too much humidity?

[questnjurny]

Hi all,

Getting my cham this weekend! Anyways, I've had the cage set up for a week and have been monitoring the humidity in there. Keep in mind, this is without the lights on (only the room lights, not the enclosure lights) and no misting. My humidity ranges between 60-80, generally sits in the 70-80 range. Can the humidity be too high? I have a number of large fish tanks in my house and I do have humidity problems in two of the bedrooms (the ones farthest from the furnace that get teh least heat) this particular bedroom does not get the condensation on the windows, but it apparently stays pretty humid! Is this going to be a problem at all?

Female veiled, unknown age, but an adult
aluminum mesh enclosure 4' x 3' x 2', full of live plants
any other info you need?

 

[SuperRad]

Well once you have your heat lamps on, the humidity is definitely going to drop. So you have to take that into consideration.

 

[questnjurny]

I'll set it up as if she was in there for teh day tomorrow and see what the levels are like. I did have the heat lamps on and misted as I would once the cham arrives on the first day or two after I had it all set up and it sat up around 75-80 still. Once summer arrives the humidity in the house will go down with the windows open, but until then I just want to make sure that if the humidity stays high it won't be a problem.

I have the dehumidifier in my bedroom set at the lowest setting (highest setting? the one that goes off when the humidity is still fairly high) and it *never* goes off...the bathroom one has to be set at 60 if I ever have a hope of it turning itself off...50 and it runs for days and days...actually its never reached a humidity of 50 in the bathroom.

 

[questnjurny]

really that many views and no one can tell me if too much humidity can be a problem?

 

[jamie and jarrett]

Not all of us know the answer...

 

[Tydis]

really that many views and no one can tell me if too much humidity can be a problem?

I'm fairly sure too much humidity over a long period of time can contribute to an URI.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Well once you have your heat lamps on, the humidity is definitely going to drop. So you have to take that into consideration.

Depending on how you decide to keep a female veiled ... You may not opt for a heat lamp.

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

Just like temperatures ... I think it is much easier to start with a situation where the readings are low and bring them up, rather than have them too high.

I know that veileds have a wide natural range, and that some live in more humid areas (wadis) My own experience involves having good luck with the humidity in the 4o-something range (maybe even a little lower sometimes) with short bursts of higher levels during and after a misting (2 to 3 times a day for 30 seconds)
The drippers drip into collection containers which I am sure raises the relative humidity in the enclosures slightly.

-Brad

 

[cchase231]

maybe you should look into a montane species where it is desirable to have high humidity. Some are used to it being in the 80-100s at night. If you have good air circulation and dont let the air get stagnant it should help, but I too think it could lead to a respiratory infection in species that come from non-humid environments.

*didnt see that you were already getting a veiled, I dont keep veileds so I really cant comment.*

 

[questnjurny]

I guess heat lamp was the wrong word for me...it is a regular 100w bulb, gets the basking area up around 95 degrees.

I'll never get my humidity down to 40...even with a dehumidifier running in there constantly. I think 60 is about as low as I can get it.

Well I guess I take my chances, good thing the cage is nice and big.

 

[cchase231]

not sure if it is something that would be possible for you but you might try to look into getting an exhaust fan for the room. With high humidity my biggest concern would be mold. Fresh air, good circulation, and frequent cleaning is key when the humidity is high.

 

[questnjurny]

It definitly helps with the dehumidifier, I open the windows as much as possible without freezing myself out! I just bought the house and this is the first winter...of course you find all kinds of quirks! I do have a leak at the fan in the bathroom if its raining and the wind blows just right so will have to get my handy dandy father to climb up into the attic and make sure all the vents etc are workign when he goes up to fix that leak.

I'll keep a window open in that bedroom a crack as well, esp on sunny days as we move into spring. Should help to control it a bit.

It was amazing shopping for a dehumidifier, there was the choice of TWO. Humidifiers there were probably 20. Who on earth would want it more humid here? We live on the coast in a rainforest!!

This is a little rescue girl, so I didn't have a whole lot of choice on species. When I get my next one I'll see what species fits my conditions a little better.

 

[joefarah]

It's ok to have high humidity levels as long as you have good air flow. Since you're using a mesh cage you should be fine. Keepers in Florida do very well with veileds outside and down there it's hot an humid nearly all year and they thrive, but only when they have a steady source of nice fresh air.

It's when people keep veileds in glass aquariums with little air flow that problems arise from high humidity.

You should be fine so long as the room she's in isn't stagnant.

 

[questnjurny]

no, the door will be left open with a baby gate across to ward off curious dogs. Will keep the window open with weather appropriate, so there should be some decent airflow in there. The cage is in the middle of a wall as well, so the only wall that has no airflow is the back wall.

thanks guys!

 

[lbesok]

Some people have mentioned utilizing computer fans to assist with ventilation. I just don't know how exactly you would position it to keep from getting wet though....maybe on the top.

 

[Progrmor]

I used to have the same problem. Then I started opening one of the cagedoors while i was in the same room as my cham. The humidity then drooped from 84 to like 60%. I is also good for the bound between you and the cham. She will get to know you better if her cage is open from time to time.