moist bedding.

[Melly-n-shorty]

So i am trying to keep the warmer side of my hatchlings enclosure humid, but I don't want Shorty to get sick
here is my question:
If the substrate on the damp side of the tub is cool to the touch should i be worried?
the air temp on the damp end of the tub is 95-99 degrees right under the solar lamp (exo terra solar glo 125w) and is 85-89 degrees in the farthest damp spot from the lamp. The area directly under the solar lamp is warm to the touch but i am worried about the surrounding areas. the substrate for the damp side is sphagnum moss... i chose this because it doesn't get stuck to Shorty's legs and i can change it easily.

thanks for your help!

 

[CGKeith]

If your enclosure is indoors and your house temps are probably 70 degrees or above then your cool side won't be to cold, it will be plenty warm even if damp.

You could keep the cool end dry. Use aspen on the dry/cool side. Just split the enclosure by putting in a divider, like a small piece of wood, and keep your substrates from mixing too much.

That creates 2 different areas for your tortoise to choose from. Warm and damp / cool and dry.

 

[dmarcus]

If your enclosure is indoors and your house temps are probably 70 degrees or above then your cool side won't be to cold, it will be plenty warm even if damp.

You could keep the cool end dry. Use aspen on the dry/cool side. Just split the enclosure by putting in a divider, like a small piece of wood, and keep your substrates from mixing too much.

That creates 2 different areas for your tortoise to choose from. Warm and damp / cool and dry.

A very good answer...Not more I can add..

 

[DeanS]

I wouldn't worry about it being 'cool to the touch'...as long as the ambient basking and hide temps are in the normal range...

Generally speaking you want your humid hide to be around 75-80...then the ambient temps should range from 80-90...and your basking temps should be 100-120.

How about a photo or two of your set-up so we can be more precise

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

If your enclosure is indoors and your house temps are probably 70 degrees or above then your cool side won't be to cold, it will be plenty warm even if damp.

You could keep the cool end dry. Use aspen on the dry/cool side. Just split the enclosure by putting in a divider, like a small piece of wood, and keep your substrates from mixing too much.

That creates 2 different areas for your tortoise to choose from. Warm and damp / cool and dry.

My cool side is dry, i am using organic soil on the dry side. the warm side is the only area that is moist.

 

[CGKeith]

If your enclosure is indoors and your house temps are probably 70 degrees or above then your cool side won't be to cold, it will be plenty warm even if damp.

You could keep the cool end dry. Use aspen on the dry/cool side. Just split the enclosure by putting in a divider, like a small piece of wood, and keep your substrates from mixing too much.

That creates 2 different areas for your tortoise to choose from. Warm and damp / cool and dry.

My cool side is dry, i am using organic soil on the dry side. the warm side is the only area that is moist.

Then it sounds like you have it covered.

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

I wouldn't worry about it being 'cool to the touch'...as long as the ambient basking and hide temps are in the normal range...

Generally speaking you want your humid hide to be around 75-80...then the ambient temps should range from 80-90...and your basking temps should be 100-120.

How about a photo or two of your set-up so we can be more precise

This is just his first enclosure. as he grows so will his enclosure.for the first few months i didnt want anything to big because i wanted more temp control and i wanted him to be able to find his hide, water and food easily. he has two feeding spots because i read tortoise like to roam and graze as they go so i wanted to simulate that a little. the water dish is a BPA free tupper lid. The dish i originally got was to deep so i need to get a new one. the tupper lid works for now. the second small light fixture is heat emitter that i turn on at night to keep his hide warm. the half a pot is filled with moist moss and has a little dry on top for him to burrow into. he seems to like it, he has gone into it every night so far. i dont know if you can tell from the pic but the terracotta pot is soaked. I soak it every night before he goes to bed so the water can evaporate off it. i thought about doing the tupper hide box but i really really dont like how they look, so i wanted to try this first.

 

[Jacob]

Everyone Gave Great Answers Already!
If There is A Basking Side Of 90-100
and the humid hide is around 70-80 your good

 

[SILVERSTAR]

alot of people dont like doing this but i am doing it now and it may help u keep the substrate warm,i have a small undertank heatmat underneath my rubbermaid tub to keep some warmth to moist substrate,i can tell they like it cuz they always huddle over it even when i move it to a different spot,i dont keep it on 24hours cuz they say to much heat to the bottom of the shell isnt good so i more less use it jus to keep the substrate a little warmer than it would other wise be and they really appreciate it,another thing is that it must be monitored cuz as i learned the hard way it will start a fire ,luckily it didnt start a fire but i pulled it out one day last winter and it was completely melted and smoking~NEVER AGAIN.........

---

WELL,i jus read your message and it looks like you got the heat part covered with the ceramic heat emitters but if you still have problems keeping moist substrate warm then maybe the mat will work.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Melissa:

One thing for you to remember:

The temperature of your hand is almost 100 degrees, so naturally, anything that you touch that is under 100 degrees is going to feel cool to you.

Like Silverstar, I employ the use of an under-the-tank heat strip for my baby habitats. I have a mylar heat strip that is used to warm seedling trays under the hiding place side of the habitat. It keeps the substrate nice and toasty at 80 degrees.

 

[SILVERSTAR]

YES THEY LOVE TOASTY,but please watch temps closely if you do it that in case of fire(never long periods)it sounds like EMYSEMYS WAY IS A LITTLE SAFER FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME WHILE YOUR SLEEPING OR GONE.......i only stress this becuz if i hadnt decided to check it one day before i took off my baby star wouldnt have made it last winter,it still bothers me when i think about my room filling with smoke when i pulled it out from under.LUCKILY NO HARM WAS DONE,LUCKILY.

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

Hi Melissa:

One thing for you to remember:

The temperature of your hand is almost 100 degrees, so naturally, anything that you touch that isn't 100 degrees is going to feel cool to you.

Like Silverstar, I employ the use of an under-the-tank heat strip for my baby habitats. I have a mylar heat strip that is used to warm seedling trays under the hiding place side of the habitat. It keeps the substrate nice and toasty at 80 degrees.

is it safe for use on plastic? I am going to look into this thank you

 

[DeanS]

I wouldn't worry about it being 'cool to the touch'...as long as the ambient basking and hide temps are in the normal range...

Generally speaking you want your humid hide to be around 75-80...then the ambient temps should range from 80-90...and your basking temps should be 100-120.

How about a photo or two of your set-up so we can be more precise

This is just his first enclosure. as he grows so will his enclosure.for the first few months i didnt want anything to big because i wanted more temp control and i wanted him to be able to find his hide, water and food easily. he has two feeding spots because i read tortoise like to roam and graze as they go so i wanted to simulate that a little. the water dish is a BPA free tupper lid. The dish i originally got was to deep so i need to get a new one. the tupper lid works for now. the second small light fixture is heat emitter that i turn on at night to keep his hide warm. the half a pot is filled with moist moss and has a little dry on top for him to burrow into. he seems to like it, he has gone into it every night so far. i dont know if you can tell from the pic but the terracotta pot is soaked. I soak it every night before he goes to bed so the water can evaporate off it. i thought about doing the tupper hide box but i really really dont like how they look, so i wanted to try this first.

What are in those two domes? The dome over his hide would be great for a 100W Ceramic Heat Emitter (for nighttime heat)...and the one over his basking area should be a 100W Mercury Vapor Bulb (I like Zoo Med's Powersun). Also, it couldn't hurt to mist him every couple of hours or so.

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

YES THEY LOVE TOASTY,but please watch temps closely if you do it that in case of fire(never long periods)it sounds like EMYSEMYS WAY IS A LITTLE SAFER FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME WHILE YOUR SLEEPING OR GONE.......i only stress this becuz if i hadnt decided to check it one day before i took off my baby star wouldnt have made it last winter,it still bothers me when i think about my room filling with smoke when i pulled it out from under.LUCKILY NO HARM WAS DONE,LUCKILY.

scary! yeah i dont want that to happen.

I never thought of the fact that my body is warmer... got me to thinking so i pulled a thermometer out of one of my aquariums and stuck it into the moss... its at 81 degrees... guess i am just worrying... shorty is so tiny I cant help it! thank you all... I feel a lot better after hearing your input.

 

[OllieInAZ]

Do you have an IR thermOmeter? If not you should pick one up so you don't have to worry about judging temps by feel.

I see you're in AZ too - how cool do you keep your home? Unless you keep the a/c real frosty I couldn't imagine you'd need additional heat. With an enclosure that size I would expect your lamp would keep a good gradient across the substrate. But an IR thermometer will let you know for certain.

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

I wouldn't worry about it being 'cool to the touch'...as long as the ambient basking and hide temps are in the normal range...

Generally speaking you want your humid hide to be around 75-80...then the ambient temps should range from 80-90...and your basking temps should be 100-120.

How about a photo or two of your set-up so we can be more precise

This is just his first enclosure. as he grows so will his enclosure.for the first few months i didnt want anything to big because i wanted more temp control and i wanted him to be able to find his hide, water and food easily. he has two feeding spots because i read tortoise like to roam and graze as they go so i wanted to simulate that a little. the water dish is a BPA free tupper lid. The dish i originally got was to deep so i need to get a new one. the tupper lid works for now. the second small light fixture is heat emitter that i turn on at night to keep his hide warm. the half a pot is filled with moist moss and has a little dry on top for him to burrow into. he seems to like it, he has gone into it every night so far. i dont know if you can tell from the pic but the terracotta pot is soaked. I soak it every night before he goes to bed so the water can evaporate off it. i thought about doing the tupper hide box but i really really dont like how they look, so i wanted to try this first.

What are in those two domes? The dome over his hide would be great for a 100W Ceramic Heat Emitter...and the one over his basking area should be a 100W Mercury Vapor Bulb (I like Zoo Med's Powersun). Also, it couldn't hurt to mist him every couple of hours or so.

the one over his hide is a 60 watt heat emitter and the dome over his basking area is a 125w exo terra solar glow mercury bulb. Ill check his hide temps tonight and in the morning to make sure the heat emitter is keeping the temps up ok

 

[DeanS]

I wouldn't worry about it being 'cool to the touch'...as long as the ambient basking and hide temps are in the normal range...

Generally speaking you want your humid hide to be around 75-80...then the ambient temps should range from 80-90...and your basking temps should be 100-120.

How about a photo or two of your set-up so we can be more precise

This is just his first enclosure. as he grows so will his enclosure.for the first few months i didnt want anything to big because i wanted more temp control and i wanted him to be able to find his hide, water and food easily. he has two feeding spots because i read tortoise like to roam and graze as they go so i wanted to simulate that a little. the water dish is a BPA free tupper lid. The dish i originally got was to deep so i need to get a new one. the tupper lid works for now. the second small light fixture is heat emitter that i turn on at night to keep his hide warm. the half a pot is filled with moist moss and has a little dry on top for him to burrow into. he seems to like it, he has gone into it every night so far. i dont know if you can tell from the pic but the terracotta pot is soaked. I soak it every night before he goes to bed so the water can evaporate off it. i thought about doing the tupper hide box but i really really dont like how they look, so i wanted to try this first.

What are in those two domes? The dome over his hide would be great for a 100W Ceramic Heat Emitter...and the one over his basking area should be a 100W Mercury Vapor Bulb (I like Zoo Med's Powersun). Also, it couldn't hurt to mist him every couple of hours or so.

the one over his hide is a 60 watt heat emitter and the dome over his basking area is a 125w exo terra solar glow mercury bulb. Ill check his hide temps tonight and in the morning to make sure the heat emitter is keeping the temps up ok

Actually...those are fine alternatives...check your numbers and if everything reads correctly...no needto change anything! Fine job!

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

Do you have an IR thermOmeter? If not you should pick one up so you don't have to worry about judging temps by feel.

I see you're in AZ too - how cool do you keep your home? Unless you keep the a/c real frosty I couldn't imagine you'd need additional heat. With an enclosure that size I would expect your lamp would keep a good gradient across the substrate. But an IR thermometer will let you know for certain.

We keep it at 78. I have the regular digital aquarium thermometer but i am sure i can get a IR one. my brother in law works on and installs air conditioners. i was more just worried the bedding would be to cold under his belly.

---

I wouldn't worry about it being 'cool to the touch'...as long as the ambient basking and hide temps are in the normal range...

Generally speaking you want your humid hide to be around 75-80...then the ambient temps should range from 80-90...and your basking temps should be 100-120.

How about a photo or two of your set-up so we can be more precise

This is just his first enclosure. as he grows so will his enclosure.for the first few months i didnt want anything to big because i wanted more temp control and i wanted him to be able to find his hide, water and food easily. he has two feeding spots because i read tortoise like to roam and graze as they go so i wanted to simulate that a little. the water dish is a BPA free tupper lid. The dish i originally got was to deep so i need to get a new one. the tupper lid works for now. the second small light fixture is heat emitter that i turn on at night to keep his hide warm. the half a pot is filled with moist moss and has a little dry on top for him to burrow into. he seems to like it, he has gone into it every night so far. i dont know if you can tell from the pic but the terracotta pot is soaked. I soak it every night before he goes to bed so the water can evaporate off it. i thought about doing the tupper hide box but i really really dont like how they look, so i wanted to try this first.

What are in those two domes? The dome over his hide would be great for a 100W Ceramic Heat Emitter...and the one over his basking area should be a 100W Mercury Vapor Bulb (I like Zoo Med's Powersun). Also, it couldn't hurt to mist him every couple of hours or so.

the one over his hide is a 60 watt heat emitter and the dome over his basking area is a 125w exo terra solar glow mercury bulb. Ill check his hide temps tonight and in the morning to make sure the heat emitter is keeping the temps up ok

Actually...those are fine alternatives...check your numbers and if everything reads correctly...no needto change anything! Fine job!

thank you Dean! I feel a lot better now. p.s love your signature!

 

[Yvonne G]

is it safe for use on plastic? I am going to look into this thank you

Yes. The tubs I have my babies in are Sterilite plastic tubs.