Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The hygrometer I have in the Dumeril's cage is digital. I liked the accurate reading that it displayed, so I decided to go out and get another one (I have a ribbon snake...no problems so far, eating like a champ and had a successful shed recently). They didn't have the same brand available, so I went and bought a different hygrometer. For whatever reason, I decided to test the new hygrometer in the Dumeril's cage. The old hygrometer said 64% while the newer one said 83%. Needless to say, I rushed to turn off the humidifier.

Along with the hygrometer, I bought some bedding for the boa to replace the unsightly newspapers. I removed the repti-bark because the Dumeril's was sick. The new bedding I purchased was fir and sphagnum peat moss mix. The ribbon snake has Cypress mulch, which he absolutely enjoys because he camouflages well against it.

I have to say, I love this bedding very much. It stays damp, and the humidity has hovered near 60-63% for about 3 hours now (according to the new hygrometer).

That would most certainly explain a lot of things. For one, I need to buy hygrometers in pairs, just to make sure they're both working right.

I am curious how you know that your original hygrometer was reading accurately. Most of the lower price hygrometers are notorious for being inaccurate and can easily be off by 10% or more. The mid range to higher end hygrometers will sometimes be available with a certification of accuracy that shows that the one you purchased has been checked against a NIST traceable hygrometer. It is worth it to purchase one really good traceable hygrometer to use to check all of your other ones against at different humidity points. An easy rough check of a hydrometer can be done as follows:

1.Place some salt in a bottle cap or small cup and dampen it with a few drops of water (without dissolving it). To the consistency of wet sand.

2.Carefully place the wet salt and the hygrometer inside a see-through container and close tightly. You can use a zip lock bag provided it seals good and you leave some air inside as well.

3.Let it sit for 6 to 8 hours at room temperature and note the reading on the hygrometer without opening the container. It should read 75%, the difference is how much your hygrometer is off.

4.If it has an adjustment screw or other adjustment device, adjust to 75% through a small hole made in the bag.

Kelly

I didn't know if the original hygrometer was accurate or not. It never crossed my mind to check its accuracy until I had another hygrometer disagree.

I will try that experiment with both and set them accordingly so that I'll hopefully have two accurate hygrometers to go by.

(I should have known something wasn't right when it kept saying that this Texas weather was too dry. Oh well...live and learn.)