Way too humid, don't know what else to do

I am trying to bring down the humidity in my first tub set up, currently without my UTH on, the humidity is sitting around 90% and I know this is only going to go up when I turn my UTH on. I am using a 15 qt sterilite tub, I have 7, 1/4" holes drilled lengthwise down each long side. I am using paper towels for substrate, have 2 reptile basics hides, and then a 6" water bowl. I am using the Vivarium Electronics thermometer/hygrometer to measure my ambient temps and humidity, I have the probe for this suspended from the lid on what will be the cool side. Any tips to help me get this humidity under control would be much appreciated! *Pictures are shown without the paper towels or UTH just for placement/fitment of hides and thermometer.*

http://i.imgur.com/6d2tVJW.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/jbEpaaL.jpg

In my experience, those VE thermo/hygro's are worthless.
I know they are expensive; I bought three. All junk.

I REALLY doubt your humidity is anywhere near 85%, unless you live in a rainforest, and are using a damp substrate.

Reduce the water dish size once you do get a new reading, if humidity is still up add a few more holes to your tub get a new reading and add more holes as needed taking readings in between adding holes.

I like to check with two different humidity gauges when I first set up a new enclosure... just to be safe. My 15qt tubs with a 5" water bowl got really high. I ended up putting more holes in the tub. I think my tubs that size, with a water bowl that size have about 28 holes in them. That keeps my humidity in the 58-68% range.

Also, that tub looks really high. I would try to find a 15qt tub that's only about 6" high... that will give your little one a bit more room. They seem to appreicate the floor space more than the head room.

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Originally Posted by distaff

In my experience, those VE thermo/hygro's are worthless.
I know they are expensive; I bought three. All junk.

I REALLY doubt your humidity is anywhere near 85%, unless you live in a rainforest, and are using a damp substrate.

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That has not been my experience. I use these VE 100's and find them to be very accurate. If I get a reading that is elevated like over 70% I know something is wrong. Either the reptile has tilted the water dish or he has urinated and or defecated. I rely on them to let me know what's going on in the enclosure. They are pretty reliable in my experiences. If I get a reading of 85% -99% I know definitely there is defecation in the tub. Never fails.

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Originally Posted by LittleTreeGuy

Also, that tub looks really high. I would try to find a 15qt tub that's only about 6" high... that will give your little one a bit more room. They seem to appreicate the floor space more than the head room.

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It's definitely a bit of camera angle trickery, the holes are 2" on center from the top and then the water bowl is just over 2" tall leaving around 2" between so its about that size. I will start drilling some more holes though and see how it effects my humidity, I just took a guess with the first 14 and figured it looked about right. I'll keep the thread updated with what I find and I will probably get an accurite thermometer just to compare readings.

Increasing the air flow will drop the humidity. This can be done as simply as adding an oscillating fan to the corner of the room and leaving a ceiling fan on if you have one. It can all be done by adding more holes but I don't like to do that first as its permanent. While you can cover some unneeded holes with tape(only on the outside) it is not visually appealing.

Do not place a fan blowing directly on it. You just want to stir the air in the entire room without hitting the tub directly. I have to use this trick in my snake room or my pvc cages fog up and get way too humid.

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Originally Posted by KMG

Increasing the air flow will drop the humidity. This can be done as simply as adding an oscillating fan to the corner of the room and leaving a ceiling fan on if you have one. It can all be done by adding more holes but I don't like to do that first as its permanent. While you can cover some unneeded holes with tape(only on the outside) it is not visually appealing.

Do not place a fan blowing directly on it. You just want to stir the air in the entire room without hitting the tub directly. I have to use this trick in my snake room or my pvc cages fog up and get way too humid.

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yes, fan. yup, you can always add more holes later as needed, but once they're there...

every house/room is different. a little experimentation and soon you'll know what works in this room.

Those hygrometer/thermometer deals are just labeled with their name. You can find them on eBay from China. Try a different meter.

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Originally Posted by Albert Clark

That has not been my experience. I use these VE 100's and find them to be very accurate. If I get a reading that is elevated like over 70% I know something is wrong. Either the reptile has tilted the water dish or he has urinated and or defecated. I rely on them to let me know what's going on in the enclosure. They are pretty reliable in my experiences. If I get a reading of 85% -99% I know definitely there is defecation in the tub. Never fails.

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Mine must be from just a bad batch, but I have to wonder how many other bad ones were sold with them. They gave different readings when next to each other on the desk, one would switch spontaneously from F to C, and they all ended having display problems - parts of the number would just be missing. New batteries did not fix the problems. I really wish they worked! They are good looking, and have a large display (even with glasses, I have poor eyesight).

Until they are replaced with something reliable, visual inspection, smell, and tactile signs in my enclosures will have to do. A dry fern in dry moss would indicate more humidity needed, while persistent condensation on the glass would indicate too much. Just opening the doors can relay a sense that the enclosure smells fresh and woodsy, or stale and stuffy.

My initial suggestion was more toward trusting one's own senses over an instrument reading that apparently doesn't make sense (although personally, I know I CAN'T trust my own sense of temperature). The OP showed a pic with a bare tub that had ventilation holes, apparently free of condensation, and bare of any moisture retaining substrate. Based on the pic, such a high reading seemed unlikely, esp. since it is winter, necessitating dry central heating for most of us. I just found that reading very questionable.