Humidity - how high is too high?

[hinoco1225]

I just moved my cham into my closet at my new apartment. It's a large walk-in closet and I'm in and out of it throughout the day, so the air circulation is ok. I also don't have a while lot of stuff in there, so it seems to be the perfect place for my cham so my other pets don't bother her. Since I moved her in there last night, the temp has stayed about the same as usual but I've noticed that the humidity is a lot higher than it was. It was staying around 50-70, but now the lowest I've seen it in there is 85, and after a misting it gets to be almost 100. I live in Georgia, so it's a very humid area anyway and I know the closet is going to retain humidity because it's a smaller space, so is this ok for my cham? (She is a 3 month old veiled and I've had her for 3 weeks.)

Now that I think about it, today is the first day she's been in there and it just so happens to be a particularly humid day outside anyway (94% right now). So maybe her humidity won't always be as high in there as it is now, but regardless, I need to know if it's ok for her.

 

[Melina]

As a rule humidity greater than 85% can contribute towards the growth of bacteria and fungi. Since the humidity in the area your keeping your cham is high make sure you ensure the ventilation of the area is good. You could also try a dehumidifier in the general area to lower the humidity too.

 

[lecham]

try to keep the humidity level under 85, i had a female veiled and that worked out fine for her. if u excess the humidity over a long period there is a chance of bacteria and mold so be care full try to keep ventilation in the closet as well,,u can point a fan into the closet so its not hiting the cham. directly but just give it some air to feel.turn the fan off for some time give it some air cycles to be more exact

 

[lumbasammler]

A fan is not a good idea buddy.
Chameleons get lung problems caused by supply air pretty quickly.

 

[hinoco1225]

Thanks for the advice everybody. I will make sure it stays below 85 in the future. I just checked the humidity in her cage and it's back down to about 60 now. I guess it was just really high this morning because the closet door was shut all night and last night was really humid where I am. I will just have to watch it on particularly humid days and nights.

 

[lumbasammler]

It normally is not a problem to have high humidity at night, it should just not be like that for a longer period of time. So if it isn´t that high over the days, you should not get any problems.

 

[sdheli420]

A fan is not a good idea buddy.
Chameleons get lung problems caused by supply air pretty quickly.

not sure what "supply air" is, but i do know that lung problems can occur with high humidity and poor air circulation..you dont want a breeze going in your room, but if you have a fan in your room, make sure its pointed away from the cham, as long as the fan is on, it will circulate some of the closet air..

 

[lecham]

The fan being on, is not going to couse breathing problems unless it is ponted at the cham. and if the air speed is high.Having a fan (being a roof fan in the room or stand fan) is a helpfull way to keep ventilation especially in a closet were there would be less of it, thts why i feel a fan would be a good candidate for this cham. since the mesh cages are meant for this air circulation. if u really want to experiment with the humidity and the circulation of air, try setting the door at different positions to see wich works for u

 

[lumbasammler]

not sure what "supply air" is, but i do know that lung problems can occur with high humidity and poor air circulation..you dont want a breeze going in your room, but if you have a fan in your room, make sure its pointed away from the cham, as long as the fan is on, it will circulate some of the closet air..

Sorry, maybe i misunderstood something.
By "supply air" i meant a breeze
I thought i read something like "so it´s not pointed at the cham directly" and thought this meant the fan is blowing air inside.
If it´s impossible for the cham to touch the fan and if it´s blowing air OUT slowly, it should be okay, but as the "cage" is more like a small room, this won´t be possible anyways.

 

[lecham]

Sorry, maybe i misunderstood something.
By "supply air" i meant a breeze
I thought i read something like "so it´s not pointed at the cham directly" and thought this meant the fan is blowing air inside.
If it´s impossible for the cham to touch the fan and if it´s blowing air OUT slowly, it should be okay, but as the "cage" is more like a small room, this won´t be possible anyways.

u did read "so it´s not pointed at the cham directly" the chameleon is in a closet were there is zero ventilation..a fan would be essential to create moving air going in and out from the closet.espessially since the cham is located in a very humid location.this CAN be accomplished like i said before"experiment with the door and close it or open it depending on how much air u want going in.THIS IS IMPORTANT SINCE THE CHAM IS ONLY 3 MONTHS OLD AND HUMIDITY WILL TAKE MORE OF AN EFFECT ON ITS SMALL LUNGS..KEEP THE AIR TO A LIGHT SPEED AND KEEP AN EYE ON THE HUMIDITY.

 

[lumbasammler]

You´re right, but i don´t see how a fan could be placed to blow air out of a closet.
Guess it´s best to place some kind of barrier behind the door so the cham can´t get out so you can leave the door open without having to watch it all day long.

 

[rocket89]

what about for panther chameleon, i was told to keep the humidity high? now i am confuse.

 

[lumbasammler]

It´s good to have a high humidity SMETIMES but not all the time

 

[lecham]

you´re right, but i don´t see how a fan could be placed to blow air out of a closet.
Guess it´s best to place some kind of barrier behind the door so the cham can´t get out so you can leave the door open without having to watch it all day long.

hmmm i think what was meant to be said was that she moved the cage into the closet correct me if im mistaken..or unless the cham is free ranging inside the closet? And well the fan caouses air to be moved provoking air traffic..its simple. Air moves therefor causing air to go in and out at a steady paste.

 

[lecham]

what about for panther chameleon, i was told to keep the humidity high? now i am confuse.

Panthers do need some humidity do to them having wet summers in the wild and dry winters so it really does vary, keep the humidity under 85 ans not below 40 that should do the trick.

 

[lumbasammler]

hmmm i think what was meant to be said was that she moved the cage into the closet correct me if im mistaken..or unless the cham is free ranging inside the closet? And well the fan caouses air to be moved provoking air traffic..its simple. Air moves therefor causing air to go in and out at a steady paste.

I think the closet kind of IS it´s cage. if so: which lamps do you use for lighting it?
If the closet is used as a cage, it would be impossible to use a fan so it can not hit the Chameleon

 

[lecham]

fan causes air traffic(flow) regardless were pointed.

I think the closet kind of IS it´s cage. if so: which lamps do you use for lighting it?
If the closet is used as a cage, it would be impossible to use a fan so it can not hit the Chameleon

if the closet is the chams cage well then the air moving inside still applies, you would need to cham proof the door way to make sure it doesnt get out..a fan is still needed to cause air to be going in and out. if the door is kept close the humidity will increase to a max, making it not safe for the cham since it its 3 months old, and like she mentioned were she is living there is more humidity than usual so it is important that there is ventilation."the fan will not be hiting the cham." if the fan is pointed another way the air will still flow through the door in a non-direct way making it ok for the cham.

 

[lumbasammler]

Does the closet have a window?

 

[hinoco1225]

hmmm i think what was meant to be said was that she moved the cage into the closet correct me if im mistaken..or unless the cham is free ranging inside the closet? And well the fan caouses air to be moved provoking air traffic..its simple. Air moves therefor causing air to go in and out at a steady paste.

The cham's cage is in the closet. She's not free ranging in there. She's only about 5 inches long right now so I'd probably lose her if she was, lol.

 

[lumbasammler]

Depends on the size of the closet
Could you upload pictures of the cham and cage?