Another humidity question!

[jphealy]

I have my bp in a wood (not real wood - one of those flat pack things I assembled myself with laminated wood finish or whatever) cage with glass sliding doors. I have heat mat and infra-red bulb on warm side. The bulb is needed to keep ambiente/air temps up but it kills humidity at the warm end (about 30%). At the cool end humidity is about 60%. Temps at the moment are just right. I've tried plastic but ambiente temps were too low with just heat mats.

At the moment he's spending most of his time in the warm side hide. There's also a cool side hide and two hides in the middle, one of which is a humid hide, but he hasn't really been using it.

Is the humid hide enough of a remedy for the low (30%) humidity at the warm end, or is there anything else I could or should do? Any advice greatly appreciated!

[elevatethis]

If you are getting a 60% humidity reading on the cool end, you're setup is rockin'. Obviously, the bulb on the warm side is what is drying things out over there. If it were me, I probably wouldn't even waste my time with a humid hide.

[Damen]

one thing you will have to realize is that bp's will sacrafice sertin hides just to regulate ther body temp... but i think you are doing great... i have had damen now for about 2.5 weeks now and i have gotten all my advice from this site... so just keep up the good work

[tigerlily]

Most bps will sacrifice thermoregulation for a good, secure hide. That is why I think it's so important to offer multiple hides that are identical. That way if you see them moving around it's because they are preferential to the temp and not the hide.

If you aren't using any kind of screen, then your best bet is to use a larger bowl for the water dish. The larger the surface area, the better. Put it on the hot side, and you should see an increase in your humidity. You are measuring with a digital hygrometer right? Don't go by those dial thingys. They stink. Good luck getting that humidity up. You should also see it increase, with the decreased usage of your home's heating.

[jphealy]

Thanks for the advice, guys. It's a digital hygrometer alright, and no, there's no screen. I've actually recently added a second water bowl, so there should be plenty of water surface area. One is right at the warm end and the second is more towards the middle. This got the humidity up to 60% on the cool side, but the warm side still rarely gets much above 30%.

I've had him now for 6 months and he used to be quite active, spending some time in each of his hides. For the last couple of months, however, he's barely left his warm hide. It's like he knows it's winter outside, even though his temps have remained stable the whole time. He is eating consistently, so that's good I guess. I suppose I'll keep the humid hide in there for the moment anyway.

[tigerlily]

As long as he's eating for you, then you're set. Oh, and nice avatar.

[jphealy]

Thanks! That's my Bobby