Let’s talk humidity swings...!

[Phillydubs]

I’m going through my first summer trying to tinker with and control temp and humidity with my reptiles. They are in a room with a large AC unit so the temp seems to be pretty stable.

The main issue I am battling in a few enclosures are some humidity swings.

My question is, when in range, does this cause an issue and if so at what levels and to what extent?

I’m well aware of the humidity ranges and bumping for sheds etc. I’m just wondering what you guys see as acceptable levels throughout the day and into the night?

I have a mixture of enclosures that I have added, mostly second hand. I have one new one that I feel I need to add more ventilation to. When I run the AC the humidity drops I also use an osolating tower fan to move the air and help control the humidity. My one newer cage when the fan is on it easily keeps humidity at a nice high 50 low to mid 60 level. But if the fan isn’t on it will grow to 80 with ease. Last night for instance. Either I accidentally hit it off or the fan jammed and I woke up to that tank sitting at 80. Now that snake looks to be going into shed anyways and it was for a few hrs so I’m not worried. But I was hoping to eliminate the fan as I start to run the AC more.

Like I said I think adding some more ventilation to that cage will also help but I was just curious as this played out how you all felt about swings and what you have done to combat it or issues they could cause if any. I’m not talking drastic here nothing ever goes above 80 or falls below 50. Like I said mostly talking mad a 20% swing.

Thanks.


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[ckuhn003]

I’m going through my first summer trying to tinker with and control temp and humidity with my reptiles. They are in a room with a large AC unit so the temp seems to be pretty stable.

The main issue I am battling in a few enclosures are some humidity swings.

My question is, when in range, does this cause an issue and if so at what levels and to what extent?

I’m well aware of the humidity ranges and bumping for sheds etc. I’m just wondering what you guys see as acceptable levels throughout the day and into the night?

I have a mixture of enclosures that I have added, mostly second hand. I have one new one that I feel I need to add more ventilation to. When I run the AC the humidity drops I also use an osolating tower fan to move the air and help control the humidity. My one newer cage when the fan is on it easily keeps humidity at a nice high 50 low to mid 60 level. But if the fan isn’t on it will grow to 80 with ease. Last night for instance. Either I accidentally hit it off or the fan jammed and I woke up to that tank sitting at 80. Now that snake looks to be going into shed anyways and it was for a few hrs so I’m not worried. But I was hoping to eliminate the fan as I start to run the AC more.

Like I said I think adding some more ventilation to that cage will also help but I was just curious as this played out how you all felt about swings and what you have done to combat it or issues they could cause if any. I’m not talking drastic here nothing ever goes above 80 or falls below 50. Like I said mostly talking mad a 20% swing.

Thanks.


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Just my two cents....I used to always worry about high humidity (70-80s and sometimes greater) to the point it was making me neurotic. I would buy multiple units to test the humidity but I never noticed any issues w/ my BP (fingers crossed). He's always had perfect sheds and the enclosure never felt muggy and/or had precipitation on the hides and glass. For instance today, my one unit is reading 98% and the other is reading 80%.

[Phillydubs]

Just my two cents....I used to always worry about high humidity (70-80s and sometimes greater) to the point it was making me neurotic. I would buy multiple units to test the humidity but I never noticed any issues w/ my BP (fingers crossed). He's always had perfect sheds and the enclosure never felt muggy and/or had precipitation on the hides and glass. For instance today, my one unit is reading 98% and the other is reading 80%.

Thank you for the response and your experience. My enclosures never get that high like I said 80 max and thats with no AC or fan. My enclosures are never muggy or have any precipitation. The humidity in my apt sits around 60-65 without touching a thing. So I rarely mist or anything unless in shed just clean water.


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[ckuhn003]

Thank you for the response and your experience. My enclosures never get that high like I said 80 max and thats with no AC or fan. My enclosures are never muggy or have any precipitation. The humidity in my apt sits around 60-65 without touching a thing. So I rarely mist or anything unless in shed just clean water.


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you're welcome. I've never misted ever and all his sheds have been perfect. One useful tip I came across for controlling humidity was changing the size of your water bowl. That seemed to help out a lot.

[Phillydubs]

Bump...

anyone else ??

[Pengil]

I'm personally content with anything above 50%, but below 80%. However, humidity could sometimes be up to 85% in the winter, without misting or condensation on the sides of the tub, and I had no problems.

Because of the layout of our apartment, and the fact that the building is made of brick, I've had to run the air conditioner, bedroom ceiling fan, and small electric fan 24/7 just to keep the temperatures in a good range. This has made my humidity fluctuate as well: outside the tub, humidity is around 30%. The tub hasn't been below 50% humidity, but Horatio seems to be going into shed, so I've been keeping a moist wash cloth inside the tub and running a small humidifier in the room. Right now, his humidity is 78%, which I'm very happy with.

Basically, just make sure your snakes aren't covered in condensation or lying in puddles of water, and that there's no mold on anything wooden you might have in your enclosures.

[CALM Pythons]

I myself have the Humidity get higher than I like (78-82%) during Summer when my AC is on 24/7 because it makes my RHP's run more and it evaporates the 5QT water bowls faster.
What I do is only fill the dishes 1/4 and that drops the Humidity to 70-72%.... Then I uncovered one of the Vents I have Taped off for the winter when my Forced Air Heat is on which drys my house out to 30%. Now im back to 62% which has always been what I like for normal day to day.
I do everything opposite for the winter months.


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[fluffykitten]

In the winter I use to put damp towls over the screen lids just to keep the humidity up to 50 or 60 percent. Now that I switched to reptile prime once a week on feeding day I just add some water to the bedding and mix it in really good so it's not soaking wet, just slightly. That keeps humidity good for the most of the week. When I first do it it will start out at about 85% then in a day or two it will be about 65% and it will stay about there till the last day or two were it will go to 50 %.

[PiperPython]

I have a room humidifier for ambient room humidity which helps with each individual tank, however, I definitely have swings in humidity when the air handler is running. I just provide humid hides and some sphagnum moss throughout and with the room humidifier, I have noticed repeated good sheds except when it gets drier from the air handler sucking the moisture out of the air.

That being said - almost everyone is getting PVC (bit the bullet and bought 10 enclosures at once - ouch) which will certainly help. I don't really put too much faith in the sensors as I've noticed some pretty wild variances within the same enclosure using different therms/hygros. I judge mostly on shed quality and snake behavior.