Low humidity

[Lamour]

I have a veiled chameleon in a 24x24x48 screen cage. His humidity won't stay above 20-30%. Two of the cage sides are blocked with plastic. I've tried spraying the tank often and using a humidifier and the humidity wouldn't increase. I'm using a fogger to see if it helps now. Are there any other suggestions I could try?

 

[Lovereps]

The very first thing to check is to be sure your humidity gauge isn't inaccurate or broken.
The ones designed for pets tend to be pretty bad--though not all are, of course.
You can add a third side of plastic, add live plants and mist longer and/or more often.

 

[Decadancin]

That's exactly what I was going to say! Its always nice to have a backup gauge. What's the humidity level in the room? If its too low you could use a humidifier for the room, but isn't your setup in a basement? (trying to remember a thread about lighting ...) If so, I would think the humidity would be easier to keep higher.

 

[lovepicasso]

Live plants will help, but if you're running the central heat very much that will lower the humidity in a room and I don't think it really matters what you try, it just doesn't seem to help with that heat going.....that is what happens in my home, yours may be different, but worth a try.....best of luck to you.

 

[Padose]

Live plants will help, but if you're running the central heat very much that will lower the humidity in a room and I don't think it really matters what you try, it just doesn't seem to help with that heat going.....that is what happens in my home, yours may be different, but worth a try.....best of luck to you.

Totally true for me as well. When I was setting up my cage before getting my cham, I had the same problem. I would finally get the humidity up to like 50% and then heat kicks on and I could watch the gauge go down. Sides covered and heat vent redirected, and two live plants later, my humidity is finally great Just work with it, and I would think about a mister instead of a fogger, but totally up to you!

 

[Lamour]

Yes my setup is in the basement. The humidity in the room seems to stay at 30%, same as the cage. I do have live plants in the cage (2 pothos, spider plant, and a large parlor palm). I have two gauges in there at the moment to see if they read differently. Will the heat matter even if I have the vent closed?

 

[ForrestJungle]

I would say you might need to get an automated mist system. That will help a lot and probably fix your problem.