Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone,

My ATB seems a little dehydrated. The skin just doesn't feel as normal or tight as usual. I think that the humidity in the tank is too low and that he is losing a lot of internal water by breathing. I just moved him from a 10g stood on end to a 20g high. When ever I switch from one enclosure to another with this guy, I have trouble getting everything perfect again. This time, the problem seems to be humidity.

I havn't taken cage temps in a while, but the cool end is about 78 due to summer temps in my house. The hot end has a heating pad under neath it. The warm end of the tank is never utilized unless he is digesting food. In this case, he lays under the bedding. There is a water dish over the heating pad that is about 1/4 of the tank floor size. I mist 2 to 3 times a day and often times cover 1/2 of the lid with plastic wrap to keep humidity up. I am even having a mildew problem on a piece of wood. I have aspen bedding, but it is often moist all the time because of constant misting. I change the bedding periodically to ensure bacteria or fungus doesn't grow.

Here are my ideas right now.

-Replace all wood with fake wood so it is easier to bleach and clean.

-Put an air bubbler in the water dish. The cage lid is very tight and I have to figure out a way to get the air line in there.

-Direct the air from a cool air humidifier into the tank. I was going to use hose so that it vents into the enclosure. This will increase air flow, but hopefully still maintain humidity. My only concern is that it will be too cold. I havn't come up with a way to warm the air before it reaches the tank.

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave

I have no problems with humidity in my cage using cypress mulch as a substrate. The Cypress looks good, resists mold and mildew, and also does a good job at keeping humidty up. The aspen tends to abosorb the moisture from the cage more. The bubbler in the water bowl is a good idea if you still have troubles after going to cypress mulch. You can get Cypress mulch at Walmart and Home Depot for around $4.00 a bag.

Thanks for the reply.

Cypress mulch is a safe substrate to use for these guys? I lead my ATB up to the top of the tank to grab feeders from me. This way, when she coils and drops down, she won't be eating the substrate. She always eats in the air. So, ingestion of the mulch wouldn't be an issue. Respiratory and skin wise it is safe though?

I already got rid of the fake piece of wood that was in her tank. I don't know what type it was, but it would get bad mildew after only a couple days. Into a desert setup it goes... There is one piece of mildew/mold resistant wood left in there and I also tossed in some fake branches. Switching to mulch will be the next step. I've just got to wait until stores open again after this holidy and I've actually got time to make it down to a nursery. My local home depots and walmarts don't carry cypress mulch, but I found a nursery that does.

Thanks,
David