humidity in cage

[Shaolin Chameleon]

hi i was wondering if it is ok to cover 3 side of the screen cage to keep the

humidity in i will be using a clear shower curtain. The top and front will be left

open to allow air flow

and hello!!

 

[ISA my Veiled]

Well how often do you mist? You shouldn't have to do that if you can keep up on misting or even buy a misting system. I don't see why you couldn't do it though, its a great idea if your house is drafty and you're having problems with it. And hello to you as well! lol

 

[Shaolin Chameleon]

i mist about 2-3 times a day but yea its usually like 25-30% if i dont mist. When

i do mist it goes up to about 55-65% but the problem is it drops quickly

 

[ISA my Veiled]

yeah we all face that most of the time, have you considered buying a Live plant? They are fantastic for humidity and help a lot with retaining it as well. Also provide a ton of foliage so there is really a double bonus lol but what i recommend for a live plant is a Ficus Benjamina. I used mine for almost a year and it was great, never really had any problems with humidity. Just make sure you spot clean often to prevent bacteria from killing the plant from the poop.

 

[ISA my Veiled]

Oh! AND how long do you mist at a time for? A quick minute isn't enough, one of my favorite sayings I heard from a fellow senior member was "If your hand isn't cramping your not doing it long enough" lol

 

[Shaolin Chameleon]

i have a Ficus tree in there right now and also a small bamboo plant i should mist

longer i mist for about 30 second at a time in all honestly

 

[Slug]

Here is how I have dealt with my humidity problem. I took some opaque plastic sheeting (got from a home improvement store, comes in a roll and you can cut it to size, also it is not the same type of plastic as a shower curtain, so no worries about toxic fumes, plus it gives your cham some privacy), I velcroed it around the frame of my screen cage to allow for easy removal and cleaning, as well as to give me access to the screen to tie on more vines if needed. I also took some of the shrinkable window insulation plastic (used primarily around winter time to keep out drafts in your house. I then put that on the door of the cage, only on the door itself, and not the substrate door, and shrunk it with a hair dryer. This resulted in a gap between the bottom of the cage and the bottom of the door allowing for air to get into the cage, then rise to the top screen on the cage.

After doing all that, plus running a fogger all day and a homemade rain system for 15 minutes every 2 hours, my humidity jumped from around 20% to a much needed 60-80% for my Jackson's.

If you need pictures or video, I will gladly post whatever. I am always looking for ways to improve his cage and setup and am currently working on a converted aquarium terrarium that I have been designing for a while.

I hope this helps.

 

[Shaolin Chameleon]

oh thats a great idea ty going going to do it first thing in the morning ty very much for the help

 

[Slug]

No problem. Again, if the description is hard to understand, let me know and I will take video of my setup and post it. I have been meaning to do that anyway.

 

[Slug]

Also, post picture of your setup and chams, we love seeing them!

 

[Shaolin Chameleon]

yes i will post pics first thing in the morning ty again

 

[Shaolin Chameleon]

 

[summoner12]

I think it's fine to cover three sides, but I wouldn't do it fully. I'd stop short of about 5-6" of the top so that you can get cross 'wind' through the top of the enclosure.

Getting everything wet three times a day should be fine. If you notice a slow or sticking shed, mist more often.

 

[Shaolin Chameleon]

ok sounds good ty