Humidity and Heat Trouble

[pinkpirate]

Hi everyone!

I am having a lot of trouble getting the humidity and heat correct in my enclosure. I have a ZooMed enclosure which after posting on the boards I added plexiglass to so that it would hold in the heat and humidity. The only hole is for my lights. I am using a MVB and a CHE for heat and light but it is not staying stable. I had the lights right on the cage but my temp gun said it was 110 in the basking spot so I raised it. Now it is 90 so I put it back down. The rest of the enclosure is around 85 but dips down to 75 at night. I don't know what to do with all these changes. I feel like I can't get the temp stableized. I do have a hotter CHE I can put in but I am worried that it will make it to warm during the day when the MVB is on. The other thing is that Dizzy always sleeps on the warmer side but never in the basking spot. Usually he digs a whole in the corner and sleeps there. Help would be wonderful.

As for the humidity I had a Repti-Fogger that was working great for 3 days then stopped working so now I am depending on the damp substrate and the plexiglass to keep it covered. I have about 4 inches of coco substrate in it and I keep the bottom wet but dumping in a picture of water every other day. The humidity is still only at 55%! Any suggestions on how to keep it up, I really want Dizzy to keep his smooth shell.

Thank you for the help.

 

[jason g.]

It was hard for me to keep steady temps. Always hotter than needed to be. as for humidity I put a heating pad under her inclosure to keep her hide good and humid but she was in an open top tub so the humid hide was it. She seems to be happy, growing smooth. We even worked out alot of the initial pyramiding from when I got her.

 

[wellington]

The only temp that seems you are have g trouble with is at night. Do you leave the CHE on at night? If so, and it still dips to 75, switch it out for the larger CHE. I tried two of the reptile foggers and both died after a week or two. I went with a human personal warm mist humidifier. Just make sure the fan area does not sit on any substrate, it will clog. The basking of 110 is fine. Let me know if this helps. See what others suggest also.

 

[Dizisdalife]

I used two CHE's plugged into one thermostat controller. All I had to do was to set the temp to where I wanted it and let the thermostat do it's job. This set up kept the temps within a few degrees of where I set the temp. It was especially useful for maintaining the night time temperatures. During the day when the basking light was on and warmed the enclosure the thermostat kept the CHE's off.

 

[Tom]

I was going to say what Joe said. Cheap. Easy. Problem solved.

By the way, you would have a MUCH easier time with all this in a closed chamber. I use hardly any electricity in mine and humidity is always in the 80s with a relatively dry substrate and very little effort.

 

[Urtle]

Any good thermostats you guys recommend?

 

[Dizisdalife]

For the past 18 months I have used a Newtek that I bought at LLL Reptile. I think there are several that are the same basic on/off controller (ALife, Big Apple, Newtek, Zilla, etc.). Here is one of them: http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...ers/-/zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller/
I think it is important that what ever you get has the ability to control two devices (has two plugs).

 

[Tom]

I agree with Joe again. That one looks just like the ones I am using but with a different label.

 

[pinkpirate]

I was going to say what Joe said. Cheap. Easy. Problem solved.

By the way, you would have a MUCH easier time with all this in a closed chamber. I use hardly any electricity in mine and humidity is always in the 80s with a relatively dry substrate and very little effort.

My enclosure isn't a n aquarium but I did close the top of except where the lights are. Will that work or should I switch?

 

[Tom]

Can you show us a pic? It works best if the lights and all their heat is contained indside the enclosure. You can use a very low wattage bulb to give you plenty of ambient heat as well as your basking spot.

 

[pinkpirate]

Here is a picture. I put the foil in close to the lights because I was worried the plexi would melt. Right now there are three pieces of plexi but I have a new piece to cut as soon as my dremel is repaired.

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

Hi everyone!

I am having a lot of trouble getting the humidity and heat correct in my enclosure. I have a ZooMed enclosure which after posting on the boards I added plexiglass to so that it would hold in the heat and humidity. The only hole is for my lights. I am using a MVB and a CHE for heat and light but it is not staying stable. I had the lights right on the cage but my temp gun said it was 110 in the basking spot so I raised it. Now it is 90 so I put it back down. The rest of the enclosure is around 85 but dips down to 75 at night. I don't know what to do with all these changes. I feel like I can't get the temp stableized. I do have a hotter CHE I can put in but I am worried that it will make it to warm during the day when the MVB is on. The other thing is that Dizzy always sleeps on the warmer side but never in the basking spot. Usually he digs a whole in the corner and sleeps there. Help would be wonderful.

As for the humidity I had a Repti-Fogger that was working great for 3 days then stopped working so now I am depending on the damp substrate and the plexiglass to keep it covered. I have about 4 inches of coco substrate in it and I keep the bottom wet but dumping in a picture of water every other day. The humidity is still only at 55%! Any suggestions on how to keep it up, I really want Dizzy to keep his smooth shell.

Thank you for the help.

Take a spray bottle put warm water in it and spray the the the walls of the tank as needed until the humidity is right.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

Take a spray bottle put warm water in it and spray the the the walls of the tank as needed until the humidity is right.

IMHO, this isn't going to be enough. All you really are doing is making everything look wet.

I would suggest adding some kind of belly heating (heat rope or heat mat) to keep the substrate warm and humid, but the ZooMed enclosure does not allow for that.

Until you can make corrections in the habitat (or move him to a better one), I would say your best bet is regular soaks in warm water within a closed tub. One member suggested placing a damp rag or paper towel over the shell with the edges in the water, letting it absorb and gradually soak in between the scutes.

 

[pinkpirate]

I replaced the top today with a solid piece of plexi and the humidity and Dizzy'd level is now at 70% so it's starting to climb.

 

[JoesMum]

Are your lamps under the plexi?

UVB won't pass through it in sufficient quantity to be good for your tort.

If they are under, you MUST keep a close eye on the temperatures as it could get too hot in there.

I would also ensure a large enough gap to enable the air to circulate a little

 

[pinkpirate]

Are your lamps under the plexi?

UVB won't pass through it in sufficient quantity to be good for your tort.

If they are under, you MUST keep a close eye on the temperatures as it could get too hot in there.

I would also ensure a large enough gap to enable the air to circulate a little

I have a hole cut in the plexi for the lamps and it is bigger then what the lamps need so it should provide air circulation.