Humidity problems...

Alright, so I am having issues keeping good humidity levels in my emp's tank. The meter reads around 15%. I am using a 10 gallon glass tank with a mesh top. I have the heat source on one side of the tank, to allow for a hot side and a cool side. For a water dish, i am using a medium sized bowl from Flukers that I think was called the Lizard Jacuzzi. I keep it full. I am using Eco earth for substrate and I have live plants in the tank. The ground is moist to the touch, but not saturated. I actually had it a bit too wet for a bit, but the meter still only read 30 to 50% except for 10 to 15 minutes after I would mist the habitat, where it would be reading 70 to 80%. Since the substrate is at the right moisture, should I ignore the hydrometer readings, or how can I boost the ambient humidity levels without completely soaking the substrate?

try putting a wet tower over it. that boosted my humidity alot. Is your hygrometer at the top or bottom of the tank?

It's at the top in the middle of the back wall of the tank. One of those combo hygrometer/thermometer things that comes with some of those starter kits. Should I move it closer the substrate?

is it a digital or just an analog? Yea i put mine close to the substrate behind a plant so the scorpions dont grab it. But you should get better readings.

It's analog. Kind of a cheapy thing. Cool... I moved it down. Now it's reading around 50%. What's a wet tower? Or were you meaning wet towel?

woops i meant towel lol

those analog ones are iffy with readings . but if ur substrate is moist than it should be fine

Haha. Alright, cool. Thanks a lot. That is comforting.

How many inches of substrate do you have in there?
I'd say about 4-6 inches is fine and having the entire substrate damp will work.
And yes, the location of the hygrometer will affect the readings. It's better to put it closer to the substrate because that's where your scorpion is. Remember that your scorpion will also be under hides or in a burrow in which the humidity will be higher. You can try to cover the top to block off ventilation, but I don't believe it's necessary. My scorpions have been alive and healthy for a few years with just 4-6 inches of substrate that is entirely damp.

+1 on all the above. Hygrometer will probably read significantly less humid while it is higher, so humidity will be slightly higher on the ground. Also if you cover half of the tank it will keep the humidity in but watch for mold as circulation will be cut down. I noticed using a heating lamp kills the humidity so I try to use a heat pad (despite the fact that they all suck) on my tropical set up. This keeps things warms but doesn't zap the moisture.
G'luck

Cool. Thanks guys. That makes definite sense. I had it further up because I was thinking I was needing to measure the overall ambient humidity in the air in the setup, and not more the humidity near the substrate. I get now that it's the opposite.

And my substrate varies in thickness. It's 4 to 5 inches on the hide side of the tank and thins down to 3 ish by the water bowl on the other side.

Woah... Ok... My hygrometer has got to be bad. All of a sudden today it is reading 10%. it is still about an inch from the substrate, so it's not high up, and I actually added some water to the substrate last night before I went to bed, so it's more hydrated than when I first posted. So 10% doesn't seem right at all, especially with me living in South Texas with the a/c off and door and windows open. I haven't misted yet today, but still, that's lower than it ever has been. I think I'm gonna go invest the $5 in one of those cheapy digital ones from like Walmart.

Yeah, unfortunately hygrometers aren't very accurate unless you pay for a high quality one. Most need to be calibrated, but even then they're still off by a bit. I don't use one and I've found that I don't need one either. Like I stated earlier, as long as you have the entire substrate damp, you don't have a humidity problem.

H. laoticus wrote:

Like I stated earlier, as long as you have the entire substrate damp, you don't have a humidity problem.

+1 on this although for my own comfort (being pretty new to scorps all in all) I liked using one until I've experienced enough variation with different heating and lighting combination's and seasons here in a 4 season location. Now though I don't bother with hygrometers in new set ups after experimenting a bit and picking up on some tricks of the trade like what H. laoticus points out above.

I have a substrate question. Because of my heat lamp I have a 5 centimeter layer of crust on top of my moist substrate. If I wanted to keep the top layer moist I'd probably have to wet it every 1-2 days. What do I do? Thanks.

what temp is your light at? also what scorp have you got? i dont bother with misting the enclosure it aint worth it, i pour a good glass of water or 2 all over the substrate and i find it lasts almost the whole week. sometimes have to do it twice a week.

My temp is usually around 85.

Niekro wrote:

I have a substrate question. Because of my heat lamp I have a 5 centimeter layer of crust on top of my moist substrate. If I wanted to keep the top layer moist I'd probably have to wet it every 1-2 days. What do I do? Thanks.

You should be able to add water to the bottom and just keep adding it until the top layer is moist or at least the darker brown color. If you can swing it use some heat mats on the sides or back of the viv and use the lamp to supplement those rather than your main heat source and this will help not zap all the moisture out of the of tank. If you can't do that you might just have to mist a lot. Maybe a combination of all the above . Those are my suggestions. I have noticed that lamps dry my viv's out a lot. Hope this helps

Thanks guys.

i gave up on lamps a long time ago, only use them if i really need high temps but i get gd enough temps with my mat