I have some questions on humidity. I have not been on the site for a while. I used to have a giant day gecko. Now I have not had anything in the tank for about a year. I had my gecko die on me last year. Not sure what happened. I tore the tank apart and cleaned it out and re did the whole thing. I have always battled humidity. I have added a waterfall which I thought would get a more constant humidity. But as of lately it seems to drop quickly. I have all live plants except for a few vines on the back. The lower portion of the tank stays around 75. Middle of tank is around 83 and basking spots are around 95. I use an exoterra strip light that holds. 2 fluorescent strips and 2 halogen bulbs. I also have a 24 " fluorescent light in front. I have a ceramic emitter near the front hooked to a thermostat set at 75 for night heat. I have a new model monsoon 400 that actually works ( they sent me 4 over the years must have fixed their problems). The bottom of tank has hydro balls and I have a couple inches of Eco earth as substrate. I have sealed up most of the top of tank with plexiglass and have aquarium tubing on the door areas to seal them up. Have most of the vents across the bottom taped off. My question is how the heck do I still have humidity issues being low. If I mist the tank it goes up to 70 to 80 percent then drops quickly to 42 where it is now as I write this. One day in the future I want to put a gold dust in there but I'm experimenting with the humidity now so I can get it right for the gold dust when I can find one. Sorry for the long winded post but I figured someone would have some ideas. All yea, tank is 36L x18 W x 24 T. Any I put would be great.
Humidity help
- Thread starter ranger519
- Start date
i didnt have the waterfall with my previous gecko. Yes its kind of a pain to clean. bought it to help with humidity. The weather turned really cold here in ohio. My gas furnace has been running a lot dropping the humidity in the house. I got a room humidifyer going trying to bring it up some in the house.
I would recommend you to buy a rain system, backed up by a misting system 
it looks very neat used together
have a look at my setup, my mister is currently brooken, but you get the idea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsVG4qeHCbk&list=UUK019TW8foMe5mU0f2kUVAg
more to come soon, so keep yourself updated my channel
it looks very neat used togetherhave a look at my setup, my mister is currently brooken, but you get the idea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsVG4qeHCbk&list=UUK019TW8foMe5mU0f2kUVAg
more to come soon, so keep yourself updated my channel
Tongue Flicker
New member
I don't think your gecko died of humidity issues tbh. Did your plants back then wilted/dried up too with the constant dropping of RH?
No I'm not sure why the gecko only lasted 3 years. My previous gecko was a gold dust and had him for 10 years in a habitat that was not near as nice as the one I got now. That's why I'm going back to getting a gold dust. My plants never dried up. I just had to have the auto mister spray a lot and hand mist. I measure humidity with 4 different gauges I got 2 I actually believe works. The two halogens (20 watt) dry it out fast. I think my biggest problem is the gas heat in the house really makes it dry inside. We have humidifiers running and they barely keep it at 35 percent in the winter. During summer the tank is much better keeping humidity. Right now I'm just trying to get the tank conditions perfect for when I get the gold dust.
Tongue Flicker
New member
Plants would be the first one to react if there is improper humidity levels for them. How bout of instead that waterfall fixture, you make like a small pond instead? Of course with a little filter. Or incorporate it the waterfall. Standing water has a better chance of holding moisture around it. Encourages the plants to transpire more as well.
Tamara
New member
Pools and waterfeatures might look very nice but stagnant water also tends to be a real breedingground for all kinds of nasty bacteria.., if you build a waterfeature the water should be changed daily to prevent this.
Also, most Phelsuma's do not realy like it too wett, 1-2 daily mistings should be fine, giving the enclosure the time to dry out between mistings.
Maintaining a constant high humid environment could lead to respiratory problems and the dead of the animals as well.
Also, most Phelsuma's do not realy like it too wett, 1-2 daily mistings should be fine, giving the enclosure the time to dry out between mistings.
Maintaining a constant high humid environment could lead to respiratory problems and the dead of the animals as well.
CrestedRick
Active member
I have to ask, where did you get those branches or how did you make them?? If you're worried about the bulbs drying the tank out check these out, theyre the first bulbs on the page called NeHerp Jungle dawn New England Herpetoculture LLC - Bulbs (Vivarium)
The logs are torched PVC. Take a dremmel tool and make the grooves. Then heat up the PVC with a torch. U can bend it how u like it. Do it outside with a fan to blow fumes away from ya. U can have a bucket of water to dip it in after u bend it to cool it down. Then fill up the bathtub and scrub the heck out of it a few times and your done. Real easy to do but a little time consuming. I started with bamboo then had a bunch of boring beetles start popping out of the bamboo so I got rid of it and went PVC.
