Need Help on humidity holding enclosure

[ACD1sM]

Hello friends ! I am building my enclosure this weekend to prepare for my red foot baby ( I have decided on red foot due to the fact I will be in an apartment for a couple of years)


I will be making this enclosure about 4 and a half foot long and 3 and a half feet wide and I'm wondering how I should make this to keep humidity up for these little guys? I live in southern Cali . Thanks guys !

 

[nickercrombie]

I would suggest either putting in pond liner or sealing it really well with a waterproof wood sealer first and foremost. I mist my red foots enclosure in the morning and at night with warm water, and that helps to increase the humidity better than cold water. I also have a ceramic heat emitter in his enclosure to keep temps up, and that along with water misting keeps humidity perfect.

Just as a note, I bought a mister at home depot for 6 bucks that is used for pesticide spraying (obviously never actually used for that!) and you can pump it and just hold the trigger down, works like a charm!

 

[Redstrike]

I agree with the above. I have a fully enclosed table that keeps humidity up. I have cherryheads, and they're prone to developing plastron fungus if kept on constantly wet substrate. To get around this I run water proof heat ropes (hooked up to a rheostat) under my cypress mulch and dump ~ 1liter of water in a couple of spots 1/week. This keeps the top surface dry, the mid-substrate moist, and the bottom portions wet. The heat from the ropes warms the wet substrate, releasing loads of humidity (70-90%) My table has a pond liner to protect the wood.

Here's some rope options:
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Flexible-Heat-Ropes
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006JLPGI/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

There may be others, just be sure they are waterproof like these models.

 

[Yvonne G]

I bought a seedling tray heater at the local home improvement store. Its a strip of mylar about 8" wide and 2' long and it has heat wires embedded in it. I doesn't get any hotter than 80F degrees. I have it inside the habitat with substrate on it. Every so often I pour water over the substrate and the heat coming from the mylar strip warms the air and makes it humid. I have the hiding place on top of this area. I'm using this for my baby Manouria and my SA leopard babies and so far they're growing nice and smooth.

 

[ACD1sM]

SO many great ideas ! Thank's a lot guys ! I am thinking of using a ceramic heat emitter (100w ?) The under heating matts seem sketchy to me....I don't want my enclosure to catch on fire....or the apartment for that matter ! lol

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Also is a cover a must ? or would I be able to survive with it being open top. Also should I use a screen or something else to cover the top. Drill holes ? I want this to be perfect for the little guy ! Thanks again

 

[cmosuna]

Where in socal? Lots of good natural sun in so Cal. A little screen box for daytime gives a lot of benefits

 

[Madkins007]

If you use a waterproof, WARMING cable or pad, such as http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Flexible-Heat-Ropes, then there is little risk of fire.

 

[ACD1sM]

I live in Orange, California. Thanks for the help guys !

 

[cmosuna]

Cool you live pretty close to us and we have quite a few red foots if you ever need local advice

 

[ACD1sM]

That would be great Cmonsuna ! I have many questions !

 

[bigred]

Alot of redfoot owners cover the top of the enclosure with plexiglass to keep the humidity up