I am having an impossible time keeping the tank humid

no matter how often I mist it, the gauge always slowly goes back down to 50-60 within an hour

Don't trust hygrometers, or humidity gauges or whatever you like to call them. Your setup is probably fine. I also recommend covering the top of the tank with aluminum foil or something to keep everything moist inside. It helps a lot.

Like me: I cover 3/4 of the P. imperator tank with foil, and I just cover my entire C. gracilis tank with foil which I then open and air out for a few minutes every 3 days or so. They love it in there. Hope that helps.

Yeah I do have it mostly covered with foil. Except for the spot where the heat lamp is, and an inch around it. I do see lots of moisture on the sides of the tank, but only where there's substrate, none above it. Thanks though [: lol I've been asking so many questions on this forum, I feel like a total noob.

Asking questions is great, you get help and others who see your questions get help too. Bring on the questions. Plus we love talking about this stuff. So you're not hurting anybody's feelings.

If it's cold where you live right now and you've got the heat on, then the air inside your house is going to be Extremely dry and it's probly sucking the moisture right out of the Viv. You could try using a humidifier in your home. It would cut down on chapped lips and static electricity too lol.

Patcho is right, hygros can be erroneous. However, because emps spend their life on the ground their usually ok because that's where the humidity says anyway. I personally do use a hygrometer, but that's just me.

You can also take a deep dish deli cup and fill it with smooth stones and water. The extra water will help keep it humid and the stones will keeps scorps from falling in.

For what it's worth, I have to spray my emp tank a few times a day in the dry winder months. You're not alone.

pixelsnpings wrote:

Patcho is right, hygros can be erroneous. However, because emps spend their life on the ground their usually ok because that's where the humidity says anyway. I personally do use a hygrometer, but that's just me.

I should have specified analog hygrometers are erroneous. Digital ones are more reliable. I have a digital thermo/hygro gauge, but I don't keep it in any specific enclosure. Just for testing the climate in certain enclosures and my room.

And yes, if the heater is on, it'll take a lot out of your vivarium. You actually have yours set up like mine with the lamp and the foil. Just remember the humidity near the top of the tank isn't important at all. If the substrate is moist, then the humidity will mostly be near the ground, where your scorpion hangs out.

A gravel bottom with a fill tube or a false bottom
will keep the substrate moist as well. I use a gravel
bottom in my viv and have not had issues with RH
since. Easy to set up and fairly inexpensive.
 

Agreed. A false bottom setup or coco-fiber mixed with chemical-free garden soil usually doubles the amount of moisture that the substrate can hold. Adding shallow water dishes are also beneficial for non-sling individuals

My suggestion: Nix the heat lamp. It causes the humidity to dry out rapidly. I would keep the top of your enclosure covered with foil like you are doing and use a heat map or FlexWatt attached to the back of the enclosure. This will help heat the tank from just above the substrate level and hold the humidity a bit better. I don't have heat lamps on any of my enclosures and all of my specimens are doing great. I even see it "rain" every now and then in one of my tropical enclosures.

I read in quite a few places that sphagnum moss is great for retaining humidity. Is this true as I was gonna go pick some up tomorrow?

Since we're talking about heat lamps, am I doing it wrong if I have the ir lamp pointed at the glass, and not through the top. Seems to me that much of the visible lights makes it inside, but I know ir is invisible. The glass gets hot in one spot, but I didn't think it was a problem.

Heat lamps essentially DEHYDRATE everything it's exposed to. Just use a heating mat on the side of the tank and then cover 3/4 of the top of the tank with plastic. Mist very well before laying the plastic, and the water will help seal the top and plastic, as well as stay very humid. I am able to keep temps around 85-90*F during the day with no light at all, and humidity never falls below 86%.

Thanks, IR. I guess I need to find a better heat mat because the kind I tried to use sucks.