Maintaining humidity

[DrakeLineous12]

How do you all manage to keep the humidity up? I have him on aspen right now and only when I heavily mist do I get the humidity up to around 40. This only lasts for about an hour or so, and even if I cover part of the screen top. Even when I had Eco earth in there it still wouldn't last very long.

[Fatal_S]

I personally do not bother much with humidity, unless there is an issue with a dry belly or bad sheds. Most species are very humidity-tolerant, though some Indonesian species (merauke, indo, kei) seem to do better with some added humidity.

To boost humidity, first step is a big water dish. The bigger footprint, the more water will be released into the air. Depth is not important. The skink can also soak in the dish when it wants to be moist.

Next step might be a humid-hide. This is a hide that you fill with humid-substrate and you keep it moist. Most people cut a hole in a tupperware container, put moss inside, and it works great. The skink can choose to be in the humid hide or not. Humid hides should be on the warm side of the tank.

Substrates can help, but it can be hard to balance high humidity with decent airflow in a large space. Covering the ventilation tends to just lead to mold issues. There are options - using mulches, mixing moss into the substrate, having a water-layer under the usual substrate (this last one probably won't work for skinks, they'll tear it up).

Misting systems can keep the tank moist for you. And running water systems (a waterfall for example) can be great for boosting humidity (though aren't very practical for skinks, who just make messes of it).

Personally I'd sat if you're having issues add the humid hide. That tends to be the simplest way to fix bad sheds/dry belly.

[DrakeLineous12]

Cool, I'll try for a hide since he has some stuck shed and I'll prob get a misting system since he's a merauke

[Richard.C]

whilst they like humidity,u dont want them in constant moisture,they need dryness to,thats hard to do in indoor enclosures with shallow substrate

humid hides are good as they offer areas of high humidity in an otherwise dry environment,constant saturation can lead to many issues,the trick is adding variety,give them choices

with stuck shed,a damp cloth can help you to remove it,even soak lizard first to help soften the retained shed

[Spindown]

i dont really bother with humidity either, my local humidity is around 30-40% anyhow. I always check toes and tail-tips but otherwise, just leave it unless like mentioned, dry belly issues or other similar issues.

[DrakeLineous12]

Right now humidity is at 0%. The stuck shed is courtesy of his previous owner, there were like two layers of it when I was peeling it off. I got most of it, just his tail and arms need to be taken care of. Now I'm worried about his next shed though, how often do these guys do it?

[Scotts1au]

Need to soak in a shallow tub of water for a while - just warm. Stuck shed will come off relatively easily with gentle rubbing with your fingers. Sometimes can be a slow process. I have to do this with all of my indoor blotchies. It just needs to be part of your routine.

[Zach]

I personally do not bother much with humidity, unless there is an issue with a dry belly or bad sheds. Most species are very humidity-tolerant, though some Indonesian species (merauke, indo, kei) seem to do better with some added humidity.

To boost humidity, first step is a big water dish. The bigger footprint, the more water will be released into the air. Depth is not important. The skink can also soak in the dish when it wants to be moist.

Agreed. I don't really bother with humidity either unless there's a problem -- prevention is important of course, but like Mel said, most blueys are pretty humidity tolerant. I just keep a nice big water bowl available at all times and have never had an issue. I live in a pretty humid climate however, so a person's location may play a part.

[DrakeLineous12]

It is a slow process, spent like 3 hours picking skin off when I first got him. Here on in the NE there isn't that much humidity going on, especially now in the winter. On the coast in California it was a lot better, even in Texas too.