Any ideas for humidity?

HaraKiri

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 4, 2007
Messages
44
Lately the weather here has been unnaturally hot. I am wondering if there is any way to help maintain the humidity and keep it up for me P. Imperator. Do any of you have any methods you use to maintain humidity besides the spraying? It isn't really effective in this weather as everything dries up quickly without any real moisture.
 

Metallicaman999

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
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May 11, 2007
Messages
102
false bottom tank, and cover the whole top of the enclosure with plexiglass, that should do it;)
 

HaraKiri

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 4, 2007
Messages
44
Hahah, I wish. But that could be something I might be doing in the near future. I currently have a tank with mesh screening across the top. Would covering part of this mesh with packing tape in the inside increase the humidity in a safe way?
 

Crono

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
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Feb 18, 2006
Messages
530
Just cover part of the screen with something- plexiglass, plastic wrap, tape, etc...
Also, just gently pour some water on to the substrate, misting does very little to raise humidity, so using water would help.
 

HaraKiri

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 4, 2007
Messages
44
Thank you. Maintaining it with my T has always been a pain in the ass so I was looking for a more efficient way to make this work for my emp. Thank you both for the awesome ideas. :D
 

Mr. Mordax

Arachnoking
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Oct 22, 2006
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I have to agree with MetallicaMan on the false-bottom. It helps immensely with my forest scorps and isn't too difficult to set up.
 

HaraKiri

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 4, 2007
Messages
44
Yeah the bacteria and molds is what I worried about, but the tape seems to be effective for now. I will look for a more effective future method in the meantime. He is just sort of doing laps around the tank and up the glass atm
 

Jaffster

Arachnoknight
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May 30, 2007
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178
I started with a vermiculite bottom, this holds moisture brilliantly. I was going to remove it and just add potting soil / peat moss but instead I just fitted a tube down to the vermiculite in the corner then placed the soil / moss over the top.

Every few days I just pour 1/4 pint of water down the tube, the vermiculite is excellent at sucking the water up.

If anything, mine's TOO humid as the glass keeps steaming up!

Give it a try, a bag of vermiculite cost me £4.
 

Mr. Mordax

Arachnoking
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Oct 22, 2006
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That sounds like a lightweight version of a false-bottom (mine are HEAVY! :mad:). Not a bad idea . . .
 

HaraKiri

Arachnopeon
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May 4, 2007
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44
This is a wonderful idea! I'll see about picking up some vermiculite later today hopefully to try this out. Thanks you guys!
 

marcelo_987

Arachnosquire
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May 4, 2006
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116
I've never seen it myself but I've heard that vermiculite affects the scorpions exoskeleton, especially dark scorps like emps and forest. And those are the type of scorpions to dig down to the vermiculite. It would be great for tropical bark scorpions that don't dig. It is suppost to put a metallic shine on the scorpion, which cannot be washed off.

Your best bet would be to create a false bottom and cover the top, that way the humidity should be around 80%-90%.
 

Bayushi

Arachnoprince
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Mar 26, 2005
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1,236
basically what vermiculite does is stick to the scorpion like gun to the underside of a desk. this has two disadvantages firstly it makes the scorpion look really nasty and dirty all the time and more importantly it can cause a blockage to the anus preventing the scorpion from defecating... Now the scorpion looking dirty is no big deal, the scorpion not being able to relieve itself is deadly( i know, i am stating to obvious).
 

HaraKiri

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 4, 2007
Messages
44
A good point... would the substrate layed over the vermiculite prevent this? Not sure 'cause of the possibility of slight "burrowing" which could just bring up the vermiculite.
 

Bayushi

Arachnoprince
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Mar 26, 2005
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i guess it all depends on the scorpion. i have an emperor that never burrows. it's very content to use an artificial hide. on the other have i have an emp that, regardless of how deep the substrate is, digs right to the bottom of the enclosure
 

HaraKiri

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 4, 2007
Messages
44
Mines jsut crazy, he runs laps around the place, then sleeps in his flower pot hide. He continues all the same when he wakes up. The way I do it now seems to maintain it fine.
 

ideas1

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
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Jun 4, 2007
Messages
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Mines jsut crazy, he runs laps around the place, then sleeps in his flower pot hide. He continues all the same when he wakes up. The way I do it now seems to maintain it fine.
Runs around, what's the temperature in the enclosure?
 

marcelo_987

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
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May 4, 2006
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116
I wouldn't risk using vermiculite with an emp or any other burrow species.

If your emp is running around during the day, when it's light out, than you have either a really cool emp or something it needs is missing (humidity, temperature, water, food)
 
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