humidity tips

[Mark Shingleton]

hi guys,
just wandering if any one had any tips on keeping humidity in the enclosure... my enclosures dry out really fast and it seems i am constantly spraying. i have recently got a few t;s that need higher humidity and im in their spraying constantly, i got some of that sphagmoss stuff however you spell it but that dries just as fast as the substrate... i used to use those dial hygrometers from tss but out of the nine t's that have them in their enclosure only two of them actually work... i heat my t room with one of those plug in radiator thingys, and wandered if this is whats drying them out so fast... i dont want the new ts that need humid enviroment to die because their two dry
any tips/advice
thanx
mark

[Jamie Cooper]

hi guys,
just wandering if any one had any tips on keeping humidity in the enclosure... my enclosures dry out really fast and it seems i am constantly spraying. i have recently got a few t;s that need higher humidity and im in their spraying constantly, i got some of that sphagmoss stuff however you spell it but that dries just as fast as the substrate... i used to use those dial hygrometers from tss but out of the nine t's that have them in their enclosure only two of them actually work... i heat my t room with one of those plug in radiator thingys, and wandered if this is whats drying them out so fast... i dont want the new ts that need humid enviroment to die because their two dry
any tips/advice
thanx
mark

Hi Mark,

Firstly those dial hygrometers are hopeless! I remember being told this when I first started out in the hobby and I decided to buy a few and make up my own mind - waste of money LOL. I'm amazed shops still sell them!

What species are you keeping? I keep several Avicularia slings which require about 70 - 75% humidity. To obtain this I keep my substrate moist and lightly mist once, daily. Having said that, misting will only increase the humidity levels by a few %. Without the use of a hygrometer I have no idea what the percentage of humidity is inside my enclosures, but I imagine it is high enough. If your spiders are big enough a full water dish helps too.

Too much ventilation will contribute to drying out your tanks quicker as well.

Jamie.

[Mark Shingleton]

avic avic... pokie ornata and a seemanni i think are the three that like their humidity... my seemanni is only small, prolly about an inch if that, so im using those water gel things so she dont drown, most of my enclosures are those standard size faunairium what you can pick up for a fiver at wilkinson, the little guys have the mini ones. just a bit worried cuz if i spray in the morning, all the cages will be bone dry again by night time... and the water bowls dry out in no time too so i use the water gel for them all now... the room itself is kept at around 22/26 ( temp )

[Christopher Smallman]

most of my enclosures are those standard size faunairium what you can pick up for a fiver at wilkinson, the little guys have the mini ones. just a bit worried cuz if i spray in the morning, all the cages will be bone dry again by night time... and the water bowls dry out in no time too so i use the water gel for them all now... the room itself is kept at around 22/26 ( temp )

Most of my spiders are from the drier areas in the world but I do tip a cup of water down the side of the wall of their containers every now and again that way the substrate stays bone dry on the surface but remains moist deep down.

All mine are kept in the same enclosures and I have got good results in the raising of the humidity by using a split plastic bag tapeing it to the lid leaving the short ends open for ventalation of course with my lot the humidity was a little high 80-85% that was with just a waterdish in with them so thats why I just tip some water in with them. You will also be amazed that the waterdishes dont evaporate at an alarming speed with the lid taped up.

If you want to make the whole room humid buy a clothes horse (hanger) some old towels soaked and wrung out placed on it will work getting up to 60-70%. Im thinking of getting a small wattage heater/therm as used in aquariums in a bucket of water to see how well that works

Chris.

[Jamie Cooper]

avic avic... pokie ornata and a seemanni i think are the three that like their humidity... my seemanni is only small, prolly about an inch if that, so im using those water gel things so she dont drown, most of my enclosures are those standard size faunairium what you can pick up for a fiver at wilkinson, the little guys have the mini ones. just a bit worried cuz if i spray in the morning, all the cages will be bone dry again by night time... and the water bowls dry out in no time too so i use the water gel for them all now... the room itself is kept at around 22/26 ( temp )

I have no experience with the other 2, but your A.avic should be OK at around 70%. I wouldn't trust those dial hygrometers though, they can really throw your judgement off. Those faunariums do have a lot of ventilation which might be your problem. Some people suggest using cling film to cover some of the holes.

I wouldn't worry too much about your misting drying up. It only raises the humidity by about 3 - 4% and will only last a few hours anyway. I provide it for my slings as drinking water as opposed to raising the humidity levels.

What kind of substrate are you using? I use peat/vermiculite mix which can hold a fair amount of water without going boggy.

Jamie.

[Mark Shingleton]

i think most of my ts are happy with drier conditions so the misting has been fine. i might try that cling film/carrier bag over some holes. i put the cloths hoarse in that room once cuz my work cloths were still soaking and that been the warmist room in the house seemed like the fastest way of drying them, i went in a few hours later and it was really humid... i paniked then and thought knowin my look ill end up making it too humid...
i use those substsrates that come as abrick and just add water... differant names all the time, i just read somewhere else that mixing with vermiculite can hold moisture better so might start doing that.... wich is a bit anoying cuz i just spent all last week redoing all the enclosures, new substrate, hides, decor etc.. now ill have to do it all again... ( well only for the humidity lovers i spose )
thanx for replys guys
mark

[Jamie Cooper]

i use those substsrates that come as abrick and just add water... differant names all the time
mark

I assume your talking about that coir stuff? One thing I didn't like about that sub was that I always had mould appearing. That's why I changed to peat moss instead. Never looked back.

Jamie.

[Mark Shingleton]

yeah the coir stuff... i not had mould yet... well, one enclosure had mushrooms starting so i cleaned it... ill prolly pick up some peat moss then when i get the vermiculite... better to change before the mould comes then find mould and have no money to do anything about it

[Jamie Cooper]

yeah the coir stuff... i not had mould yet... well, one enclosure had mushrooms starting so i cleaned it... ill prolly pick up some peat moss then when i get the vermiculite... better to change before the mould comes then find mould and have no money to do anything about it

It might be a good idea to switch to peat moss, especially if your going to be cutting off some of the ventilation in your enclosures. I can only seem to find it in these enormous bales that are about twice the size of a bag of plaster! It's great value for money though. I think I payed about £8.00 for one bale. Just make sure the bag you buy contains no additives.

Jamie.

[Christopher Smallman]

I bought 2 x 100 litre bales for £!0 on Thursday when it was raining here in rural Shropshire all ready to use over the weekend for some of my big girls only to find it was frozen solid in the shed lol.

Chris.

[Mark Shingleton]

lol
does it metter how i mix it... like shuld it be 50% each or more peat or more vermiculite???
this has nothing to do with this thread but just thought id say... i just been up to my spare room to check on the guys and what not and looking at my B vagans sling, think shes ready to moult, then i started sorting out all the spare pots and stuff and found the tub she was delivered in.... turns out shes not a B vagans at all... shes a B klaasi... wierd! ive had her on my list as vagans, and ive been telling everyone shes vagans... i must have got mixed up when i added her to the list on my profile and called her vagans ever since... cant think of why that happend, but on the plus side I HAVE A B KLAASI, WOO!

[Jamie Cooper]

lol
does it metter how i mix it... like shuld it be 50% each or more peat or more vermiculite???

I mix it 50/50 (approx). But it's totally up to you.

I always give the peat a quick blast in the microwave before putting it into my enclosures just to kill off any nasties that might be lurking.

Jamie.

[Colin D Wilson]

Keeping humidity constant isn't really whats needed to be honest, there's deviations naturally so i'd mist the tank quite heavily and leave to dry out, then mist again (the time between mistings will depend on the conditions of the room they're in, central heating tends to be a dryer heat and leads to more regular misting)
Avicularia and Poecilotheria tend to do better with a fluctuating humidity level as i've found out over the years, constant humidity with low air movement tended to make the spiders lethargic and disrupted their feeding/moulting habits and played havoc with breeding attempts.

[jason botting]

i use a thing called a little dripper this is a plastic tub with screw on lid at the bottom is a tiny tap from that comes a flex tube that i have at the top of the glass where the heat mats are i set the drip at about 6 drips a min. this keeps my humidity at a good 80%

[Stanley A. Schultz]

... just wandering if any one had any tips on keeping humidity in the enclosure...

I performed a search on this message board and found little that might help you. Sorry.

It is generally considered bad manners to send a poster on one message board to another message board, but in this case I either must do so, or repeat a lecture that has already been repeated far too many times. And, at the moment I don't have the time. Sorry again.

Go to http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/search.php. In the "Keyword(s):" box, type or copy-and-paste humidity. In the "User Name:" box, type or copy-and-paste Pikaia. Click "Search Now" at the bottom.

Then, while your computer and the 'Net are doing their thing, pour yourself a glass/cup/stein/flagon of your favorite beverage and clear your schedule. You have a lot of reading ahead of you.

If your questions aren't satisfactorily answered, perform the same search on this message board merely using the keyword humidity.

Not what you expected, I'll bet. But, it's the best I can do at the moment.