Humidity help!

snakekid6996 · 04-29-12, 08:47 PM

Hey everybody. My columbian red tail boa has been in his 55gallon tanks for a few weeks now. The first week or two went fine, but now I'm having humidity issues. I want a constant humidity of about 70, but it usually drops and stays at about 50-60. I cover about 60% of the top with a towel, I spray the tank down daily, and I have a water dish on the warm side. I don't know what else to do. I plan on getting a plexiglass lid with holes drilled in for air flow. That worked good for my 10gallon, but until then anyone have any suggestions??

Trollbie · 04-29-12, 09:15 PM

Honestly, take your own advice with the plexi lid. It solved my problem. I don't even have to mist every day anymore

snakekid6996 · 04-29-12, 09:25 PM

Yea it just might be a little bit before I can get that done and I need to get my humidity up asap. And I'm glad I could help

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Lankyrob · 04-30-12, 07:11 AM

The only way to keep humidity up is to prevent airflow, cover more of the top and it should stay higher

exwizard · 04-30-12, 07:38 AM

Place the water dish directly over the heat source as well. Works great for my Brazilians

snakekid6996 · 04-30-12, 01:27 PM

I'm covering as much as I can and I keep the water dish under the light. I dint have a UTH.

Brazen17 · 04-30-12, 02:28 PM

Why do you want it so high? 50%-60% sounds just about perfect except while shedding when 70% is more in order. I keep mine between 45% and 60% and have had no problems even during shed. I've been doing this for over 5 years now with my red tail boa.

hellosugaree · 04-30-12, 02:56 PM

Are you using a good hygrometer that has been recently calibrated? It is possible your humidity is higher than you think. However, using a bulb with a screen top is a quick way to dry out a tank.

snakekid6996 · 04-30-12, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellosugaree

Are you using a good hygrometer that has been recently calibrated? It is possible your humidity is higher than you think. However, using a bulb with a screen top is a quick way to dry out a tank.

No im using a 5$ pet store hygrometer. I know I need a better one, but I figured it wpuld give me a general guess at the.humkdkty. I cant really aford a fancy one at the moment.

hellosugaree · 05-01-12, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snakekid6996

No im using a 5$ pet store hygrometer. I know I need a better one, but I figured it wpuld give me a general guess at the.humkdkty. I cant really aford a fancy one at the moment.

I wouldn't be surprised if that thing measured 50% RH when it was actually 100%...

If you don't have the cash to buy a real hygrometer, try this method and see what your hygrometer reads. I would guess that it is way off:

Calibrate Hygrometer | Salt Test Method - CigarPass.com

Make sure you leave it in the bag for long enough (at least 24 hours).

KORBIN5895 · 05-01-12, 07:23 AM

Buy a $10 digital at Walmart.

hellosugaree · 05-01-12, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

Buy a $10 digital at Walmart.

Being digital doesn't guarantee accuracy... It just guarantees a fancy-looking digital readout. Even expensive and fancy hygrometers require frequent calibration. No matter what hygrometer you buy, it's a good idea to check it with a calibration pack or the salt test.

KORBIN5895 · 05-01-12, 07:55 AM

Yes but aren't digital able to be calibrated? Those cheap analog aren't able to be calibrated. At least the one I had wasn't.

hellosugaree · 05-01-12, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

Yes but aren't digital able to be calibrated? Those cheap analog aren't able to be calibrated. At least the one I had wasn't.

Any good hygrometer should have a calibration feature, but being digital doesn't guarantee it's a good one. In any case, the cheap analog ones are guaranteed to be crap.

Brazen17 · 05-01-12, 09:04 AM

If you can buy two or three of the $10 digital ones and see how they all compare in the same environment. If possible buy at least two different brands. If all of them read within a few percent of each other chances are they are pretty accurate. Take them outside and see how they read and then look up your current humidity at the online Weather Channel. That should give you a very good idea as to their accuracy.