Humidity question

[luckyy15]

I have a 8 month old panther chameleon he is in a 24x24x36 screen cage he has a 60watt basking bulb and 5.0 UVB linear bulb the temps are good being mids 80's to 90's at the top and 70's at the bottom but his humidity only rises to about 50 when I mist him then drops to about 30 he has a fogger going in the day and I mist him in the morning when I get in from work at about 4.45 then again at 6.30 before his lights go out at 8.30. He has a large umbrella plant and a small ficus which I also water regularly I was thinking of using a dropper too. What should his humidity be after misting and in between ? I read about covering a couple of the sides to help increase humidity but just worried incase the temp gets too hot due to less ventilation.

Any advice would be much appreciated

 

[warpdrive]

It is hard to give the best advice when there are a few unanswered questions.
I have no idea where you live and no idea what fogger you are using.
We also have no idea how long you mist for and/or how much water you are using.

Your temps seem a drop high. You only need low to mid 80s, high 80s at the most.
You could try a 40w bulb so temps don't reach the low 90s.

Misting should be slow and light. Not how fast can you get this over with.
You should be using about 10 ounces of water when you are finished.
It should take you at least 5 mins to mist him.
A dripper 2 or 3 times per week should help with any need for extra water.

Room humidity needs to be around 40%-50%.
A cool mist room humidifier will help with this.
I use one from late fall to late spring to help with low humidity in the winter months.

You can cover the back and some of the sides with plastic or towels to help keep in some humidity.

Harry

 

[luckyy15]

Hi I live in Kent in England. I use a exto terra fogger and mist quite generously over most of his umbrella plant for about 5 mins. His temp is mainly between 85-88 but has gone up to 90 a couple of times so i'm going to keep a close eye on that if it continues to stay around 90 I will get a lower wattage bulb. So 40 would be ok for the humidity ?

 

[warpdrive]

There are two types of foggers from them.
The first is like a plastic box that sits inside and creates a fog.
The other is like a room humidifier that has a hose to place near the top of the cage to let the fog fall down onto the leaves of your plants.
Only the second one works well enough, but breaks often.

Again a room humidifier is best and can be used to directly humidify a cage with some PVC pipe.
You don't need to go so far, but getting your room air to 40%.
Note, I said room air.

Your cage when fully dry needs to be around 45%-60%
After misting, it should be 75% or above.

You might want to get a digital hygrometer if you are not already.
Sometimes analog ones can be "off" by a lot.

Harry

 

[RPCV]

Keep in mind - moisture vapor always moves from warm to cold and higher concentration to lower concentration. Since a cham's enclosure is warmer than the room and moisture sources are directed into the enclosure humidity will naturally migrate away out of the enclosure. Blocking off sides will slow this process down keeping humidity higher for longer but, as you said, there is a reduced ventilation penalty.

Where you measure relative humidity is also very important. Relative humdity is a function (%) of how much moisture air can hold at a given temperature. If you are measuring 30% relative humidity at 88 degrees (basking area) the relative humidity in the lower area of the enclosure (assuming it is 70 degrees) will be 54% even though the ammount of moisture in the air is the same.

There really are way too many variables to give advice on a specific situation. Conditions will change such as temperatures (outdoor temp is extremely important), background humidity levels, etc. I personally think the key is to keep the cham hydrated and not focus too much on maintaining a specific relative humidity set point. As long as you are introducing sufficient moisture through misting, dripper, humidifier and/or plants you should be OK. Measure relative humidity then adjust your moisture sources as needed but don't focus too much on hitting exact numbers.

 

[luckyy15]

Thank u so much for your reply I was getting worried that I was harming my Cham by not having the humidity above 70 he seems healthy alert feeding and he drinks when I mist him and his eyes aren't sucken and isn't showing signs of dehydration. His faeces looks normal with white urate. I mist him a minimum if 2 times a day but normally 3 times for around 5 mind and he has a fogger the type you puwaters bowl of water and it creates mist which seems to help a bit I'm also going to try a dripper see how we get on with that. I've read so many conflicting information on temps and humidity but just glad I'm not going completely down the wrong route. I'll try moving his digital hydrogmeter at different places in the cage see if I get a large variation.

Thanks again

 

[Texas Panther Man]

If your mistng 3 times daily and his urates are nice and white I wouldnt worry too much. Just make sure to get that humidity up there when he's getting ready to shed. He doesnt have to have 70% humid all the time. Mine fluctuates between 55-70% depending on the time of day and time of year it is. You just want the rh to be above 50% when hes shedding to help him have a nice easy time of it and not retain parts of skin.

 

[warpdrive]

While I agree with RPVC, I would like to point out that 30% humidity is quite low even for a veiled.
Sure we shouldn't go crazy over the numbers, but we should try to give them what they need for both hydration and humidity in order to aid shedding.

As stated, try covering the sides and use a cool mist humidifier during the dryer months of the year.
You might also be getting a bad reading if the hygrometer is too close to the basking spot.

While a day or two of low humidity means nothing, you should at least try to give them what they need.
I agree, if the low humidity is only for a day or two it's no big deal. If it lasts longer then adjustments nerd to be made.

Harry

 

[luckyy15]

Thank you all for your replies I've covered 2 sides of his cage and connected the dripper for during the day. I'm going to keep a eye on the temp and humidity tomorrow and see if this helps increase the humidity.

 

[luckyy15]

Hi I've added the dripper and covered 3 of the sides and his humidity is now staying around 50 and not dropping below 40 which i'm happier with I'm going to buy him another plant also at the weekend I'm thinking a hibcus as thought this will help to increase the humidity a bit more but just wanted to say thanks for all your help.