Humidity Problems

[EntertheWutang]

Would be* darn autocorrect..

[The Serpent Merchant]

As long as the room stays over 75 you should be fine with just the UTH. Closer top 80 is ideal, but if it drops a few degrees at night it won't be a big deal s long as the hot spot stays at 90.

[MsMissy]

Shutting off the fan will also help humidity as any air movement removes moisture. I use both as well since my cooler runs 24/7 <gotta love living in the desert> and temps do tend to dip a bit low overnight. I use a dimmer on the lamp though, keeps an ambient of about 83. My cool side does drop to about 77-78 overnight in my girls tank, but she is really good about thermo regulating herself. It took a while <and some hair pulling/ overwhelming desires to drink> to find that sweet spot with humidity, tank is a consistent 50-53% now.

[EntertheWutang]

As long as the room stays over 75 you should be fine with just the UTH. Closer top 80 is ideal, but if it drops a few degrees at night it won't be a big deal s long as the hot spot stays at 90.

So the zoomed uth can be adjusted to 90 degrees? And I also read online that UTH's can malfunction and get up to like 120, have you ever had anything that drastic happen? Also what substrate do you use?

[EntertheWutang]

Shutting off the fan will also help humidity as any air movement removes moisture. I use both as well since my cooler runs 24/7 <gotta love living in the desert> and temps do tend to dip a bit low overnight. I use a dimmer on the lamp though, keeps an ambient of about 83. My cool side does drop to about 77-78 overnight in my girls tank, but she is really good about thermo regulating herself. It took a while <and some hair pulling/ overwhelming desires to drink> to find that sweet spot with humidity, tank is a consistent 50-53% now.

Yeah agreed, the desert makes something as simply as turning your steering wheel in your car a gamble for 3rd degree burns, but thank you again! You guys are such a huge help

[The Serpent Merchant]

So the zoomed uth can be adjusted to 90 degrees? And I also read online that UTH's can malfunction and get up to like 120, have you ever had anything that drastic happen? Also what substrate do you use?

On their own a zoo med (or any) UTH will get way to hot. I've measured them hitting 130+ F after only a few hours plugged in. This is why they must be controlled by a lamp dimmer or thermostat.

A thermostat uses a temperature probe to measure the amount of heat being generated by the UTH then adjusting the amount of power going to the UTH to control the temperature. A good thermostat will be able to keep an UTH within a degree of the temperature you set it to. The only way for the UTH to get too hot is for the thermostat fail. High quality thermostats will have multiple layers of protection to prevent this from happening. The herpstat line of thermostats has a device that physically cuts power going to the UTH in the case of thermostat failure, making it nearly impossible for the UTH to get too hot.

Herpstats: http://www.spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html

I would recommend the herpstat intro + or the Herpstat 1.

The link I posted earlier has links to cheaper thermostats as well. These are less accurate, and have fewer features, but will get the job done on a budget.

I prefer paper towels. This is because of their ease of cleaning, and humidity neutrality. The type of cages I use (animal Plastics PVC reptile cages) and the climate I live in (Tropical Florida where the humidity outside today was 96%) means I have the opposite problem that you do. I have to lower the humidity levels in my cages. For you, I would suggest a 1/2" thick layer of eco-earth kept slightly damp.

[MsMissy]

So the zoomed uth can be adjusted to 90 degrees? And I also read online that UTH's can malfunction and get up to like 120, have you ever had anything that drastic happen? Also what substrate do you use?

An unregulated UTH can def get that hot. I tested mine before hooking it up to a thermostat and *shivers* scary high temps in a matter of minutes. You absolutely MUST have a thermostat for your UTH.

I use a combination of reptibark and Eco earth.

[martin82531]

So the zoomed uth can be adjusted to 90 degrees? And I also read online that UTH's can malfunction and get up to like 120, have you ever had anything that drastic happen? Also what substrate do you use?

By its self no, you plug in the Zoo Med or heat tape into a thermostat, set the thermostat to the temp you want, in this case 90 degrees, then adhere a probe from the thermostat to the UTH. Depending on the type of thermostat, once the probe senses the temp you set it to, it will either limit the power to the UTH to maintain the 90 degrees (proportional) or shut it off completely. (on/off). Most like proportional thermostats because it consistently maintains the desired temp. A on/off style like the hydrofarm for example, will shut off once it reaches the desired temp but usually won't turn back on until 3-5 degrees below the temp you set it to.

[martin82531]

You will also need a thermometer to verify the surface temp on the inside of the enclosure. The Aru-Rite indoor/outdoor thermometer does a good job measuring the surface temp where your UTH is placed, the ambient temp of the enclosure as well as your humidity.

http://www.walmart.com/msharbor/ip/8...81640&veh=mweb

[EntertheWutang]

By its self no, you plug in the Zoo Med or heat tape into a thermostat, set the thermostat to the temp you want, in this case 90 degrees, then adhere a probe from the thermostat to the UTH. Depending on the type of thermostat, once the probe senses the temp you set it to, it will either limit the power to the UTH to maintain the 90 degrees (proportional) or shut it off completely. (on/off). Most like proportional thermostats because it consistently maintains the desired temp. A on/off style like the hydrofarm for example, will shut off once it reaches the desired temp but usually won't turn back on until 3-5 degrees below the temp you set it to.

Okay cool! I think I'm going to get