Humidity Too High?

I'm using a rack system with tubs, and humidity in each tub ranges from 80-90%. There is some light condensation on the cool side of each tub, but both the substrate and the surface below the substrate are dry.

Should I be concerned?

I have melted holes into the front of the tubs for increased air flow, but that only knocked the humidity down a few percentage points to bring it to the current levels described above. I have also brought the water dishes away from the basking end.

For substrate I am using turf.

That's higher than what I would put it at, but I don't know what cons there are for having high humidity.

Yes, I think most people will say that is to high. I would shoot for the 60% humidity and 70-75% if they are in shed! Just my .2 though.

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Originally Posted by 8b8ll

Yes, I think most people will say that is to high. I would shoot for the 60% humidity and 70-75% if they are in shed! Just my .2 though.

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Twenty cents? That's some valuable advice! :D

Ok...so in the set-up I described, how do I bring the humidity down to those levels?

Hmmm...Well I am not familiar with Rack Systems yet but I am with tubs. How many holes do you have in each one? The only thing I can think of is drilling more holes. I would say change your substrate but it is turf and that is probably the one substrate that would help lower it.

Wow I did put twenty cents huh? Your right it is VERY valuable adivce!! :rolleye2:

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Originally Posted by 8b8ll

Hmmm...Well I am not familiar with Rack Systems yet but I am with tubs. How many holes do you have in each one? The only thing I can think of is drilling more holes. I would say change your substrate but it is turf and that is probably the one substrate that would help lower it.

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Yeah, more holes is probably the way to go, just need to make sure temps in the tubs stay where I have them now. I worry that too much air circulation will let cold air in (I don't have the luxury of a warm room to put them in, because somebody - and I'm not naming names, because she's my wife - likes it cold in the house).

The rack system I'm using, by the way, is the 5-slot adult rack from Jason's Jungle. Heat tape runs along the back, and I added 1" thick silver-lined styrofoam insulation around the sides and back.

Haha I hear ya on the warm room thing. Nobody in my family really cares if my snakes need a warm room....but yea what are your current temps? Are you measuring with a Thermo.?

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Originally Posted by 8b8ll

Haha I hear ya on the warm room thing. Nobody in my family really cares if my snakes need a warm room....but yea what are your current temps? Are you measuring with a Thermo.?

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I'm measuring temps and humidity with Radio Shack indoor/outdoor thermometer/hygrometer units, one in each tub. Units are on the cool side so I can read them through the plastic, and I run the "outdoor" probes under the turf to the basking side. I use a thermostat for the whole system and have the thermostat probe adjacent to the thermometer/hygrometer probe in one of the tubs.

Note that the humidity is measured at the units' locations, at the cool-side edge of the tubs.

• Basking temps are 90-91 day, 85-86 at night.
• Cool side temps are 77-79 day, 76-78 at night. Cool-side temp is measured right at the edge of the tub.
• I have a hide in each of the tubs near - but not at - the cool side...about 5"-6" into the tub, where it is somewhat warmer than the edge. When I handle them they are not cold (like they sometimes used to be when I was using tanks), so I'm not concerned about that "edge" temperature.

Thanks for your feedback.

K, sounds like you know what your doing. Your just measuring the humidity on the cool side?

You could try going with a newspaper substrate.. that would definately dry things out. That and a non-tippable water bowl (when they spill, water gets all over and humidity skyrockets..) Then you can get it to a "base" humidity and add some sprayed water in if needed.. holes in the tums are a must but not too maly; my tubs are 41-quart Sterilites and I have about 6 holes in either side.

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Originally Posted by 8b8ll

K, sounds like you know what your doing. Your just measuring the humidity on the cool side?

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Yeah, just the cool side. That's a good point...maybe I'll stick an extra hygrometer in the back of one of the tubs to see what's going on back there. Moisture content be even higher in warmer air.

Or...maybe since I have the Radio Shack units up against the cool sides where the condensation is occurring, that's giving me a false reading that's too high. That would make some sense...you'd think with 90% humidity the tubs would be sopping wet, but they're not. They're dry as bone.

Ginevive: thanks for your feedback too. I may try an experiment with paper to see what happens. I have 5 slots but only 3 snakes (today!), so I could use the two empties to try out different substrates.

The water bowls are already untippable.

Or your humidity could be lower on the hotter side. I would for sure be measuring both sides! Try measuring the warmer side and see if that gives you a different reading! :carrot:

High humidity will lead to an R.I. The extra moisture will cause mold to start growing both in the cage and your snakes lungs.


Humidity will also be higher on the warm side...what is the humidity in the room the rack is in (that could adding to it).

I would also suggest you change to a drier substrate...aspen, paper, etc.. Turf is plastic (one way or another) and won't absorb the extra moisture well.

Also, Jason (from Jason's Jungle) is a great guy so you should give him a call tomorrow and I am sure he will have some ideas too.

Thanks for the feedback, Sean.

Ok, so I measured humidity at the warm end last night, placing the Radio Shack unit on the turf on the basking side, but not up against the plastic. The humidity reading was 72%.

Warm air holds more moisture than cool air, so the reading should have been higher. Instead it was lower. I'm going to repeat the experiment in all of the tubs to see if I consistently get the same result, using the same unit to control the variable associated with the hygrometer (if I use two different hygrometers in the same tub and compare their results, I can't be sure the different readings aren't the result of the different devices). I will also try readings at both ends with a simple analog hygrometer.

I suspect, though, that my guess may have been accurate: the high readings are the result of condensation coming into direct contact with the Radio Shack units.

Ambient humidity outside of the rack is 35%.

As to mold: I wipe down the tubs with a paper towel every day, and clean the turf using bleach and a scrub brush once per week or following waste, whichever comes first. I also sterilize the tubs once every two weeks. I'm feeling pretty good about sanitation at the moment, but I'll keep my eye on that.

Thanks everyone for your advice.