Humidity?, My new setup!

[ideas1]

Hello everyone, this is my new set-up. I'm having trouble getting the humidity higher than 70. I have around two inches of rock and about six inches of coconut , I mist daily and I pour water down the tube that goes directly to the rocks at the bottom. I'm currently using a 75 watt ceramic bulb. I want to apologize for the blurry pictures, but my camera is a bit outdated.

 

[JMoran1097]

great looking setup! the false bottom setup with the pipe is a great idea to increase humidity, but that is a large surface area for one P.Imp. of course, a larger surface area means that you are going to lose humidity with an open screen top. what i do is cover 3/4 of the top with a towel.

 

[ideas1]

Thanks JMoran1097, I have 4 P.Imps in there they just burrow and I only see them hunting at night I have 3/4 of the tank covered in pexiglass, maybe if I cover that with the a moist towel?

I have another question if they burrow and it collapses do they die?

 

[tabor]

I've never had a scorpion or tarantula die due to a burrow collapsing. Maybe if a rock it burrowed under shifted down and crushed him or something, but never just from collapsing peat moss/coco fiber.

As for the humidity, 70 seems high enough to me, but if your determined to get it higher maybe lose the ceramic heater? It's probably sucking the moisture right out of your substrate.

Neat setup btw!

 

[JungleGuts]

yea get something to cover part of the screen top, cerian wrap works well. That will get your humidity to where it should be.

 

[Brian S]

Ok for starters dont worry about that hygrometer. As long as the substrate is moist then your humidity is good enough

 

[ideas1]

Thanks for the help I will use cerian wrap to cover the rest, well 70 is high I remember that I needed 80-90 for P. Imps. Well at least for them to grow and molt correctly am I wrong for thinking this?

Well I'm glad if coconut fiber cant really crush them.

How long to they stay in the ground for?

 

[ideas1]

So does that mean moist and just as long as I have the temp at 85 well it ranges from 75 -85

 

[tabor]

Emps will stayed burrowed as long as they feel like it. Try observing them at night, as this is when they tend to venture around. Also, they might be staying burrowed to avoid the heat of the ceramic heater... How long are you leaving that thing on each day? Do you turn it off at night?

My first emp that i had (8 years ago) was kept at room temperature (75 degrees or so) and lived fine for several years. Also like Brian said, ignore the hydrometer, its probably not all that accurate anyways. Keep the substrate moist but not swampy.

Maybe try turning off the heat lamp for a couple of days and see how this affects the humidity level and the habits of your scorps.

 

[JMoran1097]

So does that mean moist and just as long as I have the temp at 85 well it ranges from 75 -85

if you generously spray the substrate like at the most 2 times a day while keeping the top 3/4 covered and the overall temp is normally at room temp-80F, you should be fine. i know, the care sheets all say to have a light, but in reality, it's not completely necessary. usually for the desert species, but not really tropical species.

 

[ideas1]

Sounds good, I was mistaken on how this thing worked. I had that ceramic bulb on 24/7.

 

[JMoran1097]

Thanks JMoran1097, I have 4 P.Imps in there they just burrow and I only see them hunting at night I have 3/4 of the tank covered in pexiglass, maybe if I cover that with the a moist towel?

I have another question if they burrow and it collapses do they die?

hmm, plexiglass and you still have the problem? or did you just add the plexiglass cover? at any rate, i just use a dry towel and lay it over 3/4 of the enclosure.

 

[Brian S]

So does that mean moist and just as long as I have the temp at 85 well it ranges from 75 -85

yes

if you generously spray the substrate like at the most 2 times a day while keeping the top 3/4 covered and the overall temp is normally at room temp-80F, you should be fine. i know, the care sheets all say to have a light, but in reality, it's not completely necessary. usually for the desert species, but not really tropical species.

misting is a pour way to raise humidity as that will not saturate the substrate. Pouring water either directly on or thru the tube of the so called "false bottom" set up is the only way to keep the humidity adequate despite what these poor excuses for caresheets say that you read on the internet.

 

[ideas1]

So no misting? Just added water to the "false bottom"?

 

[JMoran1097]

yes


misting is a pour way to raise humidity as that will not saturate the substrate. Pouring water either directly on or thru the tube of the so called "false bottom" set up is the only way to keep the humidity adequate despite what these poor excuses for caresheets say that you read on the internet.

misting is, but spraying generously isn't all that different from inundating.

 

[Brian S]

So no misting? Just added water to the "false bottom"?

correct

misting is, but spraying generously isn't all that different from inundating.

still its easier to just pour water and be done with it. i guess if you want to constantly mist (spray) all the time then more power to you but if you want to not mess with it but about once a month just pour water

 

[ideas1]

Ok sounds like a plan
1. Wrap the cover
2. Forget about the hydrometer
3. Take out the ceramic bulb and I'll replace it with a 50watt (red bulb)
4. Don't mist or mist a little, pour water down the tube to maintain moisture.

 

[JMoran1097]

correct


still its easier to just pour water and be done with it. i guess if you want to constantly mist (spray) all the time then more power to you but if you want to not mess with it but about once a month just pour water

exactly. that was simply my argument however. for convenience sake, you could just pour water down the tube, but you could also spray generously. neither one will be more beneficial than the other really.