humidity readings

[satch4684]

I used to have something that stood on the floor of the enclosure, a digital therm/hygro combo, basically sold as a tool for incubating..eggs I guess, it just says "incubator" on it. it was recommended for reptiles too, so I thought it would be ok. anyway, it just seemed way too easy, I was having no problem keeping the minimum of about 70% all the time in a huge 2x2x4 cage. So I decided to grab something more traditional, and bought an exo terra hygro that has the probe, which i wrapped around a vine so its about as close as possible to the exact middle of the cage.

now this is what I originally expected would happen, its extremely challenging to get the humidity right. well, actually much worse than i originally thought, the fogger does pretty much nothing to help, and a good spray down gets the humidity to 70-80, and immediately starts dropping. as of now, its almost impossible to keep humidity at 70 or more constantly, but i'm sure covering 2-3 sides of the cage will fix things up. well, i dont know how this turned into such a long post, but just to make sure, am i probably getting the true humidity readings from my new exo terra hygro w/ probe? now i really can't wait to get a mist king....

 

[mc9423]

I'm pretty sure (someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, please!) that you don't need constant humidity in the 70-90% range; just for a bit after misting.

 

[ChamOh]

yeah you don't need humidity that high all the time. it could cause respiratory infections. let it dry out between mistings and humidity will drop.

now please someone correct me if i'm wrong: low humidity isn't that big a deal? especially if they are shedding / drinking well? what are some potential hazards of low humidity?

 

[satch4684]

forgot to mention, but keep in mind i'm talking about a Quadricornis (four horned chameleon) which is recommended 70-100 humidity.

Still, I do let the cage dry out what I felt was often enough, because I worried about respitory infection as well.

 

[ChamOh]

ahh! okay, in which case i haven't a clue! those things scare me : )

 

[IHaveAJackson]

I would say its fine because like you guys said it could cause respitory infections and will cause mold to grow

 

[satch4684]

okay, again sorry to forget adding it was a four horn, also sorta misleading when I say he was at least 70% humidity constantly, it really wasn't that high literally all the time. i was just trying to get the point across that I try and keep him at higher humidity than other chams, although there wasn't much exaggeration with that incubator, that thing gave off high readings even when the cage was bone dry.

especially now, when I see how big of a difference it is with accurate readings, there is no way you'd want it to be in that humidity range all of the time, the cage would have to be dripping wet 24/7. also, i've just located another reading that says to just make sure the constant humdity doesn't go below %50 (cant believe I didnt see this one before) and I think I've definetly been achieving that. after all, I do live in FL.