Humidity

Jonathan6303

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May 14, 2021
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@Dorifto why is my humidity so high is it the moss, plant. I don’t get it
0B70E93E-B9D9-4FB6-A3A1-D06C0DA15B00.jpeg
The enclosure has cross top and front ventilation. It’s a tarantula cribs large. Only half the substrate is moist. So why
 

TheWidowsPeak

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Feb 19, 2003
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My guess is the thermometer/ hygrometer is off. It's reading 99 degrees and 68% humidity which seems pretty high to me from what I can see in the photo
 

TheWidowsPeak

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Take the meter out and leave it for an hour or so. Maybe the sensor has water in it or something.
 

Jonathan6303

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Honestly though as long as your spider is happy and healthy there is no need to worry about the humidity
For the most part yes but my goal with this enclosure is to replicate there natural habitat as mush as possible. Instead of giving it a house I want to give it a mansion
 

AphonopelmaTX

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@Dorifto why is my humidity so high is it the moss, plant. I don’t get it
I use indoor/ outdoor thermohygrometers in my spider room to compare RH and temperature values in tarantula enclosures and the room. Finding the answer to your question is quite easy.

1. Take it out and place it next to the enclosure. Does the humidity value drop to a level that seems reasonable for the room? If so, it works properly.
2. Put it in another enclosure, if you have one, preferably one with dry soil. What does the humidity value change to? Does the value in a dry enclosure seem reasonable?
3. Put it back into the new Avic enclosure. Does the humidity value go back up to 99%? If so, you have your answer. The enclosure doesn't have suitable ventilation to let the water vapor escape.

If the RH value seems unreasonable for the room or in another tarantula enclosure that is dry, then your thermohygrometer is busted and a better quality one is needed.
 

Jonathan6303

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I use indoor/ outdoor thermohygrometers in my spider room to compare RH and temperature values in tarantula enclosures and the room. Finding the answer to your question is quite easy.

1. Take it out and place it next to the enclosure. Does the humidity value drop to a level that seems reasonable for the room? If so, it works properly.
2. Put it in another enclosure, if you have one, preferably one with dry soil. What does the humidity value change to? Does the value in a dry enclosure seem reasonable?
3. Put it back into the new Avic enclosure. Does the humidity value go back up to 99%? If so, you have your answer. The enclosure doesn't have suitable ventilation to let the water vapor escape.

If the RH value seems unreasonable for the room or in another tarantula enclosure that is dry, then your thermohygrometer is busted and a better quality one is needed.
Outside it’s about 35-40%. It dropped down to 80s when I put it on the cork bark but two weeks ago when I had her on bone dry substrate it was 99%
 

AphonopelmaTX

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Outside it’s about 35-40%. It dropped down to 80s when I put it on the cork bark but two weeks ago when I had her on bone dry substrate it was 99%
That sounds strange that you would see a 99% reading on dry substrate so I am starting to agree with the others that the hygrometer might be wildly inaccurate or broken. The only time I see 99% humidity in any my tarantula enclosures is when the soil is saturated with water. If you need a recommendation for a new device, I use an ExTech indoor/ outdoor themometer and hygro-thermometer, both with probes, and got them from Amazon. Last I checked the hygro-themometer has a calibration kit for the hygrometer probe which is nice.

I also agree with @me and my Ts on not worrying too much about it as long as the tarantula is doing ok.
 

Jonathan6303

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I think I just remove the hydrometer. I kinda wanted to replicate a extremely natural habitat down to humidity and everything. See the difference even if it is small. Though she seems happy and is webbing up her hide. I think want to add a few more decorations. Maybe a plants or two. Another piece of cork bark.
 

Dorifto

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@Dorifto why is my humidity so high is it the moss, plant. I don’t get it
View attachment 407959
The enclosure has cross top and front ventilation. It’s a tarantula cribs large. Only half the substrate is moist. So why
Easy, you need a simple temp drop to raise the RH, and the effect would be greater id the air enters at the same level where the moisture and the RH reader is. Also those hygrometers need some air flow to read RH properly, and being so close to the moistute source and without enough air movement they read almost 100% all the time, which is not real RH as their are reading the saturated air that could be at ground level. So place it higher. If it's really at 100% you should start to see condensation.

Imho that enclosure does not have enough ventilation in order to keep them too moist, with wet moss, plants etc why? Depending on the volume and the air flow, a simple water dish can raise the humidity levels by several points, so adding more moisture without increasing the ventilation will raise it a lot, and imho that the case here. While this is not and issue if you live in a dry and warm climate, as warm air can hold more water and being drier it takes it faster, but in less warmer climates/conditions you will need way more ventilation/air flow in order to keep it lower.

If you want to keep it with plants, I'd add another row down low, and a round hole on top, at least. This will keep air moving more efficiently.

Do you have anothet hygrometer? To make a comparison.

I think I just remove the hydrometer. I kinda wanted to replicate a extremely natural habitat down to humidity and everything. See the difference even if it is small. Though she seems happy and is webbing up her hide. I think want to add a few more decorations. Maybe a plants or two. Another piece of cork bark.
To achieve humidity you don't need wet substrate always. As I told you, in some cases a simple water dish is enough. That's why a lot of people believe they can be kept dry, while in reality they are offering that humidity via water dishes without knowing it.

In your case, before removing it, you can take it out to read external conditions, and to remove any condensation that could be inside. After some time if it reads correctly, it can give you a good idea about your room conditions, so you can add moisture accordingly if needed.

Also keep in mind that the plants also raise the humidity via evapotranspiration, so you need less moist area in order to achieve the same RH.
 

l4nsky

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Jan 3, 2019
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The humidity reader might be in the moss so it reading how wet the moss is
Take the meter out and leave it for an hour or so. Maybe the sensor has water in it or something.
These are the correct answers. From just eyeballing it, it looks like the hygrometer is of a type that can't be calibrated. That's fine, there's no need to spend the money to get one that can be calibrated. Just be mindful that the numbers are ballpark and can be thrown off quite easily. Anyways, I digress. The actual humidity sensor is kept inside the plastic case of the hygrometer and the humidity is technically measured on the inside of the device. There are small holes that allow air to flow through the case to allow the readings to be as close as possible to the ambient humidity. In this instance, it appears that a lot of moist air got into the case, probably from being placed directly onto the wet moss, and has possibly condensed inside. You'll need to allow the air inside the case to 'normalize' for lack of a better term. Place it on a wire rack or something similar (the more air flow around it, the better) outside of the enclosure for a day or two. The dryer air will slowly pull the moisture from inside the case as it passes through the small ventilation holes and the readings should return to an acceptable range. If you're going to place it back in the enclosure, I'd elevate it or take some other precaution to make sure moisture doesn't become trapped in it again.

Thanks,
--Matt
 
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