keeping humidity/moisture up

alright...so i got my cage allll set up with my cresty and tree frog...i have a coconut fiber floor, everythings goin great but i find i have to mist the cage about 4,5 times a day, and reeeal heavy at night, just to keep the humidity above 70 (even tho id like it at about 80) any suggestions as to how to keep the humidity up, so spraying is less often,cause i start skool tomoro and wont be home to mist during the day....as of right now i have a damp towel covering half of the lid, but still i have to spray about 3,4 times a day..........................more coconut fibers at the bottom perhaps?

 

How deep is your coconut fiber? I would think the deeper the substrate is, the more moisture it will hold. Mine is maybe 2 inches deep. The humidity is 60 when dry, but goes up to 80 when I mist. Mist heavy at night and mist in the morning. Should be fine.

 

I have similar a experience to field_hockey_gal.
2" thick layer, heavy mist at night, light mist in the morning... humidity ranges from 60-90%.

So long as you're averaging reasonable humidity, I don't think a daily drop is going to hurt.

 

hmmm...mine is only about 1" if that deep...cause i have alota soil in there...ill put some more in right now then...thanks

 

I sprayed the hell out of my moss/soil floor and it kept letting out moisture for at least 4 days. I dunno if that will help you but it sure helped my lazy bum.

 

ya the wet towel seems to be working...my humidity is still 80 and i sprayd it this mourn at like 8...its 2 now...thanks

 

one crappy thing about the moist towel is if you have a metal screen top it will start to rust over time. i dont know if every one will do this, but it has happened to me before.

~Will.

 

It will only rust if it isn't coated in plastic or a good layer of paint. I would still go with the deep substrate and not have the wet towel on top. Where are you measuring the humidity anyways?

 

Out of curiosity; is it the tree frog that requires maintaining a minimum of 80%RH?

 

I think so, our cresties the max humidity they get is around 80% and we have had very few shed problems. The odd bit on a toe that comes off with a direct mist or they go and splash around in the water dish. I haven't seen them do the later but the water dish is empty some mornings after we have filled it.

 

Tree frogs need 70 - 90, I have read. The only problem is that crestie need a humidity cycle right? Dry out the dirt and then moisten it up. This is correct right? I thought I read that somewhere.

 

Cycling the humidity is recommended to lessen the chance of mold growing in the enclosure, and not specifically for the cresties requirements.
And it's not that the substrate needs to totally dry out, it's that "dry" is being used as a relative term, as in not moist (on the surface).

 

ya tree frogs need 70 to 90% humidity...i like to keep it at 80, split the diff, and my crestie seems to like it at 80......do u guys have a problem with mold, cause i havnt yet...well, his crap i noticed had some fuzzies but i took it out...how does the mold collonate? (curious) and how can i prevent it?....iv also heard that keeping a peice of plexi glass over half the top keeps humidity in...what do u guys think of that?

 

I have had lots of problems with mold. Seems to start on the poo, but I think it may come from the babyfood which molds fast at a high humidity. Best way to keep it from spreading all across the aquarium (almost happened to me) is to remove to poo as soon as you see it, and replace baby food every other day or so. I also take the geckos out each month, stir the dirt, moisten it back up agian, and put everything back. Keeps the tank clean and mold free. Also can fix any fallen over branches, add or remove stuff, etc.

 

right on...and thats the only way mold can start? cause my dad was worried about mold starting in the potting soil i use

 

It could start in there, just keep an eye on it. And don't remove just the mold take some of the soil around it otherwise some spores will be left behind and the mold will return quickly.

Plexiglass across the top will keep the humidity in and not cause any major problems.

 

awsome thanks...my crestie seems to like to crap on the plants, which is better for that i guess

 

if i wanted to keep things humid could i ckeep a couple of cresties in a pure glass 40 gal tank with sliding glass doors that aren't airtight? and spray daily... or does the tank need a screened wall or roof to keep circulation?

 

I would go with the screen top. We use eco-earth and have had no problems keeping humidty up by misting heavily once a day.

 

Good air circulation will help keep mold down in a humid environment, but will require misting more often to keep higher humidity...

My screen front 17gal tall, gets a heavy misting at night (maybe 2-3floz)... that takes it to the 90%RH mark... it stays high like that for a couple of hours, then slowly declines through the night to the mid 70% mark by morning... if I don't give it a light mist in the morning, it will continue to drop during the day to the low 60% mark by evening... with a light misting, it will go to the mid to high 80% mark, and be back to mid 60% by evening... so unless it is really low in the morning, I don't mist in the morning...