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Best way to keep humidity below 20%

Posted By:

Krestie Kate

I have a pair of mali uromastyx and i've always had trouble keeping the humidity below 30%. Every couple monthe when the weather changes the get Upper Respitory Infections. There in a 75 gallon tank with three 250wt bulbs theres two large slate caves for them to hide in that are cool and anouther larger one that has a heat pad in it, im currently using inch deep millet seen and a screen top.I also have a dehumidifyer in the room there in. I'm not sure what else I can do to get the humidity down. Please i need help and covering the screen top is not an option what ever i put on top with catch fire or melt.


Points:	150
Topics:	General Health , Caging , Heating
Species:	Lizards > Lizards > Uromastyx dispar maliensis
Administrative:	Show/Hide

Accepted Answer

11/18/2008 5:37:44 PM

dalvers63

You won't want to cover the top, as that will cause the humdity to increase.

What's the base humidity of your house/room where they are? I would think that geting that down would be the best bet. Try to limit any water that can evaporate into the air around them. My other suggestion would be to get them out of the aquarium and into something more like an open table with slightly higher sides so they couldn't climb out. That way there's no way for the humidity to be held in the cage.

Author Comment

11/18/2008 10:14:19 PM

Krestie Kate

It's at 38% in my desert room right now and its about 50% in the next room over but ive made it so there are no air vents that connect the rooms. Thats with the dehumidifier on high. Would an open screen cage help or maybe a snake box type thing?

Member Comment

11/18/2008 11:07:09 PM

noahsboasandreptiles

Heat, by nature removes humidity. When you blow-dry your hair, you are removing humidity by adding heat. This theory is 100% accurate. You can google "removing humidity" if you would like. Your clothes dryer removes humidity and "dries" your clothes with heat. Likewise, the sun removes the humidity on the clothes on a clothesline by drying them out. Therefore, a cramic heat bulb, or infrared heat at a safe dstance should do the trick. Use a hygrometer, or humidity gauge, and take a reading. Then add a ceramic heat bulb or infrared heat bulb, and watch the humidity go down in an hour! Hope this helps!

Member Comment

11/19/2008 2:48:40 AM

magsj387

You could start by putting them in my apartment, its drier than #^@$! I constantly have to spray my other cages, which is why I went to terrariums. But my guess would be to put either a dehumidifier in the room or find moister absorbers in the room like silica packs but on a larger scale, i know they manufacture larger units designed for rooms like these. http://www.santabarbaranaturals.com/mositure.html Like noahsboasandreptiles stated as well, ceramic heat emitters eliminate humidity because they operate via in-fared.

Author Comment

11/19/2008 8:15:55 AM

Krestie Kate

I have two ceramics on the cage now, two 250s and a 250 heat bulb, and i already have a dehumidifyer in the room. It went down when i put the first heat bad in the one cave but i dont wanna put heat pads in teh other caves just because its there place to cool down. it just sounds liek im in a pickle

Member Comment

11/19/2008 5:03:52 PM

Riain

You could rig up computer fans (look for the low to no noise type) on the tank sucking air out..

The only problem with that is that it Will suck out heat aswell..

But if you don't mind adding more heat on the tank you should (with a bit of trial and error) be able to get the heat and humidity right.

That or (carefully) drill vents on the side of the tank..

Member Comment

11/19/2008 5:09:55 PM

dalvers63

If you find you want to use something other than a tank and don't want to build an enclosure, you could probably find a big Iris tub to keep them in. That way you could leave the top open AND drill holes in the sides if needed.

The Iris tubs are nice because they are so clear...you can see the animals quite well inside them.

Member Comment

11/19/2008 6:24:47 PM

tmth

Move to Colorado. ;) It is dry as heck here..

Other options include what people have already mentioned- adding more heat, fan to circulate air around.. Although silica and other things are good drying agents, I wouldn't stick them in there in case of ingestion.. which wouldn't be good. What sort of bedding do you use? Some are more prone to keeping in moisture while others are nice and dry..

Member Comment

11/19/2008 10:29:40 PM

Riain

It sounds like maybe millet seed? Which I'd advise against anyway..

Am I correct on that (looks like a mispelling)

Author Comment

11/20/2008 9:03:53 AM

Krestie Kate

sorry my spellings bad. i like the millet because they can eat it when i had them on calcium sand i couldn't keep track of how much calcium they were eating and crushed walnut just made them sick plus the millet is easyer to clean and the humidity has been at its lowest sense i started using millet seed. i havn't had any trouble with it for the past two years but everyone uses diffrent substrate for each animal. I might just have to take out two of the caves maybe there holding humidity or add anouther heat pad and lower the wattage on a lamp. its already 130 degrees in there and i dont wanna make it any hotter and i dont liek the tub idea i never have liked keeping animals in tubs i just dont like they way it looks thanks for the help everyone

Member Comment

11/20/2008 4:53:14 PM

Riain

While millet may be better then calci sand and crushed walnut, It can still be problematic..

Becasue it's edible some lizards will actualy eat it on purpose, not as bad of a problem until you consider that there living, and defecating on top of it..

Which can cause some serious problems..

Member Comment

11/20/2008 7:06:12 PM

ImBooBy

Hey. I use 2 fans in my tank to get a good air flow. This dries out the substrate pretty good. I use cheapo fans but they work and look pretty nice. Maybe a bigger bulb?

Author Comment

11/20/2008 10:06:47 PM

Krestie Kate

i cant get any bigger than three 250wt bulbs belive me ive explored all options of adding more heat to the tank

Member Comment

11/21/2008 1:56:58 PM

Riain

Try replacing the millet seed with slate or tile. They won't hold any humidity.

Member Comment

9/28/2010 6:37:48 PM

dalvers63

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