Strange humidity

[Croninking]

I'm struggling to regulate my panther's humidity and it feels like I'm fighting an uphill battle! When I first got him, I was misting 3 times a day (noonish, 9pm, and 5am. I work second and 3rd shift). Im hand misting with a small bottle from Petco, not sure the exact volume of water. I noticed that the humidity was dropping down to 40% between mistings. I tried to fix this by adding shower curtain on 3 sides. This didn't seem to make any difference at all. Then I read that misting him after lights out was not good, (lights are on from 9am-9pm) so I cut out just the 5am. I didn't see a difference in the drop but I worried this wasn't enough, so I doubled the amount I was spraying each time. Today when I went to spray at 9pm it was at 30%! I'm saving up for an automatic mister but what do I do in the meantime?

 

[RJChamers]

Do you have live plants? They make a difference in humidity.

 

[Croninking]

Yes. I have an umbrella plant that takes up 75-80% of the cage.

 

[Croninking]

(it's the safe variety)

 

[jamest0o0]

Can you post a picture of the enclosure? Live plants work magic for keeping humidity up. The showercurtain helps too. Mistings should be long enough that water pours out the bottom. Humidity should be higher at night as well.

 

[Croninking]

This was pre-shower curtain, but otherwise it's identical.


Humidity should be higher at night than during the day?

 

[MTsterfri]

I've seen people use towels instead of curtains. I would guess these could hold the humidity (and water) longer rather than just keeping it from leaving the cage for a short time. Just remember to replace the towel every once in a while to prevent mold.

 

[Remkon]

Where are you measuring humidity?
If you do it near the basking spot it will always be an uphill battle since humidity will fall faster where it's warmer

If you mist by hand at least make sure you have one with a pump so you can offer a continuous spray.
You will need some form of drainage under the enclosure if you mist enough.

On the enclosure, you should add more branches/paths to travel. Also give him a good horizontal basking spot around 12" from the UVB spot.
I'd also replace the UVB spot for a linear tube, the compact lamps have a small surface area so only provide UVB in a small area, they would work better if placed horizontal. They are also rumored to cause eye problems (which I'm pretty sure was only 1 certain brand and has been fixed).
Remove the fake grass, it will stay wet and become a breeding ground for bacteria.

 

[Carlton]

Have you ever measured the RH of the ROOM itself? If it tends to be dry due to air circulation in a large space, heating (especially forced air), or AC use the drier air outside the cage will absorb a lot of what you are pumping into it. Not that you need to humidify the entire room, just understand that there is always some transfer going on. It can vary a lot seasonally.

Remember, as long as he gets periods of higher humidity and is drinking adequately, he may be fine. There are probably areas of the cage that tend to stay more humid than others as already mentioned. He can retreat there and spend part of the day there. 40% isn't terrible for a panther for part of the time. There are physical signs that he's dehydrated to watch for including:

Trouble shedding completely.
Always drinking a lot every time water is offered. Salivating a lot while actively drinking (strings of clear saliva forming off the lower jaw as he drinks).
Loss of appetite.
Rubbing eyes on branches, closing or blinking both eyes a lot.
Skin tenting (take a pinch of skin between thumb and fingers, pull it away from the body gently, and release. If the skin snaps flat again, great. If the skin stays "tented" or folded a while, he's dehydrated.
Tongue not as sticky....prey not sticking to the tip.
Sunken eyes (extreme, and can also happen when other things are wrong), sunken casque.