Night time temp drop

[MeredithTheNerd]

I have a Merauke, and keeping the humidity up has been a nightmare.

She's in a 40g breeder with a screen top 2/3 of which is covered with plexiglass. I use a CHE on 24/7, and a UVB tube on a timer (12hrs on, 12hrs. off). It's a bioactive viv, and the substrate is ~4" of organic potting soil plus a .3lb. bag of sphagnum mixed in.

The thing is, the ambient humidity where I live is rarely above 20%, and not infrequently below 10%, so any misting I do burns up pretty fast. Currently ~40% is the highest I can keep her viv for any length of time (luckily she hasn't shown any sign of respiratory issues; and almost never has trouble shedding).

For some reason turning her heat off at night never really occurred to me before - my question is: What's the lowest her temp could safely drop at night? I've never actually checked, but I assume it could get as low as the rest of the house, which is 62F in winter - although my room where she is gets colder than the thermostat. That seems awfully low to me, but I'm new to actually owning reptiles (I've been a fan since I was 2).

Thanks in advance!

[mb606587]

I keep Meraukes and IJ's in my basement in Philadelphia. Similar dry humidity and freezing temperatures. During the especially cold months, I run a space heater at night just to keep temperatures around 65°. No issues. Agreed that the CHE is drying out your enclosure.

[Noodlebasket]

I would also suggest a larger water basin? More water in the enclosure can help keep a higher humidity.