Humidity for Indo Halmahera

[MJSyd]

A friend of mine recently returned from a school trip to Borneo and we were discussing the humidity of Indonesia which made me think about the humidity levels in my terrarium. I was replacing the water and accidentally spilled a little underneath but moved around some substrate to soak it up and ran off to work. This morning I found her hiding burrowed under her water dish and my boyfriend said she was under it the night before as well. Lately it has been around 30-40% and after I mist around 50% but I'm wondering if she is craving more humidity due to her species locale?

[donkeybuff]

Indonesia definitely has a relative humidity of more than 50%, but many gigas owners keep their skinks in conditions like yours. If you can raise the humidity then do so, but it is not crucial unless your skink is experiencing shedding problems.

[MJSyd]

She is 3 months and we haven't had her for a shed yet so I'm trying to make sure it won't be a problem. I work at an aquarium and we have an educational outreach BTS that was once someone's pet who didn't make sure her shed went smoothly and she is now missing toes. I'm trying to make absolutely sure this won't happen to mine! I see that you have an Indo, what is your humidity?

[donkeybuff]

I keep mine around 60%, but I spray the terrarium down a lot when I see a shed coming. What is your substrate? Cypress mulch helps a ton with humidity.

[MJSyd]

We are actually using the cypress! It won't be a problem to raise the humidity, I'll just mist a little more and keep an eye out for a shed coming on. Thanks for the help!

[Dakota]

Be very wary of crypress, I would recommend putting it in the oven before using. I just got a case a Wood Mites, not harmful to the skink, though. Really good for humidity, too.

I keep my inside cages around 70%, wth some spikes of around 90% ..this being Florida the ambient humidity is 50% in the house alone.

Outside is around 50% during the day, and around 97% during night, and Maxx is loving it.

[Dakota]

Also remember, they are found really close to the equator, so they like is warm AND humid. I try to keep my inside cages around 85 or so and let them thermoregulate to what ever they like.

[Dakota]

Just found out they are in the Northern hemisphere! That's really interesting.

[Scincoides]

The humidity in my Indos species enclosures is between 40-60 percent on average and that seems fine. Mine is allowed to spike as high as 100% first thing in the morning though.

[MJSyd]

What do you guys use to up the humidity other than just living in Florida...

[Dakota]

I spray warm water (85 degrees) once a day in all the cages.

[Richard.C]

water is your best bet,lol

you can close up ventilation abit if you want to raise humidity,constant dampness isnt good though,indoor cages arent like indonesia,indonesia is humid,but they can easily stay dry,thats hard to replicate in a small indoor enclosure,constant moisture and warmth is perfect for bacteria and other nasties to develop,also skinks exposed to constant moisture are prone to skin infections,if u sprau do it at night so humidity is high over night but drys out during the day,the drying out prevents nasty things happening,you can also just add a humid hide or 2 as well

definatly avoid constant moisture

[Dakota]

Yeah, definitely. Humidity goes down a lot during the day, such as here. 50% during the day, 100% during night. My weather is just a hair away from being exactly like Papua and surrounding islands.

[Dakota]

I do think they need spikes close to 100% though, with 50 or so being good through the day. I have Virginia on shredded Aspen, and I try to bother as less as possible (since she is gravid..), and she has dry belly scales.. and it is 50% in the house.. she doesn't get any spikes, so she is 50% 24-7.. just wanted to throw that in.

[Richard.C]

why treat her different?

isnt keeping her dryer bothering her,i dont get why you would give less desirable conditions just because she may be gravid,conditions should be the same wether gravid or not,if anything,more important for gravid females going though the stresses of reproduction

i dont think they need to be kept saturated,they need access to dryness to,goal is to offer dryness with humidity

they live in hot environments,usually they dont need to seek heat like a temperate form of bluetongue,they are the oppasite and need to seek shelter from the heat,might be a damp hide or a dry hide,nature offers them choices,captivity lacks that,so your goal is to offer them as many choices as possable

[ryleyb]

I have a fogger in my Halmaheras tank, her cool side is constantly at about 90 with the hot side being about 60 until I turn off her light and mist her tank at night. Is this okay? will too high of humidity like this affect my skink?

[Janella]

Halamara need high humidity. 80-100% humidity is ideal.