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Old 25-03-2015, 12:25 AM   #11
Ozric Jonathan
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Hi, yes I think you are right to be aware of cold and wet. But indoors in my house this really isn't going to be a problem as it's never much less than 15C. I like the substrate to be damp under the plastic and not soaking wet.
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Old 25-03-2015, 12:31 AM   #12
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My house is not very warm but I will give the night time watering a go in a couple of months time when the weather is a bit warmer. I will try afternoons for the moment. Thanks for the advice.
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Old 18-04-2015, 01:40 PM   #13
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Not that nice a photo but you get the idea. Here is Bethune at the entrance to his hide. I water the substrate under the upturned washing-up bowl quite generously. I've measured the humidity inside the hide and it's definitely much higher than out in the open. I admit this hide is not very pretty!

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Old 18-04-2015, 10:07 PM   #14
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Thanks for the picture Ozric. I didn't have much success with the humid hide. I used a carte dor ice cream tub which was a good size for them but it sagged under the weight of the stones I used to stop it moving. Also Florence kept trying to climb on top of it and was forcing her way round the back of it and generally causing trouble. I was getting worried about leaving her. She was also knocking the stones off the top of it.

I do have a red Lidl's ice cream tub I could try. It is a bit taller and possibly stronger plastic too. I would really like them to have a humid hide so I will give it another go. What are you using to measure the humidity?
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Old 18-04-2015, 10:47 PM   #15
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Hi there

I use a hair hygrometer like this one although the one I got was maybe a bit more expensive than this one (which is £10)

http://www.thermometerspecialist.co....er-7cm-44-2000

There are also digital ones which don't cost much but I think they are not as accurate as the ones that don't use batteries.

I think it's handy to have one but if you use a plastic container over a damp substrate then it's definitely going to have higher humidity than being out in the open area so maybe a hygrometer is not really necessary.

Other plastic things that I've used for hides are an upturned seed tray with a hole cut in it and an upside down plant pot. With the plant pot I found I could press it down into the substrate so that when I put a weight on the top as well it was truly fixed to the spot. The seed tray worked well and it can't be tipped over even without a weight on the top.

I know just what you mean about the risk of something going wrong when we're not there to notice and put it right. With the seed tray the tortoises sometimes did climb up on during the daytime but this wasn't causing a risk in the enclosure.
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Old 18-04-2015, 11:24 PM   #16
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Brilliant idea about using a plant pot! I'm going out to rake in the shed first thing tomorrow. I would never have thought of that. Thanks for the link too. I think I will get one of those.
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Old 28-04-2015, 10:25 AM   #17
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ive been using a half plantpot for years, the one im using right now looks quite good, i put some plastic decor plants on the top of it too make it look good and have the water bowl right next to it he never even tries to get on top. its a ceramic one, it broke into a piece perfect for the size of our tort. the edges are all chamfered to stop any cuts but i think it will be getting replaced this summer and will be going as part of his new outdoor enclosure.
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Old 29-04-2015, 08:44 PM   #18
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Default Humid hide

Just for your info. Interesting articulate and diy humid hide
http://www.graeca-home.de/Krueger%202008%20e.pdf
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Old 29-04-2015, 08:49 PM   #19
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Default Humid hide

Just for your info. Interesting artical with diy humid hide
http://www.graeca-home.de/Krueger%202008%20e.pdf
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Old 29-04-2015, 10:43 PM   #20
Ozric Jonathan
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Yes great stuff Boothy. Have seen this before but was a while ago and well worth another read.
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