the humidity keeps spiking...help!

[artbyc]

I have a 2-month old crestie. hes in a 5.5 gal tank with repticarpet, fake rocks, fake branches and leaves for hiding and a small humid hide with a thin layer of sphagum soil and a thicker layer of moss. Im Planning to upgrade him to a condo (as my daughter says) the exo terra 18x18x24; i have the enclosure already; i just need to fill it..i figure it will take a couple of months to outfit the enclosure and he seems content in his little tank for now.

My question is this: the temp in the tank stays between 70-75 all day...(a slight drop to 65-70 in the evening. The humidity is all over the place: usually goes to 70-80% after i mist (lightly in the morn and then a good full mist in the evening when he wakes up) but then after an hour or so the humidity goes down to 50 and sometimes 40%.

Do i need to keep the humidity high all throughout the evening? if so, how??? adding the hide box seemed to help.

Also i keep a 50W infared buld fixed 3 ft. above the tank for viewing...but i was in school last night and found out my daughter left the light on for 4 hrs. it seems that when i came home the tank was dried out..after a light mist i shut off the light and an hour later the humidity went from 50% to 80%...hels at 80% for another hour or so and then dropped down to 60%.

IM probably worried for nothing..but i want my crestie to be ok..any advice anyone?

 

[jmhherpetology]

Sounds to me like you are doing a pretty good job of taking care of him. The best way to keep humidity stable is to use live plants. That's what I do (of course, not in a 5.5 gallon). Honestly, I don't even use a humidity gage. I just keep the plants in there with moist soil and mist the cage about once a day in the evening. But then again, I live in West TN where the humidity this time of year stays around 80% anyway. I wouldn't worry about the huge fluctuations. As long as you keep it around 50% to 70% ( or in the general area) I think you should be good.

 

[artbyc]

thanks J....any recommendations on live plants with the new setup when my crestie gets a bit older?

 

[jmhherpetology]

I like Philodendron. It is a "hanging plant". The name means tree lover (philo - love...dendro - tree). You can get them just about anywhere (even wal-mart). They do very well with low light, grow quickly, look good, and the geckos love hiding in their leaves.

 

[artbyc]

thanks J..ill check it out

C

 

[PassPort]

Using bark or another natural substrate helps with the humidity as well

 

[jmhherpetology]

Using bark or another natural substrate helps with the humidity as well

This is very true and is probably a better solution than live plants. I forgot to clarify something. I use a paper substrate (newspaper, papertowels, etc). Live plants in pots are the best way to keep humidity up in that scenario, but having a substrate that can hold moisture would work even better.

 

[artbyc]

thanks again..i was doing some research about eventually putting live plants in pedro's (my crestie) new terrarium..and it seems potted would be the way to go. what about lighting for the plant..would it affect my crestie in any way? as far as the bark is concerned...can i find my own and sanitize it for pedro?

C

 

[jmhherpetology]

I don't think you really need any "special" lights for the plants. I don't use anything high tech. As far as the bark is concerned, I get mine from the great outdoors. Find a tree that's been fallen for a while and strip the bark. I wash it first with just water and a rag, scrub it down real good. Then I fire it in the oven at about 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes. You can buy it at the store if you want, some people think this is more "sanitary"...but use common sense and think about it...where did that bark come from??? Somebody striped it from a tree that was "outside"...cheaper to just do it yourself.

 

[artbyc]

thanks for the tips J..im big on the DIY because taking care of these little guys can be costly..and costs i can shave off and still keep my crestie healthy is a good thing.