Humidity Questions from a new member

[themonsheshe]

Hi everyone, great site, sure seems like a real receptive place. Im a new Chameleon owner, and wanted to ask some humidity questions. My enclosure is screened in, and while ive seen some members plumb the humidifier directly into the cage, some people ive talked to advise against it. I keep a warm mist H/f going but the hygrometer seems to only read around 30%. I bought a larger one with a built in meter which read 47 as soon as i put it in the room. Will the screen filter out some of the humid air or is my problem the sensor in the cage?. Thanks CG

 

[John33871]

well that is a problem, ive heard that cool mist and ultrasonic humidifier are better than warm mist humidifiers, why i didnt understand but i was told to use one of the other 2. what ive heard is as long as you can keep it 40 and above and mist the cage 3 times a day you should be ok

 

[Brad]

What species are we talking about?

I use a coolmist humidifier in the mornings for a couple panther chams I am caring for.

 

[Tygerr]

What type of hygrometer are you using in the cage? If it's an analogue one, they're known to be unreliable.

 

[themonsheshe]

the hygrometer in the cage is a Zilla, and its digital.it doesnt read humidity until the % is 30,and quite often there is no reading.Ive set up a mister on a timer and there is always moisture.The new humidifier I bought is a cool mist with a meter built right in. its supposed to maintain a certain level which ive set to 50, and it has run intermittently all day.my cham is a panther ( nosy be ).I have a radiant electric oil heater in the room,and also wondered if that could dry out the air.

 

[dragonbreeder]

Greetings.
No matter what you do, for the most part, the humidity in your enclosure will match the ambient humidity levels of the room that your screened cage resides. However, mist systems and drip systems will provide appropriate water for drinking, but the only way to actually get the humidity where you want it is to change the humidity of the room (or close in your cage).

 

[04chase]

if you keep the cage nice a wet and keep the cham hydrated btu humidity is still low. i find that when i mist i get to about 40% but when i dont its about 30% the level is read at the top of the cage near the basking lamp. im using a hand sprayer right now . the cage is in my living room where the temps remain from 70-80 day and 65-70 at night. any ideas?

 

[dragonbreeder]

This is a tough subject. The chameleon community highly stresses and follows an open-air enclosure convention with cages that are mostly screen or PCV mesh. However, for those of us that have dry climates, this can make keeping humidity up pretty much impossible without closing in our cages, which is something we have always been taught NOT to do…

How can we find a happy middle..?

I am going to try something new. I am completing construction on a new enclosure that will have removable Plexiglas outer panels. These are located on the sides and top. There are smaller vented areas (one in front and one up top) to allow appropriate airflow. To increase humidity, they can be left on. To provide open-air, they can be easily removed. Optimally, they can be kept on during the low-humidity months, and kept off during the humid summer months. A ProMist system will provide moisture and humidity without completely soaking the enclosure.

There will still be half by one inch PVC wire mesh on the inner-frame of the cage to keep in the chams when the panels are off, as well as providing a medium for pothos and other vines to grow on, and of course, in case a cham wants to walk on the sides of it’s cage. The lower 10 inches of wall space will be glass to prevent crickets from reaching the upper mesh areas.

Two 20-watt T12 reptisun 5.0 bulbs will be mounted inside the enclosure, but right above the ceiling mesh so that the chams cannot reach it. I will post some pictures and let you know how this cage works out. It should be up and running this month some time.