Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey folks.
I just set up a plastic rack for my honduran hatchlings (this is my first experience with a rack,) and I've got a problem. The humidity is through the roof! The top of each compartment collects condensation and drips around a bit!
Do I need more ventilation holes in the bins? Should I lower the temps? The only water in the bins themselves is a tiny little PVC pipe cap serving as a water bowl.
Any suggestions?
-----
-Paul

Hey Paul, humidity/condensation is caused by evaporation from heat and moist air contacting cooler surface. Two thoughts. Are your PVC pipe caps over the heat element? And as you already thought, w/out ventilation, humidity will climb. Usually there is enough ventilation even with just a small gap at top, but in your case maybe not enough. I live in a dryer climate and don't have those problems, are you in a more naturally humid area? All factors in determining how to solve your problem.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, selectively bred from good stock)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
11.24 BRB
10.16 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Hi Dave-
Thanks for the thoughts.

Yeah, I intentionally place the PVC caps at the end opposite the heat, so that's not an issue. However, I have recently relocated my snakes to a room in the basement just for them, and I'm not entirely sure of the ambient humidity in there, but it's probably higher than the rest of the house.

I'll leave out a humidity guage to figure out what the ambient air is like, and I do think perhaps the heat is up a bit much (I'm waiting on some more flexwatt and a new t-stat, so I'm just kinda winging it at the moment.)

-----
-Paul

I seem to get excess humidity in my hatchling shoeboxes, mostly caused by spillage, so I use a bigger water dish but half full. For now, that has seemed to work. They don't spill it that way. Maybe put a small humidifier in your basement, if that's the problem. Derek

If the air in that basement is pretty cold, that's probably the main reason you're having excess condensation. Try putting a little ceramic or some other heater in there. That will warm it up some and dry the air out a bit.

I noticed you've got moss in the hatchling tub. I live in a dry place, so I put containers with damp moss in each snake' tub or cage. I use deli cups for neonates and tupperwares for larger snakes. They like them as hides, but more importantly it helps them have a proper shed. I wet the moss thouroughly then wring it out well before putting it in. Checking for mold about once a week is important if you do this. I put fresh moss in if there's any hint of moldy smell in the moss cup.

I also have a few leopard and fat tailed geckos. The fat tails like a fair amount of humidity, so I've put damp moss over their hides. The one with the most moss has condensation on the front of the tub every morning. I'm going to switch to putting the moss inside a tupperware with a hole cut in the lid for the geckos to hide in, like The Urban Gecko does. There's less condensation and it's cleaner that way.