Spraying down enclosure twice a day

Gbear

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Hey there,

I have a 10 m/o sulcata tortoise and he has two humid hide spaces in his inside enclosure with moist sphagnum moss. Is it necessary to spray down the tank in the morning and night to raise the humidity in the tank or should I keep it dry? He's on "Forest Floor" mulch and has a water bowl in there as well.

Thanks guys!
 

wellington

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From what I have observed over the years on here, it doesn't seem to work as good just giving humid hides. Put a top on your enclosure and dump some warm water over the substrate so it's nice and wet, but not pooling and you shouldn't have to add more for a while.
 

Jodie

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You should not keep it dry. Spaying it is not enough. Like Wellington said, dump water in so it is completely moist. A cover holds the heat and humidity in the best.
 

Cowboy_Ken

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Greetings Gbear,
Concerning moisture and humidity in an enclosure for a hatchling to 6"-8" young sulcata tortoise, what you are aiming for is a constant humidity level in the enclosure. If you're able to do this with an unenclosed, uncovered indoor habitat please share the information in regard to how you are managing this. The importance of doing so is laid out clearly in Toms "sticky" post in the "Sulcata"section I believe.
To my understanding, sulcata hatch out in the "real" world just as the rainy season hits. This gives the dry environment the pet stores call, "where they come from in the wild, it's a desert and always dry." idea. It's not. The scrubby plants and grass clumps that grow need moisture from somewhere. The hatchlings are wonderful little treats to munch on as well. If they aren't hiding, snuggling with a clump of grass, which offers moisture,(environmental humidity) as well as food for them, they are likely to be found in very deep, 30'-50' burrows dug by their moms. These burrows provide stable humidity and temperature as well. Hence the humidity cave with sphagnum wet moss. Keep the whole enclosure WARM and MOIST for a happy, healthy tortoise.
Questions? Ask all and any, soon you will answer others on your own.
 

Speedy-1

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You have been given good advice ! If your enclosure were covered and moist enough to bring the humidity up to 80 , or 90 % with temps no lower than 80 in the coolest area your "humid hide" would be a non issue . You also could stop soaking moss . :)
 

Tom

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