Humidity

[BigSwaug]

So I finally got a quality humidity gauge that works well and when i sprayed the cage down it went up to 60% but by the time I came home a couple hours later and even now after the lights are off, it's around 19%. What is the best day and night range to keep it at, and other than spraying more, what can I do to try to keep the humidity up at the proper range?

 

[Damicofam6]

i have a mistking that goes off throughout the day and i also have a humidifier in my room. to keep humidity in you can also put a shower curtain on one side of the cage but make sure there's still enough ventilation. I've also heard of putting a bamboo mat sorta thing of the side to keep humidity in while still allowing air to pass through.

 

[Carlton]

So I finally got a quality humidity gauge that works well and when i sprayed the cage down it went up to 60% but by the time I came home a couple hours later and even now after the lights are off, it's around 19%. What is the best day and night range to keep it at, and other than spraying more, what can I do to try to keep the humidity up at the proper range?

The reason your cage is drying out so quickly is the air in the room. Its a lot drier especially when you are heating it or using an AC in summer. The cage moisture will evaporate faster if the air surrounding the cage is dry. So, you want to slow down the exchange rate between cage and room. Add live plants...they provide more surfaces to collect and hold droplets. Enclose screen sides with something to slow down air exchange and again add surfaces to collect water droplets. If you don't want to mist or spray a lot more than you do now (to keep from flooding the cage) you can also add an ultrasonic room humidifier to the system and use a plug in timer to create more periods of higher humidity in between misting sessions. How often and how long the unit will need to run is trial and error using your good quality humidity gauge.

 

[BigSwaug]

The reason your cage is drying out so quickly is the air in the room. Its a lot drier especially when you are heating it or using an AC in summer. The cage moisture will evaporate faster if the air surrounding the cage is dry. So, you want to slow down the exchange rate between cage and room. Add live plants...they provide more surfaces to collect and hold droplets. Enclose screen sides with something to slow down air exchange and again add surfaces to collect water droplets. If you don't want to mist or spray a lot more than you do now (to keep from flooding the cage) you can also add an ultrasonic room humidifier to the system and use a plug in timer to create more periods of higher humidity in between misting sessions. How often and how long the unit will need to run is trial and error using your good quality humidity gauge.

Thank you for the info. I just went and picked up an ultrasonic humidifier and I will see how that works. I also have a few dwarf umbrella plants in the cage. Is one plant better than the other? And do you have issues with super worms crawling into them. I just found a bunch that crawled into one of the plants.

 

[Carlton]

A bigger plant or one with more leaf surface probably affects your cage humidity more than a small one. I don't know if any one specific species tends to raise humidity more than another. An easy way to keep feeders out of your plant soil is to lay a piece of windowscreen over the surface and weigh it down with pebbles. But, I prefer to confine my feeders in a larger plastic container so they eat what I want them to.