Humidifier not raising cage humitity

[Sladeighty5]

I bought one of those Crane Animal humidifiers. It is a cool mist vaporizing model. I have a tube set up so it shoots directly into the side of the cage. It's been running for a few hours now and my humidity has not moved. Does this only work when dropped from the top? The screen cage has 2.5 sides covered with plastic wrap and is in a large room. What else can I do to make this effective?

 

[Carlton]

I bought one of those Crane Animal humidifiers. It is a cool mist vaporizing model. I have a tube set up so it shoots directly into the side of the cage. It's been running for a few hours now and my humidity has not moved. Does this only work when dropped from the top? The screen cage has 2.5 sides covered with plastic wrap and is in a large room. What else can I do to make this effective?

First, I'd test your humidity gauge. It should be reacting to the fogging even if for a short time. Maybe its in the wrong spot in the cage. Try putting it right in the fog stream and watch it. Or, try putting the gauge somewhere very humid such as the shower after use and then let it dry out again. If the gauge doesn't react, its faulty.

If there isn't a lot of foliage or other surfaces to hold the fog droplets until they evaporate it could be that the fogger is really only humidifying the large room very slightly. You may need to cover more of the cage especially in winter when indoor heating tends to dry everything out even more.

Do you do any hand spraying as well? Sometimes you need a combination.

If the room itself is very dry the humidity will be harder to raise.

 

[Sladeighty5]

First, I'd test your humidity gauge. It should be reacting to the fogging even if for a short time. Maybe its in the wrong spot in the cage. Try putting it right in the fog stream and watch it. Or, try putting the gauge somewhere very humid such as the shower after use and then let it dry out again. If the gauge doesn't react, its faulty.

If there isn't a lot of foliage or other surfaces to hold the fog droplets until they evaporate it could be that the fogger is really only humidifying the large room very slightly. You may need to cover more of the cage especially in winter when indoor heating tends to dry everything out even more.

Do you do any hand spraying as well? Sometimes you need a combination.

If the room itself is very dry the humidity will be harder to raise.

Thanks for the response. I actually don't have a chameleon yet, I'm testing everything first. I calibrated the hydrometer yesterday and it came up 3% short. When I spray it raises up to 85%. I wanted to use the humidifier for when I'm at work. Would misting in the morning and at night be fine? I also have a dripper. I have a pretty full cage with a live plant too.

 

[Carlton]

Thanks for the response. I actually don't have a chameleon yet, I'm testing everything first. I calibrated the hydrometer yesterday and it came up 3% short. When I spray it raises up to 85%. I wanted to use the humidifier for when I'm at work. Would misting in the morning and at night be fine? I also have a dripper. I have a pretty full cage with a live plant too.

Bravo for testing everything out before your cham arrives! I wish more people would do this.

As long as your cham can drink its fill once or twice a day and the cage gets a humidity "boost" between sprayings it should work. Try not to soak the cage down right before lights off. It will sit wet and chilly longer when the lights are off.

Once your cham arrives you'll be able to monitor it for signs of dehydration. You can play around with the humidifier too. You might find that one or two fog cycles controlled by a multiple setting timer during the day will provide periods of higher and lower humidity which is what you want. You don't want constant high humidity and its not necessary. Oh, and because the water vapor is heavier than air you do want to have the fog come in near the top of the cage so it flows down over all the foliage. Otherwise it may just pool at the bottom where your cham doesn't spend its time.

 

[Sladeighty5]

Bravo for testing everything out before your cham arrives! I wish more people would do this.

As long as your cham can drink its fill once or twice a day and the cage gets a humidity "boost" between sprayings it should work. Try not to soak the cage down right before lights off. It will sit wet and chilly longer when the lights are off.

Once your cham arrives you'll be able to monitor it for signs of dehydration. You can play around with the humidifier too. You might find that one or two fog cycles controlled by a multiple setting timer during the day will provide periods of higher and lower humidity which is what you want. You don't want constant high humidity and its not necessary. Oh, and because the water vapor is heavier than air you do want to have the fog come in near the top of the cage so it flows down over all the foliage. Otherwise it may just pool at the bottom where your cham doesn't spend its time.

What do you mean by humidity boost between sprayings? The sprayings would be my humidity boost. Ya I'm thinking of just getting a reptile mister as that should provide more water like hand spraying does.

 

[Carlton]

What do you mean by humidity boost between sprayings? The sprayings would be my humidity boost. Ya I'm thinking of just getting a reptile mister as that should provide more water like hand spraying does.

What I meant was this...if the air in your home is dry; especially during our winter heating season; and you hand spray the cage twice a day (usually folks do it in the morning and late afternoon), it could still get too dry for your cham during the middle of the day. Running a humidifier on a timer could provide additional humid cycles during the day when you are not around to spray. The humidifier won't need to wet the cage down heavily enough for the cham to drink so you won't need to worry as much about extra drainage, but it would buffer the room's dry air somewhat.

 

[timmin89]

Make sure your hose is under 4 foot long and u can actually see the steam I had problems with mine I made and make sure hose can't have any dips where the water inside can pool up a d cut off steam flow