pyramid

[krissy2288]

so i herd to help with pyramiding you need to make the torts hide humid i am just wondering how many times a day i should mist the ground, and would if be better if i misted all the ground in the cage, im confused becuz i herd i was supposed to keep it dry but then i hear it needs to be a little damp so i need help.

 

[Yvonne G]

Krissy: In the wild, the sulcata digs a long tunnel down into the ground, where the soil is slightly moist. Then he proceeds to poop and pee in there making it even moister. When you moisten his substrate, the top layer quickly dries out, leaving the under-layer slightly moist. When he goes into his hide, he does a little digging and brings up that moist substrate. So you stick your finger down into the bottom of the habitat and if its not moist underneath, its time to add some water. There is no set rule of thumb...if its dry, moisten it. Being dry all day long is not going to harm your tortoise. "Diet, exercise and humidity" the three main things that contribute to the tortoise pyramiding.

Yvonne

 

[krissy2288]

ok cuz my tort has a little pyramiding going on and i got her that way but i just dont want it to get worse

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Krissy, everyday I pour water into habitat of my small Sulcata, then I mix the substrate all around so that it is damp all over. The spraying thing just doesn't get it. To prevent pyramiding you need good food... good UVB... lots of exercise and lots of humidity. Right now in Dakar Senegal the temperature is 72 degrees with 88% humidity. That's partly where they come from, so you can see that misting is not going to create 88% humidity. I have always kept the substrate for my smaller tortoises damp rather then moist....HTH

 

[krissy2288]

ok thanx

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Ok wait look at this,,,

SULCATA BEDDING(Substrate) can consist of Alfalfa (rabbit) pellets, hay or aspen bark. Do not use any type of humidity holding bark such as pine or cypress, since the tortoise is unable to tolerate high humidity. Humidity from a water bowl or moist bedding can cause respiratory infections in Sulcata tortoises. Therefore, DO NOT keep a water bowl in the tank with your tortoise, unless for brief periods to take a drink. Bedding will also need changed regularly to discard moist substrate and potential mildew from urine.

so is this wrong?!?
cuz seriously this has got me so confused.

 

[twtraudio]

just get a plastic continer he will fit in. Cut a hole out so he can get in it and moisten the bedding in the lil house mix it around like maggie3fan said and you will be fine. This creates a humid hide. He will retreat to this when he wants and you can keep the rest of the enclosure dry. It all about the hides humidity not the relative humidity in the air outside of it. Granite you will read and hear many different things on this topic ( obviously this is one of my opinions on it).

So hopefully more people post their suggestions and go with the one you feel comfortable with. I only post this cause it works for my leopard and russians. I also agree with maggie3fan too with that, spraying the bedding simply is pointless. It dries out so quick that way.

 

[Yvonne G]

ok thanx

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Ok wait look at this,,,

SULCATA BEDDING(Substrate) can consist of Alfalfa (rabbit) pellets, hay or aspen bark. Do not use any type of humidity holding bark such as pine or cypress, since the tortoise is unable to tolerate high humidity. Humidity from a water bowl or moist bedding can cause respiratory infections in Sulcata tortoises. Therefore, DO NOT keep a water bowl in the tank with your tortoise, unless for brief periods to take a drink. Bedding will also need changed regularly to discard moist substrate and potential mildew from urine.

so is this wrong?!?
cuz seriously this has got me so confused.

---

This is evidently an excerpt from a care sheet that is out dated. Some sites put up their care sheets then never up date them as we learn more about the care of the animals. Yes, this care sheet is wrong. We don't advise the use of rabbit pellets as substrate anymore. Now we want you to use something that can be moistened. The reason for not having the water bowl in the alfalfa substrate was because it molded underneath the bowl. If you have a moistened substrate it is perfectly ok to have a water bowl in the habitat now.

You have to be careful what you read on the 'net because like I said, some sites don't update when research changes the way we take care of our reptiles.

Yvonne

 

[krissy2288]

ok cool thanx

 

[bsr8129]

huh, now we are not suppose to use rabbit pellets? man am i confused. i was using rabbit pellts but have switched over to bramuda hay. should i moisten the hay then?

 

[Crazy1]

I do not recommend you moisten dried hay or grasses as they will mold. Sphargam moss will not mold or mildew, so it can be used in the hide.

 

[Yvonne G]

huh, now we are not suppose to use rabbit pellets? man am i confused. i was using rabbit pellts but have switched over to bramuda hay. should i moisten the hay then?

If you have a substrate that can't be moistened, you can improvise a humid hide by placing a sponge either by glue or staples on the ceiling of his house. Every day, and maybe more often than once a day, you wet the sponge. Don't moisten your hay. It will get moldy and that's not good.

Yvonne