Humidity/Wetness

[Toria Dawn]

Hi guys,

So I live in a city with really low humidity - basically a really cold desert. I've been struggling with the humidity levels in Royal's tank, so I got some moss to put around the water dish, and this water drip thing that goes on top of the tank and drips down into the water dish. It's supposed to overflow and the moss soaks up any extra moisture, and holds it, which increases humidity apparently.

The dish did overflow. The humidity didn't really go up though. I also recently changed his substrate after he shed, I used a plantation soil brick which you put in water to expand (I used three so he has lots of soil to dig in) mixed with coco husks. But I used too much water when expanding the bricks, and so there's a bit of water in the bottom of the tank, and the soil is really damp. Also, the humidity is still pretty low!!

I don't want to mist/spray the tank too much right now, and I took out the water drip think, because I don't want all the extra water/moisture to cause mold or bacteria growth.

I recently saw a post saying a wet/moist hide is a good idea. I have my tank set up so the warm side is a higher "elevation" and the cool side is lower. His cool hide is a big, awesome, twisted piece of driftwood, and he crawls and digs under it. But some of the areas he hangs out and digs in have a tiny bit of water in them.

SO! My question is: Is it ok to have that bit of water on the bottom of the tank? Is it ok that the soil is pretty moist? Especially since I'm in a very dry environment. He seems to hang out on both sides equally, and loves digging and hiding in all areas that I have set up for hides. The temperatures all check out, too - about 70-75 on the cool side and 95+ basking (it was hard to get it to 100 but it is now that I've elevated the warm side).

Also, another question - the guy at the pet store said that most reptiles, skinks included, can't see or recognize still water. It needs to be moving with slight waves for them to see it for what it is. That's one of the reasons I got the drip thing. Is this true? Or did he just scam me into buying some random plastic container with a hose that I could have made myself....?

I think that's it! I had another question but I can't remember it now - OH WAIT the pet store dude also said coco husk CAN be toxic. Not that it always is but it can be. Is this true? I haven't noticed any negative reactions from Royal but if there's any chance it could hurt him, I'd rather use something else.

Ok, THANKS!!

[Susann]

How are you measuring humidity? Because, if the deep layer of substrate is very moist, to the point of water dripping off of it to the bottom of the tank, I can't imagine that the humidity inside the tank is still too low... unless it's an all-screen vivarium.
Is he having problems with his sheds? Or you are just wanting to give him more humidity because it's good for him? Because, until you start to see problems, there's really no need to go to great lengths to raise humidity by a lot.

Yes, substrate that is wet for too long, especially in standing water, can quickly mold and grow bacteria, so you need to keep an eye on that. But most of the time, unless you are somehow adding to the wetness, like with your overflowing dish, most tanks are hot enough that the substrate dries before it becomes a problem. As long as you keep an eye on it I wouldn't worry overly much about it; to ease your mind, turn the dirt over at least once a day so you are moving the wetter stuff up to the top, that should help inhibit mold.

Wet hides are great, but because they are so hard to maintain without mold, most of us only supply them around shedding time.

I think you got conned into buying something you don't really need--from the drinking from standing water point. In the 3+ years I've been on these forums, I've never heard of anyone not getting their skink to drink because there's not movement in the water. However, from the raising humidity point, I don't think it's a completely wasted purchase.

I've never heard of coco husk being toxic, but maybe someone else has... I really can't imagine that it would be unless something has been added to it, like color, oil, or scent. But

[Toria Dawn]

I'm using a hygrometer to measure humidity. It stays between 20 and 40 (red and yellow) no matter what I do, unless I've just washed out the tank, but that's sort of a given coz I'm washing it in water, haha.

Thanks Susann, and I have been turning over the substrate to dry it out. I was just worried that hanging out in water that much wasn't good, him being a reptile, not an amphibian. That being said, he chooses to hang out there, so...! I appreciate the info, maybe once to e substrate has dried out I can keep using the water drip for humidity.

Do you have any other tips for raising humidity? Other than misting - I was doing that at least 2-3 times a day and it was still low. He bathes himself in the water dish a lot haha I worry that it's too dry!! Though I'm probably just being paranoid!

[Toria Dawn]

Oh and the coco husk is all natural so no added stuff

[Toria Dawn]

Oh and also, the tank is all glass but the top is all screen. I have been using a dish towel over part of the screen to keep humidity and heat it.

[Susann]

Yup, all that sounds very familiar! I've used up several spray bottles from spraying 5 big tanks every day, and still not raising humidity enough. My skinks were having lots of problems though, and the only solution I found was to buy a MistKing humidifier. I had to go with the MistKing because I had so many tanks, otherwise a Repti fogger or some such might have been enough.
The problem with skinks who do end up with eye and/or toe problems from low humidity is that it's a struggle to raise the humidity in the air more so than wetting the substrate. Yes, wetting the substrate will usually raise the humidity in the air as well, but I've found that having them live on wet substrate is nowhere near as effective in fixing the problems as raising the air humidity significantly--without having constantly wet substrate.

I wouldn't worry too much about his substrate being wet even if he isn't an amphibian , especially if he seems to prefer it. I would however, after a few days, make sure that he has access to a dry area as well where he can feel secure.

[Toria Dawn]

He has areas above ground/not in hides that are dry, like on top of the driftwood in cool side, behind some plants, and on his basking area. But other than behind hanging plants his hides are pretty moist if not wet, so I should change that (at least for the one on the warm side).

So if the humidity is too low, I should be looking for eye (nose and mouth?) + toe problems? Does it just look infected? I got him with a missing toe, but due to a bit of scarring on his back I assumed it was from him living with other skinks before I got him…

[Toria Dawn]

Oh and also thanks again for the info!! I feel like I've read the caresheet a million times, but I still don't know everything well enough!!

[Richard.C]

Open top tanks let humidity and heat out,to hold humidity in better,especially in a low humidity environment you need to enclose cage more ,perhaps 75 percent of lid could be wood with ventilation down one end or a bit up each end

[Toria Dawn]

I am currently using a dish cloth folded over about 50% of the screen on top. It definitely helps keep the heat in, thats what helped me get his basking temps up. Before it covered more of the screen, but I am also trying to dry the substrate out right now, too. We are planning on getting a piece of plexi for the top tho, I didn't want to use plywood because it makes the tank so much darker.

[Coomassie]

What kind of hygrometer are you using? The ones they sell in the reptile section of pet stores are horribly inaccurate. You can purchase digital ones or the kind put in cigar boxes for not too expensive and they actually work. Also, it is true that many species of reptiles don't recognize standing water but BTS are not one of them. I live in a pretty dry apartment and I manage to keep the humidity up with cypress mulch, misting, and a large water dish.

[Toria Dawn]

It's an Exo Terra one from the reptile section of the pet store, lol. I'll look for a digital one, but I know at the cigar shop here they aren't cheap.