Increasing humidity via spaghnum moss?

[reknirt]

The weather being so cold and dry has created some humidity problems for me. During the day I can usually keep it at 50% or higher but it typically drops at night into the low 40s or worse when I have to turn up my heat lamp.

I was curious if I add damp spaghnum moss to the hide he spends most of his time in if that moss will increase the humidity in his hide to dangerously high levels?

Thanks for your time!

[T_Sauer]

Give him a secondary hide ... One with the damp sphagnum moss (needs to be on the warm side of his enclosure) and the other with no moss ... He will seek the humid hide when he feels he needs it and if he doesn't want it then he has another hide to use if he chooses ...... If you explain your set up you keep him in it will allow more detailed advice to be offered for your particular situation as there are many different ways to combat this very common issue ..... Do you use a UTH and heat lamp or only a heat lamp? Is it a glass terrarium with screen top or is it a tub you keep him in? What substrate are you using? .... All of the above play a role in your battle for humidity and depending on the above answers there are several different ways to combat your humidity issue for each scenario .... Also a picture is worth a thousand words

[jack jones]

I have no answers but am joining the OP on questions about adding the moss. I have a 20 long with a UTH and a heat lamp. I am using Aspen right now. It is my first set up. I believe I should switch to cypress after this bag of Aspen is gone (first cleaning), maybe sooner. However, where does one buy the spaghnum moss, and how much/how damp to put in the hot side hide. Also, I've read in another post that you could pack a hollow ornament (they used a skull) with wet moss to add humidity. That seemed like breeding ground for bacteria to me though.

Thoughts on all this are very much appreciated.

[KMG]

When I joined here it was recommended to make humid hides or other contraptions that release humidity. I tried a few of them and just never liked the look and function in my tanks.

I took the damp moss and added to both of my hides to see how it worked. What I found was it helped my BP more than any of the things I tried before. From that time on I never worried about the overall humidity level in my tank and just kept the moss damp during a shed and allowed it to dry out before making it damp again when not in shed. This gave me perfect sheds from then to now.

Simple and easy fix. It is best paired with a good substrate and a mostly covered screen.

[O'Mathghamhna]

I have no answers but am joining the OP on questions about adding the moss. I have a 20 long with a UTH and a heat lamp. I am using Aspen right now. It is my first set up. I believe I should switch to cypress after this bag of Aspen is gone (first cleaning), maybe sooner. However, where does one buy the spaghnum moss, and how much/how damp to put in the hot side hide. Also, I've read in another post that you could pack a hollow ornament (they used a skull) with wet moss to add humidity. That seemed like breeding ground for bacteria to me though.

Thoughts on all this are very much appreciated.

Sphagnum moss is sold at most pet stores that sell reptile supplies (Petco, Petsmart, etc). I submerge it in water, then squeeze it out so it's still damp but there isn't water gushing out when you squeeze it. As far as how much, it depends on the size of your tank, whether you are putting it just in the hides, etc. Just play with it and use what works for you. I ended up buying extra because my 55 gallon glass tank dries out rather quickly.