This a very cheap and easy way , but efficient.
JD~

Get rid of some of that bark ..and provide a "snuggle down" area using the best method by far , Green Moss. ( Not dyed)

N2TORTS
I have found that sometimes the moss I've gotten has had bugs or eggs and the bugs hatch. So I have cleaned my enclosure a few times and now decided not to use the moss, but now am having trouble keeping my humidity as high as it was before. What type of green moss are you using and have you had any trouble with little bugs? I've tried freezing the moss and also cleaning in hot water and rinsing, but still I got tiny bugs.

 

[N2TORTS]

Your little bugs your speaking of are probably springtails . You tend to see them in large numbers under and around water dishes and they will also cluster on droppings. They feed on decaying organic matter and you have the perfect environment for them. These will not harm your tortoise but can be a nuisance. Letting your substrate dry out a bit will reduce their numbers. More than likely they are not from your moss but any other soil and or even the tiniest piece of left over food will spark an infestation.
Here is the moss I'm speaking of....(no bugs)

Moss that most folks are familiar with ....

 

[ksanchez]

Thank you N2TORTS
The first picture is the same stuff I used (from Home Depot). Thank you for saying you haven't had any problem with the little bugs. I do not leave any food in their enclosure because I don't want any bugs. If I feed them in their enclosure I clean it up within a hour, or take them out and feed them in another container.
Thank you again. I appreciate your help. I will put some new moss in their enclosure and hope I can bring the humidity back up to the level I need it.

 

[ksanchez]

N2TOTRS
Here are pictures of the bugs I'm talking about.

 

[crimson_lotus]

When I first took my tortoise home and I went to clean the enclosure she came with, the substrate was COVERED in those. It was like the ground was moving. I had to dump some boiling water into it to get rid of them all.

I've since upgraded to coconut coir as my substrate and haven't had them since. I use sphagnum moss as well. I get the occasional fruit fly but that's the extent of bugs in my tortoises enclosure.

 

[ksanchez]

N2TORTS I was using the same sphagnum moss (from Home Depot) that you posted a picture in. I had a little left and just put it in yesterday. I will go tomorrow and buy another bag. Thank you

 

[leigti]

N2TOTRS
Here are pictures of the bugs I'm talking about.

View attachment 112491View attachment 112492

FYI, to notify someone you put the @ in front of their name. @N2TORTS

 

[Yvonne G]

The picture looks sort of like these:

http://www.collembola.org/

 

[ksanchez]

FYI, to notify someone you put the @ in front of their name. @N2TORTS

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/members/leigti.35365/
Thank you @leigti. I am a little new and haven't posted much to the forms. I appreciate your help.
@Yvonne G I will have to spend some time on the website you posted. When I tried to look now it had a bug similar but also info on a lot of bugs, so I will have to look more when I have a few minutes. Thank you

 

[leigti]

No problem. I didn't know it for a long time either. I am not very computer literate and this is the only forum I have ever been on.

 

[ksanchez]

@leigti for some reason your name did not show the first time in a drop down like @Yvonne G's name did, but this time it did. So I guess I still have more to learn about this form. Thank you again for the 'lesson.'

 

[leigti]

@leigti for some reason your name did not show the first time in a drop down like @Yvonne G's name did, but this time it did. So I guess I still have more to learn about this form. Thank you again for the 'lesson.'

I almost never go on the forum on my computer. So I have no idea really how the website works except to do searches. It works really well for searches compared to the app. I really do like the app though