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  • 05-10-2016, 11:49 PM
    FeathersRuff
    Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    So recently I finally got my BPs tank's humidity turned up, it seems to be going well. But it keeps going back down every 30 mins or so, so I keep having to mist her tank. I tried the tinfoil method and taped tinfoil around the mesh top with a hole for the lamp to shine through. However the Humidity still goes down, and I've taped it as much as I can. My top setup is a little weird. Its a wooden home made one with a little wooden frame on top to clamp lights onto. Taping the foin around the whole was a little bit of a challenge.
  • 05-10-2016, 11:58 PM
    usaf21stsf
    Re: Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    Are you using a UTH and an over head light? What type of light is it? Is it on a dimmer switch? What size and how many water bowls do you have?
  • 05-11-2016, 12:09 AM
    FeathersRuff
    Using an over head red bulb, I have a UTH and i'll be setting that up in the next few days when I move her tank to a different spot with more light. Its on a dimmer switch yes and right now its sitting at a decent 86. She has one water dish atm thats about medium size, Good for her tank.
  • 05-11-2016, 12:43 AM
    Jon14
    Re: Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    Well the heat lamp is what it causing the issue. The combination of a heat lamp and screen top (even when covered) leads to a constant war with humidity. I would recommend adding a damp hide, or look into a different overhead heating method (RHP).

    Sent from my SM-G900R6 using Tapatalk
  • 05-11-2016, 12:47 AM
    BeelzeBall.
    what kind of substrate do you use? have u tried that coconut substrate holds humidity very well.
  • 05-11-2016, 12:50 AM
    O'Mathghamhna
    I switched to a plastic tupperware tub instead of a glass tank and NEVER have problems with humidity anymore. If you have tried everything and give up, get a weather-proof tupperware bin, drill some holes, smooth the edges of the holes, and go from there. I use UTH on the tupperware and it works great!
  • 05-11-2016, 01:01 AM
    FeathersRuff
    Re: Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by BeelzeBall. View Post
    what kind of substrate do you use? have u tried that coconut substrate holds humidity very well.

    Aspen I believe.

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by O'Mathghamhna View Post
    I switched to a plastic tupperware tub instead of a glass tank and NEVER have problems with humidity anymore. If you have tried everything and give up, get a weather-proof tupperware bin, drill some holes, smooth the edges of the holes, and go from there. I use UTH on the tupperware and it works great!

    She has a tupperware but its too small, its mainly just to put her in when I clean her tank or add anything to it. I rather have her in her tank honestly.
  • 05-11-2016, 01:09 AM
    BeelzeBall.
    Re: Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by FeathersRuff View Post
    Aspen I believe.



    She has a tupperware but its too small, its mainly just to put her in when I clean her tank or add anything to it. I rather have her in her tank honestly.

    hes talking about kneeping your snake in a tub instead of the glass enclosure, it holds temp/humidity very well.. but you would have to get and uth and a thermostat, that light will melt it. try some coconut subtrate see how that holds.. just an idea is there a fan in the room? that too will bring the humidity down alot.
  • 05-11-2016, 01:25 AM
    FeathersRuff
    Re: Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    Nope, no fan. I just have my window open a crack sometimes, but thats it.
  • 05-11-2016, 11:57 AM
    Alexio
    Re: Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    Could you possibly post a picture? Is it a standard 20,30,40 gallon breeder? Are you going to run an under the tank heater as well as above? Does the tank have a screen top? I keep tortoises as well and I had to figure out how to keep their tanks humidity around 80/90% so I have some experience with sealing in tank humidity.

    Sent from my Z987 using Tapatalk
  • 05-11-2016, 02:15 PM
    FeathersRuff
    Re: Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    http://s32.postimg.org/vu94sco9x/20160507_155735.jpg
    (Week old photo FYI, shes no longer in the tub shes just in the tank now AND I only have the red bulb, no daylight bulb anymore)


    It's not a breeder its just a regular 10 gallon tank. I'm gonna run the undertank heater as well later in the week when I move her tank to somewhere else in the room.
    It has a screen top but the top itself is made out of wood, but the center of it is mesh.
  • 05-11-2016, 02:59 PM
    Alexio
    Re: Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    Okay so there exists a product called reflectix. It looks like this :
    http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psiwgaqwfz.jpg

    It is a very useful thing which has literally 100's of applications. It is in essence bubble wrapped in foil insulation. But you can use it is a "cover" or a "lid" . this is what I have my pb in while waiting for my heat for rack I have. It's a 40 gallon breeder with a sliding lock top. It looks like this.
    http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psquxiy7px.jpg

    I keep tortoises as well in large enclosures which are large heat and humidity emitters. As a result the standing humidity is about 50% in my apt. So I don't need the cover for him but I initially invented this lid system for tortoises which require humidity into the 90's. When my pb started to shed a few days ago I added the panel's to the top of the cage.
    http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...pslezjzyxv.jpg

    In the first pic the humidity was around 62% you can see in about 5 minutes I've been typing it's up over 10% and rising. You can also build lids like this.
    http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...psquyty6gz.jpg

    As I said before I keep tortoises in most of these so climbing escape is a non issue . however you could still build a frame, ( I use foil tape to tape the reflectix to metal screen door frames to make the tops less mailable so they can easily be added or removed over the existing screen lid. As you saw in the other picture you can also cut out holes for lights. Hope this helps


    Sent from my Z987 using Tapatalk
  • 05-11-2016, 03:13 PM
    FeathersRuff
    Re: Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    I'll keep an eye out for that stuff. Looking online it seems that those rolls are very expensive so I'll hafta do some thinking on it.

    Heres a closer and newer pic of the top of her tank.
    http://s32.postimg.org/fgb85d2hx/20160511_120802.jpg

    As you can see its a very crudely done job of tin foil but it was the best I could do with how the top is made. You can see its two stacks of wood with the mesh in the middle.
  • 05-11-2016, 03:20 PM
    JoshSloane
    Ditch the UTH, and get yourself a CHE. They do not dry out air in the tank like bulbs do.
  • 05-11-2016, 03:38 PM
    FeathersRuff
    Re: Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JoshSloane View Post
    Ditch the UTH, and get yourself a CHE. They do not dry out air in the tank like bulbs do.

    Dont you mean Ditch the bulb? Pretty sure I need the UTH. You'd be the only person whos told me to not have a UTH.
  • 05-11-2016, 04:06 PM
    JoshSloane
    Ditch all of it and get a CHE, or even multiple CHEs. Bulbs dry the air out, and UTHs are unnecessary. The whole goal of heating is to get the reptiles core body temp to around 82-83 degrees. People clutch to the idea of a UTH because it is just commonplace and works, yet doesnt mean that is necessary. We are now finding that heat from RHPs and CHEs is tolerated much better than from other heating devices, and actually is shown to have therapeutic benefits. You can fine tune your CHE with a dimmer, or thermostat to achieve any temperatures you want. Personally I would just find the best combo of CHEs, or a RHP that can keep your temperature at about 84 degrees and thats it.
  • 05-11-2016, 04:09 PM
    Jon14
    Re: Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    From what I've heard, but CHE and bulbs dry out the air. UTH and RHP seem to have no effect on humidity. For newer owners I have heard it is easier to have the gradient as opposed to a constant temperature. In my opinion stick with the gradient.

    Sent from my SM-G900R6 using Tapatalk
  • 05-11-2016, 04:19 PM
    JoshSloane
    CHEs are essentially a RHP in bulb form. They do not dry out the air. I use CHEs in my tortoise enclosure and I maintain 80%+ humidity.

    It is always interesting when I hear people advise newbies to use a gradient. Is it easier to maintain and measure one temperature or two?

    Please by all means, everyone do what you think is best. If you find my advice to be rubbish then dont take it.
  • 05-11-2016, 05:20 PM
    Rikoku
    Re: Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by JoshSloane View Post
    CHEs are essentially a RHP in bulb form. They do not dry out the air. I use CHEs in my tortoise enclosure and I maintain 80%+ humidity.

    It is always interesting when I hear people advise newbies to use a gradient. Is it easier to maintain and measure one temperature or two?

    Please by all means, everyone do what you think is best. If you find my advice to be rubbish then dont take it.

    First time I run into someone mentioning this, In this case would you want the monitor the ambient temperature or would you still be concerned with substrate surface temp?
  • 05-11-2016, 06:28 PM
    JoshSloane
    Re: Keeping Humidity up (Tinfoil Help)
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rikoku View Post
    First time I run into someone mentioning this, In this case would you want the monitor the ambient temperature or would you still be concerned with substrate surface temp?

    You dont run into this often because most people still love to hold on to their cherished UTHs. There are two ways of doing this. If you are still concerned about maintaining a gradient, then you would be taking temp measurements on top of the substrate. If you are like me, and disregard gradients, then you would take the temperature of the ambient air at snake height.

    You must keep in mind though that using ambient heat only requires a well insulated enclosure that holds heat exceptionally well, or the use of multiple heating elements to maintain uniform temps.
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