Hello!

Since getting our bp in December, I have had to keep a constant watch on humidity, spritzing often, or using other means to keep the humidity level up where it needs to be in our 20L tank. (She has shed 3 times, all of which were perfect) Since completely cleaning our her tank and replacing the substrate last night the humidity has gone through the roof! Late last night or early this morning it was in the high 80's. Because of the previous problems with keeping humidity up, we had the top of the tank covered so of course I removed that immediately. That only brought it down a percent or two. I removed the large water dish and replaced it with a small one. Again, only one or two percent difference. What can I do to bring it down to the correct level? Right now it's at 82%!!

We were using Zoo-Med bark but switched to Exo-Terra bark because that was all that was available. Could the different brands be making that much of a difference? I've heard that those living in Florida have no problem with keeping humidity up but until this point, I did. Nothing in the house has changed and we do have the a/c running so the house doesn't feel humid at all. What other concerns should I have, can it cause an RI or anything else? Any suggestions on what I can or should do? Should I take her out and put her in her feeder tub for the time being until I can get the humidity stabalized? If I need to get rid of the substrate, I'll do that but I won't be able to replace it until tomorrow at the earliest. We do have some aspen and zoo-med repti-bark left but it's not enough to cover the bottom of the tank. Would it be ok to mix the two together? I don't know if this is wise or not, so that is why I'm asking first. I could switch over to newspaper but I'm worried about the heating pad getting too hot.

We also replaced the bulb last night that is used to keep the cool side temps up. We went from a 50w red to a 50w black bulb. The light is on right now and it doesn't seem to have an impact on the humidity at all. Well, at least it's not bringing it down like I thought it would.

The only other change was that we added a background to the back and cool side. Of course, it's on the outside of the tank. But, I can't imagine that being the cause of the problem.

I'm really worried that we are opening ourselves up to other problems with this humidity being so high. Please, if you have suggestions, I'm listening! More important though, I don't want Foster to suffer for our stupidity or lack of knowledge.

Thanks!