Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am planning on building a new cage, but there is always the issue of not knowing exactly how well it will control heat and humidity. I plan on building a 8'x2.5'x2' wooden enclosure with sliding glass doors. The only air escape will be the small space bewteen the glass (if any), and 4-5 vents. Does anybody here recommend using a thermostat or a misting machine? Is it even necessary? If so, what models/brands would you recommend?

I use the Mr. Moisture misting system (www.wetworksms.com). It works great and I have no complaints other than that it only comes with 2 or 3 nozzles and you'll likely need more (they run $7 a piece). I have 7 on my tank. It mists wonderfully and the timer it comes with is great, though I usually just chose to run it myself when necessary. It runs about $100. For a thermostat, I've got the Alife thermostat, which works fine and is really cheap $20, as far as thermostats go (http://lllreptile.com/v2/content/catalog/?section_string=cage-supplies&category_string=thermometers-and-thermostats&product_string=alife-reptile-electronic-thermostat-with-probe). Hope this helps. Feel free to ask me for more info.

There is a special on these thermostats at LLL right now. But they say these are single zone thermostats as apposed to a dual zone. What does this mean? Also, I am very unfamiliar with a thermostat, I have never used one before (I feel irresponsible, but I did not know they were that important). Do you just plug your heat sources into them and they regulate the wattage? Don't certain electrical devices (heat pads, bulbs, etc.) require a certain amount of wattage to even turn on? How many devices can you plug into one thermostat? If it is not too much trouble, could you please explain in detail how these things work?!? Also, do you use the mister to make things easier, or do you really feel it is necessary?

First off, I use the Mr. Moisture system more out of convenience than anything else. I suppose if you keep the susbstrate moist enough by occassionaly misting it by hand with a spray bottle, you could save yourself the $100. It would take a lot of work though. It just saves me a lot of trouble and I think it looks awesome, too. It's a real crowd pleaser when it starts "raining" in my habitat. As for the thermostat, I'm glad you picked up the fact that it's only a single zone. I totally neglected to mention that. I myself only have the one thermostat, and only have one thing hooked up to it, a 150 nightglo bulb, that stays on the cool side of the cage and comes on when necessary to keep the temps between 75-80. You would need multiple thermostats for each area of the cage you want at a different temperature. I have actually figured out, through trial and error, what combination of bulbs and wattages produces the correct heat throughout the entire cage, so my only concern is making sure it doesn't fall below 75 on the cool side of the cage while she's sleeping. Another word of caution, thermostats work best with lights, though not powersuns or activelights since they take about 10 minutes to get going and have to cool down again after being turned off to be turned back on. They really won't work at all with ceramic heaters either. You should check the temps in you cage first with a thermometer and see how everything is. A thermostat really just serves the purpose of heating the cage if it falls below a certain gradient, which is why I've only got one to keep her cool side of the cage in check when she's sleeping at night and all other heat sources are turned off. Hope this helps. Sorry it's so long. But feel free to ask away if this doesn't answer everything.

Im really interested in getting one of these. I have a humidifier and a large bowl of water in my tegu enclosure under a heatlamp and still have trouble staying at 50% humidity in winter.

How difficult is it to clean these things out? and does the mist build up to droplets? -so i could use it to water my chameleon?

thnx

I have yet to clean the Mr. Moisture misting system and I've had it since June. As long as you use distilled water only you shouldn't have any problems. The mist will build up to droplets when it touches a surface, like a wall.

Does anyone have any problems like Mrs. Pierre said with mold? How does this misting system affect your substrate? Please describe the mist. Is it ultra fine, floating on the air, or is it more like a manual spray bottle? What is your relative humidty since you started using this thing?

Even in the dryest areas of the country a tegus cage does not need a misting system . You don't want it raining in your cage at all especially if the cage does not have a lot of ventilation .If your cage gets to damp you could have problems with molds, mildues , and fungus .
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Stella St.Pierre
www.bluetegu.com