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Humidifier issues (how the heck do I humidity??)

Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2022 7:20 am
by Claudia&Louie
So I have an Indonesian BTS, which I guess means he needs a humidity of around 70-90. I got a humidifier/fogger on Amazon, maybe 40$ or so, so maybe I got what I paid for.

The main issue with my humidifier is that there tends to be a ton of fog even on the lowest setting, and sometimes something magical will happen and it'll die down - circulation, an error in the humidifier, I don't know (and also sometimes it'll just randomly stop, no matter how I position the hose, the mist always tends to get caught in the hose eventually).

How do other people do this? I know I could spray the tank, but considering the 70-90% needs, I feel like he'd need more than that (even with some tin foil covering half of the top, the humidity can easily fall to 49 somehow). Because of the intense fog (and I'll hear him sneezing and get I'll scared the fog is bothering him), sometimes I'll just turn it off and leave him without it - if I leave, he can be in his tank with low humidity for hours. Plus, y'know, with the intense fog neither he nor I can see anything.

I've read humidity is supposed to peak, and then not be so high, but what should I be aiming for? How long of a dry spell is harmful? Plus with this humidifier it's really hard to control or anticipate what it's going to do when, but I could potentially have it on a timed outlet. Does anyone have any suggestions or schedules they use?

This picture is when I tend to turn it off. It's been this way for maybe 10, 20, 30 minutes? My digital meter says 91%, and my analog ones are saying ~77. But geez, is this what it's supposed to be like all the time? I can't see him at all.

Re: Humidifier issues (how the heck do I humidity??)

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2022 10:12 am
by mb606587
Post a picture of your Indonesian skink. Depending on the subspecies, some don't necessarily need it to be super high. Get more substrate in there, use coco fiber blocks mixed in, and get lots of sphagnum moss. When you hand mist, you need to mix the substrate around and get everything damp. If not only the top layer will stay wet and dry quickly. Get a timer for your fogger and run it in intervals so it's not fogged up constantly. The fogger can help but it can't be your sole source of humidity. If you're able, plant some pothos plants in there to aid.

Re: Humidifier issues (how the heck do I humidity??)

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2022 9:30 am
by Claudia&Louie
Thank you! What kind of time intervals would you suggest?

Here's a picture of him.

Re: Humidifier issues (how the heck do I humidity??)

Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2022 10:20 am
by mb606587
That is a classic Indonesian so I'd aim to keep it over 70% as you've been attempting. It'll likely be trial and error but start with 15 minutes per hour and adjust if necessary.