Humidity?

[Charmander]

I am having a heck of a time trying to keep the cage humid enough (thank you California weather)... any suggestions aside from a dripper or spraying 100's a day?

 

[Charmander]

In case it isn't obvious, we are new to the cham thing

 

[Ace]

hello again

the plants along with dripper and spraying should do it

do you have the cage indoors or outdoors?

u can try a humidifier, but with veileds they can tolerate humidity and temp changes rather well....do u have a digital humidity guage?

 

[Charmander]

Hmm, maybe I have misunderstood what the humidity really should be. He is kept indoors since it gets so darn cold. Good to know he isn't as fragile as we have been treating him! Not digital, cheap dial gauge from petco.

 

[Ace]

Hmm, maybe I have misunderstood what the humidity really should be. He is kept indoors since it gets so darn cold. Good to know he isn't as fragile as we have been treating him! Not digital, cheap dial gauge from petco.

well thats ok for now..humidity is the moisture in the air i believe, now that doesnt mean to keep your cage all wet and drenched all the time.....

wat might b a good thing to save up is an automated misting system, less worry, IMO,

focus more on the temps, and if you spray several times a day already then it shouldnt b a problem... i can tell you care lot ,you are a good owner... keep it up

 

[rcutchens]

We have the same problem and the humidity in Rico's cage is generally around 40%. Whenever we mist we get it up to as much as 80% plus but it inevitably drops back down. We do try to mist as many as four times per day but generally in the morning, mid afternoon and early evening. Being in the Midwest we’re going into winter which means we’ll need to run the heater and that only dries the house out more so I’m concerned that it will make Rico’s cage that much less humid.

We have five live plants in his cage and we’ve draped the back screen with silk ivy to try to keep moisture in but it only does so much. I assume there are little humidifier systems on the market that we could consider for the winter months. Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ace]

We have the same problem and the humidity in Rico's cage is generally around 40%. Whenever we mist we get it up to as much as 80% plus but it inevitably drops back down. We do try to mist as many as four times per day but generally in the morning, mid afternoon and early evening. Being in the Midwest we’re going into winter which means we’ll need to run the heater and that only dries the house out more so I’m concerned that it will make Rico’s cage that much less humid.

We have five live plants in his cage and we’ve draped the back screen with silk ivy to try to keep moisture in but it only does so much. I assume there are little humidifier systems on the market that we could consider for the winter months. Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

i hear the humidfiers from walmart are pretty good for only 30 bucks i believe...but dont take my word for it

 

[rcutchens]

i hear the himidfiers from walmart are pretty good for only 30 bucks i believe

Thanks, Ace. Would these be like whole room humidifiers?

 

[Ace]

Thanks, Ace. Would these be like whole room humidifiers?

not sure , sorry, .. i dont use humidifiers since my house has central air

and plus im afriad the humidifier might create bacteria out of nowhere....

 

[sandrachameleon]

Pay the $30 for a digital guage so you really know what the humidity is. For less than $30 at homedepot you can get one that does both humidity and temperature, and keeps track of highs/lows max/mins as well, so you can see what the values were while you were asleep or at work, etc.

40% spiking to 80% during misting is acceptable, for a veiled, if the chameleon also has a dripper to get enough to drink and gets well hydrated prey.

But if you need to increase humidity...

Do you like fish? Having a big fish tank in the same room really increases humidity

A bowl of water in the cage (covered by screen) or a bowl of rocks in water, or similar, will help too.

Live plants (in the cage and outside the cage yet in the same room) do help.

Using a cage with more solid sides will help retain humidity within (since you're already using screen, try covering the back and two sides with plastic).

Humidifiers also work okay, if its not a huge room. I keep all my chameleons in the same room, and its not a huge room, so that allows me to have higher humidity and heat in there than the rest of the house.

edit: for a quick fix, hang a wet towel over the side and /or back of the cage.

 

[Ace]

Pay the $30 for a digital guage so you really know what the humidity is. For less than $30 at homedepot you can get one that does both humidity and temperature, and keeps track of highs/lows max/mins as well, so you can see what the values were while you were asleep or at work, etc.

40% spiking to 80% during misting is acceptable, for a veiled, if the chameleon also has a dripper to get enough to drink and gets well hydrated prey.

But if you need to increase humidity...

Do you like fish? Having a big fish tank in the same room really increases humidity

A bowl of water in the cage (covered by screen) or a bowl of rocks in water, or similar, will help too.

Live plants (in the cage and outside the cage yet in the same room) do help.

Using a cage with more solid sides will help retain humidity within (since you're already using screen, try covering the back and two sides with plastic).

Humidifiers also work okay, if its not a huge room. I keep all my chameleons in the same room, and its not a huge room, so that allows me to have higher humidity and heat in there than the rest of the house.

i agree..sandra got it covered....sorry im sick and the fever made me forgetful about the the waterbowl trick or solid wall panels.....

 

[laurie]

If you are looking for an excellent cheap humidifier, consider the crane brand at Target. I personally like the elephant model as I aim the trunk toward the cages. We don't know what humidity is in here in winter so I get lots of unwanted practice keeping my humidity up. Add to that the fact that I have montanes so my humidity has to be high. I cover 3 sides of my cages, with fabric, back that with plastic shower curtains, I keep the reservoir to my misting system uncovered and also leave the catch tanks for the run off water uncovered. Add that to the plants, mistings and droppers, and my humidity stays up where it belongs. Sometimes I will need to run a humidifier at night but most nights are ok.

 

[rcutchens]

Pay the $30 for a digital guage so you really know what the humidity is. For less than $30 at homedepot you can get one that does both humidity and temperature, and keeps track of highs/lows max/mins as well, so you can see what the values were while you were asleep or at work, etc.

40% spiking to 80% during misting is acceptable, for a veiled, if the chameleon also has a dripper to get enough to drink and gets well hydrated prey.

But if you need to increase humidity...

Do you like fish? Having a big fish tank in the same room really increases humidity

A bowl of water in the cage (covered by screen) or a bowl of rocks in water, or similar, will help too.

Live plants (in the cage and outside the cage yet in the same room) do help.

Using a cage with more solid sides will help retain humidity within (since you're already using screen, try covering the back and two sides with plastic).

Humidifiers also work okay, if its not a huge room. I keep all my chameleons in the same room, and its not a huge room, so that allows me to have higher humidity and heat in there than the rest of the house.

edit: for a quick fix, hang a wet towel over the side and /or back of the cage.

I've kind of hijacked charmander's thread but didn't mean to. Just to clarify, Rico is an Ambilobe panther. We do keep a dripper going pretty much all hours of the day that his lights are on. At one point I was worried about hydration because I wasn't seeing him actually drink from the dripper but his urates look good and white and others have said they rarely see their chameleons drink so I'm less concerned about that now.

With the humidity, what is a good level for panthers? I should know this and feel terrible even asking but at one point I thought it was around 50% and now I'm not sure.

Also, with the humidity is it primarily to for keeping water available to the chameleon for drinking purposes or does it have to do with keeping their skin healthy and hydrated, for example? I'm not sure I'm asking the question correctly but what I'm trying to ask is whether or not the humidity level has more to do with external health for the chameleon such as with their skin?

 

[Charmander]

Thank you all so much! Sorry, new to the boards so I keep forgetting I've posted! His low is usually around 40% and we push it to 80% when we mist, so it seems as though we are right on track! Cleaning out his cage today and will add some more live plants and get the dripper on track =]

Thanks again!