BCI Soaking

Cmwells90 · 08-27-13, 07:41 PM

Hey so my BCI has been soaking on and off over the past couple days. Her warms side is 89 with a warm hide of 90-92 and cool side of 80. The humidity is 60-68%. The only real change lately is I put a ziploc bag to cover the top of the cage because it is a screen top. I put holes in the ziploc to allow for airflow and it's been doing great to maintain an ambient air temp and humidity. I have the sides of her cage covered with paper towels to provide privacy and she's got room to climb which she's been using a lot since I put the bag cover on top.

She's not soaking for long, I catch her soaking probably 1-2 a day but she's out by the time I go back, 1-3 hours later. Not sure if soaking is bad, or just normal. She's eating just fine, just ate today and doesn't seem to show any issues. But I'd rather be safe. Any advice is appreciated.

PS: all temps are measured with digital thermometers and hydrometers.

smy_749 · 08-27-13, 08:13 PM

Take her out and inspect her for mites, check her temps to make sure nothing is overheating, and if you have a second humidity gauge with a digital read out, swap the old one out to see if you get the same readings.

Cmwells90 · 08-27-13, 09:39 PM

I'm pretty sure she doesn't have mites, we just treated her last month for them and I've been checking on the weekly for any reoccurance. I'll try switching out the gauge and see if it's working correctly. I have one analog and one digital in there (I know analog are unreliable) but they're within 3% from each other so I'm not sure if that's it. I'll check all of these for sure when I get home though.

formica · 08-28-13, 07:18 AM

even digitals can get 'stuck' sometimes, worth checking the probe for rust, and look up ''salt calibration hygrometer'' in google for a guide to check your meters are working properly, its a very simple process

Cmwells90 · 08-28-13, 07:12 PM

Thanks for that Formica, I'll check that out when I get home. I did check for mites, she's all clear. Do they ever just soak for no reason? As far as I can see everything is being met appropriately. I'll test my Hygrometer later tonight to see if it's accurate though.