Humidity ?

[kain]

I put a new digital thermometer in the radix garters viv, this new one has a hygrometer aswell its reading 78% humudity not many care sheets say anything so should I take measures to lower it ?

[guidofatherof5]

Seems a little high.

[d_virginiana]

Do you mist or anything? I mist my frog three times a day and cover 2/3 of his cage top with cling wrap and it STILL has a hard time staying up that high. Where are you at? Just wondering, since around here that sort of humidity is difficult to maintain even during the summer. Can you check the inside of your hygrometer and make sure there's not any residual water droplets clinging to it or anything? That happens with mine all the time.

[kain]

It was at 86% this morning :-S which I'm finding hard to believe. The viv its in is 4ftx2ftx2ft, has a large heatmat at one end (covers less than a third of the tank), there is a large waterbowl at cool end (glass dish about just under the depth of the viv and about 10inch wide, substrates are a mixture if orchid barck and aspen shavings.

Temps: hotspot 27 c
cool end air 22 c

No misting

[chris-uk]

What's your ambient humidity outside the viv? You've got no significant source of humidity other than the 22c bowl of water (and that's not going to push the humidity into the 80s) so unless you're somewhere with a high ambient humidity I'd suspect the hygrometer is faulty. Oh, and I assume there's good ventilation in the viv?

[kain]

Well i just realised i have the same make of thermo/hygrometer in my royals viv so il put it in there and see if the reading match.

I live in the UK and its not humid in the house at all, and the viv is well ventilated

[chris-uk]

If you're in the UK then anything much over 50% is a dubious reading. I'm struggling to keep humidity around 50%, my Exo viv in the living room (in Coventry) has been around 35-50% the last few days. What did the other hygrometer say?

[kain]

Well i put it in my royals vivarium

Old thermo/hygro - 50% humidity
The one that migth be faulty - 78% Humidity

The vivarium is heated by a 150W or 200W ceramic bulb so I highly doubt that its 78% humidity

[RedSidedSPR]

Between 40% and 70% is best in my opinion. What could be making it moist? Is there a lot of wood in the cage? How big/deep is the water dish?

[chris-uk]

Well i put it in my royals vivarium

Old thermo/hygro - 50% humidity
The one that migth be faulty - 78% Humidity

The vivarium is heated by a 150W or 200W ceramic bulb so I highly doubt that its 78% humidity

Sounds like the old hygrometer is right and the new one is faulty.

[infernalis]

Big difference in readings. The newer one must be faulty.

[johnnic]

don't know about your hygrometer but high humidity is fine as long as there's good ventilation and the enclosure isn't sopping wet in my opinion. i usually have more issues with low humidity in garters than high humidity.

[snake man12]

You could do the salt test. What you do is get a soda bottle cap and fill it 3/4 of the way full then put just enough water in it to make it pasty, then get a plastic baggy and put the hygrometer in it and wait 24 hours if it reads exactly 75 the gauge is accurate

[guidofatherof5]

You could do the salt test. What you do is get a soda bottle cap and fill it 3/4 of the way full then put just enough water in it to make it pasty, then get a plastic baggy and put the hygrometer in it and wait 24 hours if it reads exactly 75 the gauge is accurate

Good suggestion.;)

[kain]

Well I sent it back the new one which i had to pay for £1.50, they said they tested it and it worked fine so i have to pay £2.99 to get it back :( So now with the extra postages and time hassle i may aswell just have paid shop prices.