so for about the past week and half i've noticed my enclosure hasn't been holding humidity very well where as it normally stays in the 80%-90% range any idea's as to why it can't hold humidity all the sudden?
enclosure all the sudden losing humidity?
- Thread starter naturalman91
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Check for any open spaces, cracks, or any thing that let's air out... Try misting more when the humidity drops, are your enclosure temps higher?
It could also be that the sub straight is too dry, or it's too hot inside.
that's the first thing i tried was looking for cracks or openings my temps are about 84 i hardly ever had to mist before this
Just start misting more until you find the source (or change the enclosure) 
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Just pour water into the substrate. You can mix it in evenly or leave it to soak in in spots. The bottom layer needs to be damp. The top layer dries out quickly. Mist wont penetrate deeply.
It's useful to think of the substrate as a garden bed. Misting is good but doesn't accomplish the same thing as outright watering.
It's useful to think of the substrate as a garden bed. Misting is good but doesn't accomplish the same thing as outright watering.
Those heat bulbs dry up water very quickly! wet your substare so that (as @johnsonnboswell pointed out ) the bottom is slightly damp. Not soaking, just a little damp. Did you recently move your lights closer?
) the bottom is slightly damp. Not soaking, just a little damp. Did you recently move your lights closer?
Those heat bulbs dry up water very quickly! wet your substare so that (as @johnsonnboswell pointed out
nope nothing has been changed
Maybe it's from the room the enclosure is in?
Hmm, you couls also hook up a humidifier to the tank, I know there have been threads where people have done that
I have been keeping reptiles for 20 years and I have never actually measured the humidity in any enclosure. Anyway, for my box turtles I keep the substrate damp at all times, mist every afternoon and keep the enclosure mostly covered. They have thrived and been healthy with it.
I think you need to sit and stare/observe the enclosure from top to bottom, from left to right....something has changed, it is apparent. What are the temps in your home? What is the humidity in your home? Something has changed, simple as that--trick is trying to figure it out.
that's what i was thinking to i went over it top to bottom i couldn't seem to find any cracks or anyway for humidity to escape the only thing that's changed is my house temp has gone down i put in a ac in my window. i'm building a new enclosure next week but i still can't figure out why its losing now could the soil be to dried out like as said before? i hardly ever misted before and it would hold 80%-90% easy for a while now i'm misting it everyday
Ah ha....this will change the entire dynamics of the room....so you will likely now need to make adjustments....keep in mind that if the ac is on during the night you will want to assure you have enough heat going then so that you don't end up with a chilled tort...
If the room has cooled and the cooling is by ac (which causes drying of the air) then I would guess that you will need to add additional water to "part" of the enclosure (the spot/area under/near the heating source/basking light) and then bump your temps a little and move from there...don't forget to offer a dry out area for the tort as an option.
thanks i'll keep that in mind. my temps haven't been effected only the humidity still only goes to 82 at night
if you were to leave the set up as is, eventually you would have an entire dry environment...that environment would then rise in temp at a quicker rate.....tweak with the set up a bit---perhaps move the enclosure higher/lower/left/right--to a different wall, etc...
moving the enclosure isn't a option at this time it will only fit in one spot is there anything i can do besides just keep misting?
Yes, you can pour warm water directly into the soil directly under the heat source area....be sure your substrate is at least 5-6 inches deep, this way the water will remain a bit longer in the deeper parts of the soil while allowing the top layers to dry out some...
Live plants growing in the enclosure also help a lot to keep humidity up.
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