Humidity Drop

[RobSquared]

I am running 4- 48x24x24 homemade custom enclosures for all my boys. I have the back and one side solid and the other 2 sides and the top screened in. I have my mist king system running every 2-3 hours starting 1 hour after wake up call and ending 2 hours prior to bedtime (within 12 hour period approx. 5 times) and each time they mist for 2-3 minutes. They also each have 3 hanging live plants. Well in Central California the weather is decent enough during the day that I try and open it up. Problem is leaving the house open I have noticed a fairly big drop in humidity from 60-70% down to about 25-30%. The next morning it is back up to the 60-70% and drops about 2-3 pm. It is a slow decrease as the day progresses. My question is if I sealed the top to try and keep the humidity in would that make it to where there is not enough ventilation? I know that not enough ventilation then you run the risk of bacteria growing. I also know I need enough time between mistings to allow things to dry. So would trying to cover the top be ok? Or do you have any other suggestions? Oh I just got orders to Virginia. So happy as the humidity levels are WAY higher than here in central California. But until I move I need a solution. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RobSquared]

I am running 4- 48x24x24 homemade custom enclosures for all my boys. I have the back and one side solid and the other 2 sides and the top screened in. I have my mist king system running every 2-3 hours starting 1 hour after wake up call and ending 2 hours prior to bedtime (within 12 hour period approx. 5 times) and each time they mist for 2-3 minutes. They also each have 3 hanging live plants. Well in Central California the weather is decent enough during the day that I try and open it up. Problem is leaving the house open I have noticed a fairly big drop in humidity from 60-70% down to about 25-30%. The next morning it is back up to the 60-70% and drops about 2-3 pm. It is a slow decrease as the day progresses. My question is if I sealed the top to try and keep the humidity in would that make it to where there is not enough ventilation? I know that not enough ventilation then you run the risk of bacteria growing. I also know I need enough time between mistings to allow things to dry. So would trying to cover the top be ok? Or do you have any other suggestions? Oh I just got orders to Virginia. So happy as the humidity levels are WAY higher than here in central California. But until I move I need a solution. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Dang. No one?

 

[Decadancin]

I don't know if seling the top would be desirable. (I'm not sure if you mean by using plastic, but if so you need to be sure that your UV lights are not blocked by plastic or glass.) I use a setup with the back and front solid and the sides and top screen. In your case I would probably cover another side and see if that helps. Just have the front and top screened. You may want to mist a few more times for a few seconds throughout the day to help with humidity. You lilely will have to experiment a little.

 

[Peachypink]

I am running 4- 48x24x24 homemade custom enclosures for all my boys. I have the back and one side solid and the other 2 sides and the top screened in. I have my mist king system running every 2-3 hours starting 1 hour after wake up call and ending 2 hours prior to bedtime (within 12 hour period approx. 5 times) and each time they mist for 2-3 minutes. They also each have 3 hanging live plants. Well in Central California the weather is decent enough during the day that I try and open it up. Problem is leaving the house open I have noticed a fairly big drop in humidity from 60-70% down to about 25-30%. The next morning it is back up to the 60-70% and drops about 2-3 pm. It is a slow decrease as the day progresses. My question is if I sealed the top to try and keep the humidity in would that make it to where there is not enough ventilation? I know that not enough ventilation then you run the risk of bacteria growing. I also know I need enough time between mistings to allow things to dry. So would trying to cover the top be ok? Or do you have any other suggestions? Oh I just got orders to Virginia. So happy as the humidity levels are WAY higher than here in central California. But until I move I need a solution. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

I would try putting a himidifier in the room before I would seal up the top.

 

[PJK]

Also how are you reading the humidity? Those gauges they sell at pet stores can be wildly inaccurate. I had one that would constantly go from 80-0 in a matter of a few hours which doesn't seem possible 0% humidity in the middle of summer was impossible, even with the AC on full blast. Then I got a electronic hygrometer with a probe. Lo and behold, Even if I didn't mist for a couple of hours it wouldn't get below 50.....

 

[Carlton]

Dang. No one?

Cover another side, not the top. If you "seal in" the heat generated by lighting during the day, you may lose the thermal gradient chams prefer (warmer at the top, cooler and more humid at the bottom). Your cage may just sit too warm too much of the time. Passive air exchange in a part screen part solid sided cage relies on the "chimney effect"...air warmed from the lights rises off the cage. This also pulls cooler air into the bottom of the cage. This helps air movement and quality and discourages molds.

 

[RobSquared]

Thanks. I was thinking about that. I have some great news. I just thought of the idea of closing the front door of the house. Well it worked. The lowest the humidity got was 54. I couldn't believe it with just closing the front door to the house.