New sulcata owner. How to decrease humidity? HELP!

Lauren.x0

New Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2021
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
FL
Hi everybody! My names Lauren and I recently rescued a Sulcata Tortoise from being abandoned by a lake (his names Edison, eddy for short) The previous owner had him for a little over a year but didn’t want to take care of it anymore. I’ve never owned any kind of reptile before so this is a whole new world for me. I got him 4 days ago and set up a little enclosure for him inside. I’ve been reading a lot of threads on this website to try to figure out the basics of being a tortoise mama and I’ve learned a lot. Today I finally got the thermostat and humidity gage and once I put them in the enclosure I started getting worried. The humidity is almost at 75 and the temperature is 85°. Any tips on fixing that?
 

Attachments

  • 5416C88F-7A3E-4E31-AC01-9D62B15AE0BC.jpeg
    5416C88F-7A3E-4E31-AC01-9D62B15AE0BC.jpeg
    426.3 KB · Views: 34
  • 97B5A896-6676-465F-BCD2-7FE1D915755E.jpeg
    97B5A896-6676-465F-BCD2-7FE1D915755E.jpeg
    325.6 KB · Views: 32
  • 1D85FF50-6DD2-4512-9DD5-B5BAF0A9AFE2.jpeg
    1D85FF50-6DD2-4512-9DD5-B5BAF0A9AFE2.jpeg
    519.5 KB · Views: 34
  • 2F0AA129-01F8-4BAD-A45E-EDEBD0698B71.jpeg
    2F0AA129-01F8-4BAD-A45E-EDEBD0698B71.jpeg
    363.5 KB · Views: 28
  • 426D6AAB-1F32-4982-8EDD-CA1C3C41C8DE.jpeg
    426D6AAB-1F32-4982-8EDD-CA1C3C41C8DE.jpeg
    268 KB · Views: 27
  • F254EBEA-EA4A-4922-97CF-C25A615E0DAD.jpeg
    F254EBEA-EA4A-4922-97CF-C25A615E0DAD.jpeg
    217.6 KB · Views: 28

zovick

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
3,387
Hi everybody! My names Lauren and I recently rescued a Sulcata Tortoise from being abandoned by a lake (his names Edison, eddy for short) The previous owner had him for a little over a year but didn’t want to take care of it anymore. I’ve never owned any kind of reptile before so this is a whole new world for me. I got him 4 days ago and set up a little enclosure for him inside. I’ve been reading a lot of threads on this website to try to figure out the basics of being a tortoise mama and I’ve learned a lot. Today I finally got the thermostat and humidity gage and once I put them in the enclosure I started getting worried. The humidity is almost at 75 and the temperature is 85°. Any tips on fixing that?
Actually, that humidity is not too high for your tortoise. You will get other comments here about using a closed chamber to keep the humidity high, even higher than 75% is often recommended.
 

ZenHerper

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2020
Messages
2,078
Location (City and/or State)
New Jersey
High, warm humidity is what his needed for proper growth, and it is the only thing that will stop the bumps forming on your tort's back scutes.

This is the care sheet that yields Optimal growth and development in this species:
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Hi everybody! My names Lauren and I recently rescued a Sulcata Tortoise from being abandoned by a lake (his names Edison, eddy for short) The previous owner had him for a little over a year but didn’t want to take care of it anymore. I’ve never owned any kind of reptile before so this is a whole new world for me. I got him 4 days ago and set up a little enclosure for him inside. I’ve been reading a lot of threads on this website to try to figure out the basics of being a tortoise mama and I’ve learned a lot. Today I finally got the thermostat and humidity gage and once I put them in the enclosure I started getting worried. The humidity is almost at 75 and the temperature is 85°. Any tips on fixing that?
Hello and welcome.

Your humidity needs to climb a bit more. 75% is too low. You need to simulate monsoon rainy season conditions. Most of the care info you find for this species is wrong. We did it wrong for decades, and most sulcata people haven't kept up.

Those stick-on gauges are notoriously inaccurate and unreliable. Get a Digital unit from Home Depot.

The ramped water bowl is a no go. Its a flipping/drowning hazard. Those are totally unsuitable for tortoises. Stay out of the pet store. They are giving you bad advice and selling you the wrong stuff.

That enclosure is WAY too small for that tortoise. They need room to move around. Walking is an important part of digestion, so they need big enclosures. Walking loose on the floor is not safe. For a tortoise of that size, and in your climate, I'd make it a heated night box and let it live outside.

Rea the thread from ZenHerper. Questions are welcome.
 

gunnymom

New Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2021
Messages
1
Location (City and/or State)
Edgewater
That great that yours is 75%. Mine is stuck at 70 and that is with a fresh mix of pretty damp substrate.
 

Lauren.x0

New Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2021
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
FL
Actually, that humidity is not too high for your tortoise. You will get other comments here about using a closed chamber to keep the humidity high, even higher than 75% is often recommended.
Thank your for informing me I’ve seen people say the humidity had to stay between 40-60% so that’s why I got worried do you think the temperature is to low?
 

Lyn W

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
23,497
Location (City and/or State)
UK
Hi and welcome, thank you for rescuing this baby he wouldn't have lasted long of he'd been abandoned in the wild.
Do you know what his age is? He looks quite small next to the water dish.
Read the caresheet and ask as many questions as you need, you'll get plenty of good advice to help you give him a better life.
 

Lauren.x0

New Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2021
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
FL
Hello and welcome.

Your humidity needs to climb a bit more. 75% is too low. You need to simulate monsoon rainy season conditions. Most of the care info you find for this species is wrong. We did it wrong for decades, and most sulcata people haven't kept up.

Those stick-on gauges are notoriously inaccurate and unreliable. Get a Digital unit from Home Depot.

The ramped water bowl is a no go. Its a flipping/drowning hazard. Those are totally unsuitable for tortoises. Stay out of the pet store. They are giving you bad advice and selling you the wrong stuff.

That enclosure is WAY too small for that tortoise. They need room to move around. Walking is an important part of digestion, so they need big enclosures. Walking loose on the floor is not safe. For a tortoise of that size, and in your climate, I'd make it a heated night box and let it live outside.

Rea the thread from ZenHerper. Questions are welcome.
Thank you for the info! Any tips on how to get the humidity higher? I will make sure to buy better gauges soon.

I found that Edison really enjoys the water bowl. I like to call it his mini pool because I often find him just laying in it all the time (even though I soak him for 10min every morning). The water is shallow and only goes halfway up his front legs.

I want to get a bigger enclosure soon. I’m working on building an outside enclosure for him next weekend. He gets lots of outdoor time. I take him out for at least 3 hours every day and he has lots of space to roam around out there. I’m scared to have him outside 24/7 because he’s still so small ( 5 inch ) and we have lots of outdoor cats. I live in south Florida so the weather is unpredictable at times. What size do you recommend them staying outdoors full time?
 

Lauren.x0

New Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2021
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
FL
Hi and welcome, thank you for rescuing this baby he wouldn't have lasted long of he'd been abandoned in the wild.
Do you know what his age is? He looks quite small next to the water dish.
Read the caresheet and ask as many questions as you need, you'll get plenty of good advice to help you give him a better life.
I measured him with a tape measure earlier and his shell was 5 inch. I don’t know if that’s an accurate way of measuring though. The previous owner didn’t know how old he was when he fist got him but he’s had him for a year and 3 months
 

Lauren.x0

New Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2021
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
FL
High, warm humidity is what his needed for proper growth, and it is the only thing that will stop the bumps forming on your tort's back scutes.

This is the care sheet that yields Optimal growth and development in this species:
Thank you for the link I just learned a lot that I didn’t know before!
 
Top