Humidity issues

[Emilia Thuet]

Hello so recently I’ve been having issues with the humidity in my beardies tank and it’s been far too low for them and I’m worried because I don’t want to have any shedding issues. It’s truly hard to keep it or even get it anywhere over 20%. So I want to put in a humidifier that is connected to a humidifier controller so it would keep it around a certain humidity and won’t allow it to get too high. My question is would or should I also include a dehumidifier as well? I’m just curious because if I set the humidity controller for let’s say 35% it would turn on the humidifier until it made the tank feel 35% and would turn off until the humidity got low enough where it would than turn the humidifier back on to bring it up. So that being said would I still need a dehumidifier?

 

[Sadie]

Hello so recently I’ve been having issues with the humidity in my beardies tank and it’s been far too low for them and I’m worried because I don’t want to have any shedding issues. It’s truly hard to keep it or even get it anywhere over 20%. So I want to put in a humidifier that is connected to a humidifier controller so it would keep it around a certain humidity and won’t allow it to get too high. My question is would or should I also include a dehumidifier as well? I’m just curious because if I set the humidity controller for let’s say 35% it would turn on the humidifier until it made the tank feel 35% and would turn off until the humidity got low enough where it would than turn the humidifier back on to bring it up. So that being said would I still need a dehumidifier?

Have you tried a water dish in the tank? How low is it getting? 20% is fine-- what is it getting at nite? What kind of hygrometer are you using? Dials are usually off-- I would invest in a digital probe hygrometer before you do anything- place the probe on the back center wall- it will pick up the whole tank

 

[Skybug]

Where do you live that it's that dry and arid? Do you have a mesh top? You can try making a cardboard cutout for the top to keep humidity in (I personally did this to keep humidity out, so I guess it can be reversed) , the bowl idea is great but it's only practical with a lid otherwise the water will just evaporate straight upward. I would think if your beardie got ample water every other day and a weekly bath that would negate any dryness?

 

[Emilia Thuet]

Where do you live that it's that dry and arid? Do you have a mesh top? You can try making a cardboard cutout for the top to keep humidity in (I personally did this to keep humidity out, so I guess it can be reversed) , the bowl idea is great but it's only practical with a lid otherwise the water will just evaporate straight upward. I would think if your beardie got ample water every other day and a weekly bath that would negate any dryness?

I live in Toronto, Canada it’s just that our winter has been super dry and spring hasn’t fully kicked in over here yet, we’re almost there but it’s still chilly, windy but sunny. Though not the most conventional method of measuring humidity but my hair responds to it very well, and until my curls keep their shape and my hair is frizzy the humidity isn’t high yet lol. They have a wooden terrarium that keeps the heat in really well but my digital hygrometer doesn’t read anything over 16% unless I spray the hole tank down than it’ll go up in the 20s but usually not more than for 2 hours max. What’s worse is that I found out today that Cleopatra has about 2-3 layers of stuck shed all over her body and it’s not budging so my vet and I are trying to figure out how to remove it. And Starbucks has retained shed on his tail that looks to somewhat be coming off but he’s got about 2 layers of shed stuck there as well. I spray both of them down daily and make sure they drink a little bit of water daily to help with the shedding, as well as baths 2-3 times a week. The only thing that I’m worried about is the humidity being so low in their tanks that’s it’s causing their skin to dry up

 

[Emilia Thuet]

Have you tried a water dish in the tank? How low is it getting? 20% is fine-- what is it getting at nite? What kind of hygrometer are you using? Dials are usually off-- I would invest in a digital probe hygrometer before you do anything- place the probe on the back center wall- it will pick up the whole tank

I do have a water dish in their tank, even though they don’t drink from it. I have a digital hygrometer it’s not a probe though, the brand is called Thermopro and it’s their mini hygrometer (I’ll attach a picture). I just ordered a couple prob ones because why not have a couple different ways to measure it, Makes it more accurate anyways. At the moment it’s reading 9% for Cleo’s tank and her temperature are high 70s (she’s 12 and I find that she looses heat much quicker so I try to have her temps a little higher at night) and Starbucks’s tank is at 12% with his temps being mid 70s.

 

[Skybug]

I live in Toronto, Canada it’s just that our winter has been super dry and spring hasn’t fully kicked in over here yet, we’re almost there but it’s still chilly, windy but sunny. Though not the most conventional method of measuring humidity but my hair responds to it very well, and until my curls keep their shape and my hair is frizzy the humidity isn’t high yet lol. They have a wooden terrarium that keeps the heat in really well but my digital hygrometer doesn’t read anything over 16% unless I spray the hole tank down than it’ll go up in the 20s but usually not more than for 2 hours max. What’s worse is that I found out today that Cleopatra has about 2-3 layers of stuck shed all over her body and it’s not budging so my vet and I are trying to figure out how to remove it. And Starbucks has retained shed on his tail that looks to somewhat be coming off but he’s got about 2 layers of shed stuck there as well. I spray both of them down daily and make sure they drink a little bit of water daily to help with the shedding, as well as baths 2-3 times a week. The only thing that I’m worried about is the humidity being so low in their tanks that’s it’s causing their skin to dry up

Ahh u have dry winters that makes sense, there's a product called shedaid, which can't recommend it cause i personally haven't used it, but from my research of it and its ingredients (Ingredients: Water, solubilizing hydrotrope, glycerin, jojoba oil and vitamin E acetate in an oil base) the first 2 ingredients are to clean the water and after that it's basically essential oils and inert additives, if we take that at face value we can reason that maybe small amounts of olive oil or a safe lotion will help get his skin off, I've found with really hard stuck shed soaks don't really work(even with A toothbrush) , I end up using a blunt tweezers to remove it. Maybe ask your vet about some oil on his skin?

 

[Sadie]

I do have a water dish in their tank, even though they don’t drink from it. I have a digital hygrometer it’s not a probe though, the brand is called Thermopro and it’s their mini hygrometer (I’ll attach a picture). I just ordered a couple prob ones because why not have a couple different ways to measure it, Makes it more accurate anyways. At the moment it’s reading 9% for Cleo’s tank and her temperature are high 70s (she’s 12 and I find that she looses heat much quicker so I try to have her temps a little higher at night) and Starbucks’s tank is at 12% with his temps being mid 70s.

The digital probe hygrometer is going to work better---- the temps in the tank at nite should be 65-75 never anything over 75-- dragons like cool and dark -- the humidity in the tank is what helps dragons shed --- please never pull shed off -- let it come off on its own - pulling the shed off can cause scale damage bleed and get infected --- place the water dish on the hot side of the tank -- the water will evaporate putting moisture in the air-- if you want get the humidifier going during the day set it next to the tank -- shut it off at nite--- your humidity should not go to 70% I highly doubt it -- if it gets to 50% I would be surprised -- 30-50% is optimal but higher is not going to hurt them --- its when it gets to 70% and higher is caused for concern