How much hummidity is too much? - Page 2

Vengeance · 01-20-04, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MouseKilla
I don't know where all that humidity is coming from if you aren't misting at all.... that's quite confusing. I see that you live about an hour away from me and not in South America so I'm assuming that the ambient humidity in your house is somewhere around 30% this time of year as it is in mine. If all that humidity is coming from just a water dish at the hot spot it makes me wonder just how hot your hot spot is. I'm no good with gallon sizes but I believe the tank I have my female in is 24 x 12.5 x 12.5". I have an 8 x 8 x 3" water bowl with a 60w bulb burning directly down on it. I have a wire type lid on it that is 3/4 covered with a damp towel. All that alone only gets me to maybe 40% humidity so I find myself misting to gain the other 20% or so that I figure she needs. I can't figure out what I'm doing differently.

Was just going over some old posts and saw that I missed this one sorry. I'm able to keep humidity at 60% and above without misting because of the lid I have on the tank. I have to thank Slannesh for helping me come up with the idea but what I did is create a plexi glass lid that fits on the small edge on the inside of the 50 gallon tank. With that lid I then drilled holes all the way around the edge of the lid, but I drilled them at a 45o angle. This way any humidity trying to escape out the holes since it rises straight up hits the plexi glass first so it doesn't escape as quickly. I can post a pic of the lid when I get home tonight, but it has really worked wonders. I don't have to mist and I don't have a problem with condensation building up on the glass either.

MouseKilla · 01-20-04, 03:56 PM

I would be interested in seeing that design for sure. The relative humidity in my house is currently in the low 20% range so trying to get 60% has become a chore, it may be though that my house is particularily dry for some reason. I am currently in the process of rehousing all my snakes but for now I'm stuck with screen lids with damp towels and spraying several times a day.

jathoma · 01-20-04, 04:37 PM

I live in Houston where it's generally humid all the time, except for this time of year.

I use a stick-on and inside Cain's rubbermaid, the humidty lingers between 60 and 70% (my current substrate is Repti-bark, which tends to hold moisture a bit, so that may add to the level).

I haven't used any other types of humidity guage, but when I reach inside (and I can say this with authority living in one of the more humid areas of the US) I'd say that the reading "feels" about right...

He shed in one piece last week (while I was out of town) and I didn't have to leave my dad any special instructions while he was watching him for me (I KNOW he didn't really want to open the cage and reach in there for any reason - he's a wimp like that).

I found that I can boost the humidity about 10-15% by simply putting "just above" luke warm water in his dish....and it takes about 3-5 days to go back to normal with the air flow I have in the sides of the rubbermaid.

Edwin · 01-20-04, 04:56 PM

My ball's terrarium is at around 60% humidity, and I provide a humid hide which is close to 100% humidity. I do not believe in placing the water bowl under the hot spot, as warm water is a breeding ground for bacteria. So far, nothing but perfect sheds.

For humidity gauges, I have had no luck with those analog humidity gauges from petstores or from gardening centres/dollar stores. The readings always seem way off (e.g. 10% humidity directly above a fogger). I have since switched to digital thermometers/hygrometers for all my terrariums, and I find them much more reliable.

MouseKilla · 01-20-04, 05:08 PM

What makes a good humid hide? I add another layer of newspaper that overlaps part of one of the hides so she can get underneath it and that layer is sprayed down often.

Edwin · 01-20-04, 07:20 PM

I simply use a Tupperware with a small hole cut at the top. Depending on the snake, I use either damp spaghnum moss or damp paper towels. The small hole prevents the moisture from evaporating too quickly, and balls like snug hides.

Vengeance · 01-22-04, 10:43 PM

Here is the lid.....

It's a little warped and has a few melted spots but that was just my learning experiance before I even put Fred in the tank. I found out that leaving a heat lamp about an inch away from the plexi glass resting on a wire lid is not far enough away to have it not melt