Humidity problem?!? Please help

[rikkidnn0589]

I have my chameleon in a screen cage and i mist it three times a day once at seven in the morning once at 2 in the afternoon and once at five at night. even with all the misting and the high humidity immediately after the misting i dont think the humidity is staying high enough for long enough. He just had his first shed since i got him and he has little specks of old skin on his left eye and little rings around some of his toes. any suggestions on humidity or what to do about left over skin would be welcome, THANKS!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Marc10edora]

Buy a good humidifier and place it near the cage. Don't place it inside, but next to the cage. That should help keep a consistant humidity level.

 

[rikkidnn0589]

how do those work? it seems like it would create an overwhelming amount of humidity. Is there a way to concentrate the humidity to the cage and a small area around it, what kind of humidifiers are best?

 

[Jordan]

What kind of chameleon do you have?

 

[roo_71]

i dont think the humidity is staying high enough for long enough.

… and what exactly are the humidity levels at after a misting and just prior to one? What species is it?

Keep an eye on the skin “rings” around its toes. These can be dangerous if they don’t come off and/or dry up. The dead skin can act as a tourniquet and cut off blood supply to the toes causing them to rot. This can also happen to the limbs and tail as well.

For stubborn pieces of shed that wont come off I dab on a tiny bit of mineral oil with a Q-tip which works every time.

-roo

 

[rikkidnn0589]

i have a panther chameleon. right after i mist the humidity jumps to about 89-97percent. when i come home in the afternoon its at like 20 percent.

 

[roo_71]

At 20, I would go with the humidifier suggestion (I like ultrasonic types) and use a digital timer to have it come on when the humidity levels are low. You will need to experiment with the timer schedule but I do know that you wouldn’t want it to come on just after a misting since the humidity level should be fine then or just prior to misting since you are about to mist.

Just keep an eye on that skin that’s surrounding the toes, really try the mineral oil suggestion but if still wont come off soon then you should carefully remove it.

-roo

 

[Ganoosh]

Hey I have a similar question but I've narrowed it down to two options and need some help deciding.....

Cool Mist Humidifier

VS.

Warm Moist Humidifier

I went ahead and purchased the latter earlier today although I can still return it if it turns out the cool mist is better.....btw I have a 4month old m. veiled.

 

[roo_71]

A warm mist humidifier will surely promote bacteria faster then a cool mist one and you will have to clean it at least once a week I would think. That and it probably pulls more power then a cool mist one for the heating element.

-roo

 

[Ganoosh]

Hmm....I'm debating on either returning it now or waiting for more input, thanks though Roo, I honestly thought the warm one would better simulate his natural environment.

 

[Melany]

I imagine you would have to clean it often anyway. Bacteria is so easy to get built up. Don't chameleons prefer a warm mist? My veiled will "shower" in the water if he thinks its warm enough. I have never bought a humidifier and am curious to what people have to say too.

 

[roo_71]

I imagine you would have to clean it often anyway. Bacteria is so easy to get built up.

I clean mine once a week which is more then I probably need to and I have three of them going. I have never seen anything nasty in them and rarely feel any type of slimy build up however it’s better to be safe then sorry. I was chatting with a vet school friend and he mentioned that sure there will be bacteria in there but he mentioned something about the really nasty/harmful bacteria prefers the warmer environments so that’s why it’s best to stick with cool mist humidifier. I think if you did a poll on people using humidifiers, you will find that the vast majority are using cool mist models.

I honestly thought the warm one would better simulate his natural environment.

I could be absolutely wrong by saying this but I would think any type of mist/fog in nature is cool and not warm unless it’s coming off some hot water spring or something like that.

-roo

 

[Melany]

Good points Thanks

 

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[gonzalez6115]

well with mine and here in WI we get very dry winters. i just used my old vaporizer in the bottom of the cage and turn it on before i go to school during the week and before work on weekends and off whne i get home. that helps for drinking water and keeps humidity at about 50% throughout the day.