Humidity still too high

[ChroniclesofYarnia]

I've made my tubs look like swiss cheese, made the water bowl stationary, and kept less water in it and my humidity is still about 60. Any ideas as to what can be going on? The humidity in the room is 25-30, and we use newpaper substrate.

[chimpkin]

Try measuring it with a different device. I though I would save some money when I got my first rack so I bought these el cheapo digital humidity gauge at wal-mart for $5. They were off by 20%.

I use the acurite with dual temp and humidity. Nice little unit available at Wal-mart for $12.

[Purrrfect9]

If you have a fan in the room, or even a ceiling fan, I would try turning that on to see if the humidity goes down.

[CntrlF8]

also, the level of water in your water bowl is irrelevant. It's the surface area you should be concerned with.

Evaporation is a function of heat and surface area. Try putting a bowl and a glass of water with the same amount of water in each outside, and see which one evaporates out sooner. It will be the bowl, because it has a greater surface area for the water than the glass does.

[ChroniclesofYarnia]

If you have a fan in the room, or even a ceiling fan, I would try turning that on to see if the humidity goes down.

This is a good idea, but would it mess up the heat? Also, the humidity in the room is at 30, so I don't think that is the factor, but if it is good to get more air movement I have a small fan I can put in there.

The bowls are quite small, just big enough for them to have a soak in. I'll post my set-up later.

I've got two devices, an analog and a digital. The digital is an Acurite, and I am unsure if it takes the reading at the outdoor probe or on the indoor unit. The probe is underneath the substrate on the warm side. The analog registers about 8 degrees less than the digital, and is above the substrate.

I can't wait until I get all of this just right and don't need to fiddle and obsessively check on the snakes!

[SatanicIntention]

I would make the bowls alot smaller. The snakes don't need to soak in them, and if they do, you know they have a health problem(mites, too hot, not enough humidity, etc).

I like to use the 3" souffle dishes(or ramekins) that you can find at WalMart or Target. They are pretty inexpensive and sometimes you can find them at the dollar store. I also use these small stainless steel bowls with blue rubber coating on the bottom for some of the snakes. They are about $3.50 apiece but clean up very easily and don't create too much humidity. I use them in my 15qt tubs and the humidity is fine(50-55%).

[ChroniclesofYarnia]

That small, eh? I will try that out..I've got some antique berry bowls that are about that size and are nice and heavy.

I feel bad cause I have changed their hide so often. I had yogurt containers, but they didn't like those and went under their water dish, so I just bought another water dish, put some rocks in it and stuck it on the warm side. Now I suppose the kids will get to make their colors popsicle stick shacks that they wanted to in the first place.

[SatanicIntention]

For hides, they really like those 4-6" plastic plant saucers(the bowl that sits underneath the pot to catch water). Just cut a hole in the side with scissors and flip it upside down. They make great hides. Dark, low to the ground, and they fit in the really well. I use 4" for babies, 6-8" for juvies, and on up.