Need help with humidity

[chrishelby]

We are having a hard time getting the humidity up in our set up! I'll post a pic to help but we have a 250w red lamp on the right, just added a 100w red on the left with a UVB lamp also. The hot side is 90, cold is 70. These temps went down about 10-15 deg. Due to the weather change in ny. We are trying for 100 and 80. I think out bigger problem is the humidity, it's at 35%! We had the terrarium carpet before, we posted a pic on here and everyone said she was just starting to pyramid so we, changed to the coco coir, made a humidity box and put a very shallow 1/2" pool under the 250w hoping to increase the humidity. It didn't work, it's still 35%? when we spray the coco, it increases to 45% for 30min and goes back to 35%? what are we doing wrong and what do we do next??? I'm thinking of custom making a light hood to control the temp better but that's going to take some time.

 

[ascott]

Hi....may I make a few suggestions?

I would like you to understand that the screen you have on the top is pretty, however, it is doing two things;

it between the UV ray bulb and the tortoise is stopping the benefit of the uv rays to almost none being received by the tortoise...so I would remove it from between the light and the surface of the tortoise....

if you cover the top of the enclosure with something solid....foil perhaps...and be sure to wrap it around the light domes as well you will find that the humidity will linger a bit longer

if you also add more substrate (coco coir or organic soil) to about 4 inches or 5 that will also help in humidity retention

or you can also purchase a fogger for your tank

Just some suggestions, others will also chime in and give their opinions...

 

[chrishelby]

Hi....may I make a few suggestions?

I would like you to understand that the screen you have on the top is pretty, however, it is doing two things;

it between the UV ray bulb and the tortoise is stopping the benefit of the uv rays to almost none being received by the tortoise...so I would remove it from between the light and the surface of the tortoise....

if you cover the top of the enclosure with something solid....foil perhaps...and be sure to wrap it around the light domes as well you will find that the humidity will linger a bit longer

if you also add more substrate (coco coir or organic soil) to about 4 inches or 5 that will also help in humidity retention

or you can also purchase a fogger for your tank

Just some suggestions, others will also chime in and give their opinions...

Under the screen, is 1/2 wire mesh, that has to stay due to the cat. I will remove the screen to help with the UVB. Is there any downside from the foggers other than cost? Thanks for all the help

 

[ascott]

LOL....I totally understand about the cat barrier need...in our house I have a nosey dog not cat....

I do not know of any fogger issues....yes, the 60.00 dollars is a bit of a bummer.....I know

I think that if you tweak your set up now and then see how that works for you then you will know if you need to go a more extreme way (fogger) or not....IMHO that is

 

[BrinnANDTorts]

What I would do is measure the top of your tank there and cut a piece of plywood to cover the top completely. You can trace the outline of your dome onto the plywood and cut circles just a little smaller than the outline so the domes can lay right in top of the plywood. And you can cover the bottom of the plywood with foil so moisture doesn't get into the wood and it will reflect the heat that rises up from your lamps back down.
Or you can use these ceramic ceiling lamp holders ($4)

Just cut a little square into the top of the plywood so you can have access to the gold and silver screws on the back of the ceramic lamp holder so you can wire it to the lamp cord.

Just make sure they aren't plastic cause that will melt
And it's really simply to wire them to these lamp cords (4$)

They come with instructions
I would also get a GFCI protector incase moisture gets into the lamp holders.

All this can be found at lowes (the ceramic fixture and lamp cord walmart)and if you did this it would save you on electricity cause you wouldn't need so much wattage to keep the enclosure warm enough and your humidity can easily be kept at 85 cause it had no where to rise up and escape out of the cage at.
For easy access into your enclosure you can hinge one half of the plywood to rise up with door hinges.
Or cut a piece of plywood to cover a part in the middle and then cut to pieces to hinge onto the left and right side of the middle piece that way it's easier to get to both sides of his cage.
All the foggers I have seen got terrible reviews that said they break constantly. You will have much better luck with just a small office humidifier
You will have to set the humidifier on a clean plate or something in to enclosure to keep it up and away from the substrate.
Without a lid though its almost impossible (I would say impossible) to keep humidity levels high cause all the humidity and heat is just going to flow right out the top.

---

The ceramic lamp holder and lamp cord and GFCI is what I use it my sulcatas enclosure and it works amazing.
I hate messing with those dome things.
O and it will also keep your cat from getting to your cute little tort ( also make sure to cover where u wire the lamp cord to the ceramic fixture screws in the back cause anything that touches that will get electrocuted :/ )

 

[chrishelby]

Thanks for all the help. I have removed the screen, left the mesh, and cut a smaller hole than the dome so the dome sits on the mesh. Now the 250w lamp is lower. Temps are back at 100 on the hot and 75 on the cool. A also have tinfoil over about 75% of the lid. Humidity is 55-60 now. Next step will be similar to your plywood idea, I'm just going to use the dome and sheet metal. Tha base would lower the lamp too far for my set up. Great idea though, if it was higher, I'd do it. So that is my next step. On the plus side, the humidity box has moisture inside it so that's good, right? Again, thanks everyone and feel free to keep the ideas coming.

 

[Linzbragg]

I was also having humidity problems but I just went to WalMart and got a $1.88 emergency blanket by Ozark Trail. It's like a big floppy piece of aluminum foil. Since my lamps face straight down and rest on the mesh top I don't need the clamps so I stuck them straight up, laid the blanket over it like a tent, and clipped the edges so it stays down. Then I spray my substrate: topsoil with hay.