Humidifier is too cool?

[soapapilla]

Hey everyone. So I am new to BPs and I live in a very dry climate. A humidifier is the only way I've been able to keep my humidity up consistently. Unfortunately I've just noticed that while the humidifier is running my surface temps drop quite a bit, into the 70s. Has anyone dealt with this issue before? How concerned should I be? I will really struggle to keep it humid without using the humidifier but of course I can't keep the water hot all the time either. Thoughts? I use two UTHs and a CHE.

[Absololol]

From experience I know that CHEs suck all of the humidity out of the area they're in. I live in a humid climate and I still have trouble with the side of her viv that has the CHE on.

I just focused on making the cool side the humid side as well. So lots of nooks and crannies with lots of sphagnum moss and 'wet' hides where the moss can maintain dampness.

Maybe you could do something similar, where your humidity is focused on the colder side? If you're trying to make the side with the CHE humid you'll not have much luck I wouldn't have thought.

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[Absololol]

Also what temps/humidity are you getting if you DON'T use the humidifier? I'm assuming you've tried moss, spraying, increasing the water dish volume, etc.?

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[Faith.luu]

You mentioned that your surface temps were 70 degrees. Is that because you’re using a IR gun? The infrared gun is really only good to check your hot spot temps and any other times you might need it. As long as your hotspot is around 90 degrees, then I wouldn’t worry about any other surfaces. What you need to check is your ambient temps. If your ambient temps are 75, then that is okay. You can measure ambient temps with any other thermometer. Just make sure it isn’t one that needs to be in contact with a surface to measure.

You also said you have 2 UTH’s. How are they placed? They should only be covering 1/3 of the base of your enclosure, 1/2 max. If you are using 2 I’m assuming just one is too small? If so that’s fine, but make sure they’re side by side some how, and not on opposite sides of the tank or something like that.

You also said you have a CHE. What wattage is that? And what size tank do you have? I use a 60 watt for my 35 gallon tank, and I place it slightly off from the middle of my enclosure(closer to the hot side) and it keeps my ambient temps at 27-28 degrees Celsius(I think that’s like 77-80 fahrenheit) on both the hot and cool side. Maybe the placement of your CHE is the reason why it might be too cold on some areas of your tank. Or if your tank is larger, you might need one with higher wattage.

[soapapilla]

Also what temps/humidity are you getting if you DON'T use the humidifier? I'm assuming you've tried moss, spraying, increasing the water dish volume, etc.?

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That's good to know about the CHE. I've tried all the recommendations I could find for raising humidity before I bought the humidifier. I was spraying every couple hours, have plenty of moss, large water bowl under the CHE, more substrate, covered top, etc. Depending how heavily I sprayed I could get the humidity up into the 70s or so but it dropped very quickly, down to maybe 45% and sometimes 30% overnight while I wasn't spraying. I was really frustrated with the lack of consistency. The humidifier has helped tremendously for peace of mind. My temps are about 80 cool side and 90 warm side without the humidifier.

[soapapilla]

You mentioned that your surface temps were 70 degrees. Is that because you’re using a IR gun? The infrared gun is really only good to check your hot spot temps and any other times you might need it. As long as your hotspot is around 90 degrees, then I wouldn’t worry about any other surfaces. What you need to check is your ambient temps. If your ambient temps are 75, then that is okay. You can measure ambient temps with any other thermometer. Just make sure it isn’t one that needs to be in contact with a surface to measure.

You also said you have 2 UTH’s. How are they placed? They should only be covering 1/3 of the base of your enclosure, 1/2 max. If you are using 2 I’m assuming just one is too small? If so that’s fine, but make sure they’re side by side some how, and not on opposite sides of the tank or something like that.

You also said you have a CHE. What wattage is that? And what size tank do you have? I use a 60 watt for my 35 gallon tank, and I place it slightly off from the middle of my enclosure(closer to the hot side) and it keeps my ambient temps at 27-28 degrees Celsius(I think that’s like 77-80 fahrenheit) on both the hot and cool side. Maybe the placement of your CHE is the reason why it might be too cold on some areas of your tank. Or if your tank is larger, you might need one with higher wattage.

Thank you! I am using an infrared gun. My ambient is pretty solidly at 75. You're right, I have been using an infrared gun for temperature checks. Usually my surface temps are about 80 cool side and 90 warm side so I was worried when they measured at 70 and 75 this time.

One issue I am considering since I posted this is that before I got the humidifier recently, I added extra substrate as it was suggested to me that that could help retain moisture. I bumped up my thermostats a bit to account for that and get my surface temps where I wanted them of course, but maybe the UTH heat is not winning out against the humidifier for this reason. Once he's finished with his shed and I can do a thorough clean I'll remove the extra substrate/adjust temps and see if that helps.

Why shouldn't I have two UTHs on opposite sides? I got that from a setup guide stickied on here -- I have a cool side and warm side UTH and they are controlled by separate thermostats. They are both kind of small but the recommended wattage for my tank size.

I have a 20 long tank (my little guy is still pretty small, will upgrade as he grows). I use a 60 watt CHE on the warm side. I could move it toward the middle but I don't think my tank is big enough atm for that to make a big difference.

[Absololol]

That's good to know about the CHE. I've tried all the recommendations I could find for raising humidity before I bought the humidifier. I was spraying every couple hours, have plenty of moss, large water bowl under the CHE, more substrate, covered top, etc. Depending how heavily I sprayed I could get the humidity up into the 70s or so but it dropped very quickly, down to maybe 45% and sometimes 30% overnight while I wasn't spraying. I was really frustrated with the lack of consistency. The humidifier has helped tremendously for peace of mind. My temps are about 80 cool side and 90 warm side without the humidifier.

If your water bowl is directly under the CHE then the CHE will be sucking the moisture out. If possible it would be best to have the water bowl away from the CHE. More substrate can deffo help to hold more moisture but only if you use the right substrate. I would recommend coco husk mixed with eco earth. Something like Aspen does not hold humidity well.

I think if the humidifier is the only way you're able to get the range you need then you might need a higher wattage CHE on your hot side. Changing the bulb out shouldn't be too much trouble.

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[Faith.luu]

Why shouldn't I have two UTHs on opposite sides? I got that from a setup guide stickied on here -- I have a cool side and warm side UTH and they are controlled by separate thermostats. They are both kind of small but the recommended wattage for my tank size.

If you want to have a UTH on opposite sides, with your hot one set to 90 and your cool one set to around 75-80 then that’s fine. I just think it’s really unnecessary to have the cool side one since the only important part about cool temps is making sure that the air temps on that side are above 75, and a UTH is only good for heating up the floor of the enclosure.

Using a UTH for your hot spot is great for humidity because you don’t have to worry about adding a CHE for your hot side. As long as your snake gets proper underbelly heat, maintaining air temperatures of around 90 isn’t necessary. Just make sure you have air temps of at least 75 throughout the enclosure. So if you shift your CHE over closer to the cool side, you’ll be able to get proper temps there. But you stated above that your cool air temps are at 75, so I think you’re set up is good as is.