Humidity question

[Pascal 2012]

Okay it has been a while since I have been on here due to the fact that everything was going pretty well, but recently my chameleon has developed an eye infection and what looks like an URI. After making an appointment I have been trying to figure out what may have caused it. The only thing that I noticed was that the humidity in the cage is dropping a lot. This is with three sides covered with plastic and two live plants and a mister going off every two hours! I know that we are not supposed to use substrate in the cage but would it be okay to put a small amount on the bottom in buckets to help raise his humidity? Any advice is welcome I just want to fix everything before I put him back in the same enviroment.

 

[ReptileLove18]

it may be possible that your hygrometer is broken and not reading properly, it seems like the humidity wouldnt be very low with live plants, covered sides, and a timed mister. i personally would get a new hygrometer and see what the reading is on it before making any serious changes

 

[Pascal 2012]

I have considered this as well and will get a new one tonight.

 

[ReptileLove18]

let us know what it reads when you get it in! i suggest this because my combo hygrometer thermometer tends to go out in about a year and a half to two years so i replace them around that time when i notice that they are not anywhere close to the ambient temp of the room, which i can monitor because we have central heating and air. so they never last for too long!! what is it reading right now?

 

[Pascal 2012]

It's a combo and the thermometer is still reading right but I wouldn't be surprised if it was broken. But in case it's not would a coconut fiber organic substrate be okay at the bottom so I can just pick that up so I am not driving back and forth?

 

[ReptileLove18]

i wouldnt use it because it could be ingested accidentally and cause impaction. your cham could snap it up when getting its food or decide it wanted it eat it and cause impaction which could be fatal! if you get a new hygrometer and indeed your humidity is really low, i would try to fit more live plant in there and maybe up how often your mister is going off during the day, as long as you give some time for things to dry between misting that would help raise the humidity

 

[Pascal 2012]

Sorry I did happen to read your response and did not purchase any substrate. I did spend time on focusing why his humidity had dropped at the rate that it did. I found the problem and it was a dumb mistake on my part. I had my heater to keep me warm running a lot more than I should have which means the air was dry. After correcting such a dumb mistake I noticed within 12 hours his humidity was returning back to normal, along with this he was looking much better as well his eye looks clean and everything I still have a day before his appointment so I will monitor everything until this point to see how he does. I want to add a medium sized plant to help with the humidity that much more if you have any suggestions I am glad to hear them. Also just to be safe on Saturday I am taking out everything from his cage cleaning it down.

 

[Lovereps]

Hibiscus, Schefflera and Ficus plants are pretty popular for chams.
Here is a list of plants that are known to be safe for chams:
http://www.flchams.com/safe_plant_list.asp
Just be sure to thoroughly clean the plants with dish soap in water and rinse thoroughly before using them with him.
Covering up the soil with rocks that are way too large to fit in his mouth is also good.

It's good that he will be looked at by a vet to see if the eye and respiratory tract are infected.
It can be tough to get rid of infections, so the sooner treatment is started the easier it can be to cure.

 

[Carlton]

Okay it has been a while since I have been on here due to the fact that everything was going pretty well, but recently my chameleon has developed an eye infection and what looks like an URI. After making an appointment I have been trying to figure out what may have caused it. The only thing that I noticed was that the humidity in the cage is dropping a lot. This is with three sides covered with plastic and two live plants and a mister going off every two hours! I know that we are not supposed to use substrate in the cage but would it be okay to put a small amount on the bottom in buckets to help raise his humidity? Any advice is welcome I just want to fix everything before I put him back in the same enviroment.

Just an idea here...remember that upper respiratory infections occur in nasal membranes or sinuses and the eye infection could be secondary to that or vice versa. Might have nothing to do with low humidity at all. But, cleaning everything and checking out the cage humidity is always a good idea.