should i switch from aluminum cage to glass?

[Austin G]

i have a issue with my cage. I can not keep average humidity in my aluminum cage... iv'e tried putting hot towels on the top of my cage, trying to heat up my water for my MISTER with a heating pillow (it doesn't stay WARM),tried buying a heating pad for lizards (doesn't work on cages), tried moving my basking fixture, but i cant get the humidity above 50%. does anyone have some advice to keep the humidity up. iv'e heard glass can get chameleons sick sometimes due to moisture and have bad ventilation.
what is my best bet??? if you want to look at my setup go to my album called Kevin's enclosure please i need some advice.

 

[xephyr17]

You could get a glass enclosure I would just suggest making two of the sides (maybe front and top) mesh so that there can be good ventalation.

However, I've had a mesh cage for a while and I find that if I mist long enough (sometimes for about 2 minutes) then I can get the humitidy up and keep it up...

 

[Rodcham]

What are you using to measure rh? You can hang or attach some plastic on the sides if you need to. Like a shower curtain to increase humidity. When you mist the humidity normally spikes. It needs to drop and the enclosure must dry out imbetween. My enclosure goes down to 30% and peaks at about 70%.

 

[kdc5019]

I would first double check and make sure your humidity gauge is working properly. Is it digital or analogue?

I wouldn't jump the gun and automatically go to a glass enclosure. I would go to lowes or homedepot and get sheets of either plexiglass or corrugated plastic. Cut them to fit the sides of your cage and then attach them from the outside. You can either screw them in or use Velcro strips to make it removable if it gets too humid.

 

[Austin G]

I would first double check and make sure your humidity gauge is working properly. Is it digital or analogue?

I wouldn't jump the gun and automatically go to a glass enclosure. I would go to lowes or homedepot and get sheets of either plexiglass or corrugated plastic. Cut them to fit the sides of your cage and then attach them from the outside. You can either screw them in or use Velcro strips to make it removable if it gets too humid.

i have an analogue gauge. Iv'e had that idea for awhile thanks i'm gonna use

 

[Rodcham]

Good plan, that will sort your issues. Still need to check that rh gauge though.

 

[Devokid]

50% is most likely good enough. Is he having problems? As long as he is healthy and shedding well, I would not stress about humidity.

 

[johnnycamp5]

Calibrate

You may want to calibrate your analog barometer.

I was having the same trouble, so I tarped three sides of my enclosure (back, left and right sides) in an attempt to increase relative humidity.
I still could barely achieve a 60% reading for more than 10 minutes after misting (soaking) the entire contents of the cage.

I then did the "salt water" calibration (which I should have done first) to my barometer and discovered it was reading low by 35% .

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

The remedies you tried will not work and switching to glass is a bad idea. You do not want constant high humidity. You want a spike up to 80-90% immediately after misting and then a period of drying out that can drop you humidity down to 30-50%, this is normal. The best ways to keep the spike in humidity for longer is to add more live plants. Pothos has broad leaves and works great. Cover several sides with plastic or get a cool mist humidifier.

 

[fluxlizard]

Having used both glass and screen with great success I would not be worried at all about going to glass if I were you. Glass is not necessarily a "bad" idea, nor is it necessarily "jumping the gun".

That said, If your chameleon has good appetite, is shedding well, and otherwise healthy, I wouldn't worry about what the humidity gauge reports overly much either... If the lizard is doing well and looking good for a few months, I wouldn't switch to glass just because a humdity gauge reads a certain number...