Can't keep the humidity :/

[GillietheAmbilobe]

Hey everybody! I have been doing research on care and information for the past four years, and am finally getting one! I am getting a blue barred ambilobe panther chameleon and have the cage all set up, have the supplement plan on a calendar, and know specifically what the chameleon I'm ordering looks like, yet I have a very noobie problem. I live in Colorado where it is very dry and I can't seem to keep the humidity above 50 percent for more than 15 minutes. I have an Exoterra Monsoon RS400 that does a great job at wetting down my cage, but still. I know you can put a shower curtain on 2-3 sides of the cage, but I was wondering if there were any other solutions to my problem. Sorry for the paragraph! And have an awesome day.

 

[Carlton]

I kept chams in CO so feel your pain. You can add an ultrasonic humidifier to your "toolbox". Depending on how you have the Monsoon set up to mist, the cage may dry out very quickly because the room's air is still dry...the cage moisture evaporates faster. The shower curtain/plastic sheeting really helps, not only because it slows down the air exchange between room and cage, but because it provides a lot more surfaces that hold water droplets from the mister. Adding more live plants to the cage helps a lot, again because more surfaces catch and hold more water for a longer time. A timer-controlled humidifier can be set to fog in between misting cycles to keep the cage from drying out as fast. Also, the humidifier can raise the cage humidity without flooding everything as much as your mister does. So, why not just run a humidifier in the room itself? If you attempt to humidify the whole room enough to raise the RH level to that of a cage, you'll end up with mold and mildew on furniture, carpets, or other stuff in the room (don't go there...I've done that...its not pretty !!!) The intent is not to fog the cage all the time, just use fog cycles to assist the misting schedule and create less extreme changes in the cage over time.

 

[Meg4433]

I have had the same problem. I live in NorCal

 

[jcarlsen]

Hey everybody! I have been doing research on care and information for the past four years, and am finally getting one! I am getting a blue barred ambilobe panther chameleon and have the cage all set up, have the supplement plan on a calendar, and know specifically what the chameleon I'm ordering looks like, yet I have a very noobie problem. I live in Colorado where it is very dry and I can't seem to keep the humidity above 50 percent for more than 15 minutes. I have an Exoterra Monsoon RS400 that does a great job at wetting down my cage, but still. I know you can put a shower curtain on 2-3 sides of the cage, but I was wondering if there were any other solutions to my problem. Sorry for the paragraph! And have an awesome day.

If you want an aesthetically pleasing look, you can take those clear sheets you tape over windows to keep drafts from coming in the winter and put those on a couple sides of the cage. They also work nicely because they're taut and keep the mist in the cage.

I've got some on the bottom sections of my 24x24x48 cage, along with a mistking going off every couple hours from the top. As it's getting colder, my apartment's forced air heat comes on and dries stuff out, so I've got an evap humidifier going right next to the cage 24/7... As this is my first winter with my boy, I'll have to see how he fares. When I asked Screameleons about this last winter, they told me not to obsess over the number and just make sure the cage is getting misted regularly and that he's drinking.

Hope this helps!

 

[GillietheAmbilobe]

Thank you so much! I hope your Cham does well.