tank humidity at 60% at night??

[wolfiemorph]

Just got a new beardie.

His tank humidity is at around 40% during the day, but when I checked it this morning, it was at 60%.

It's a crappy tank thermometer, and soon I'm getting brand new ones.... on Friday.

Will be okay if he goes like this for a week??? I don't want him to get a respiratory infection. How can I fix this?

 

[daughterofMyou]

Short-term exposure to a humid environment shouldn't cause any major issues.

What substrate are you using? Do you have a water bowl in the tank at all? What's the ventilation like?

 

[kingofnobbys]

I have 60-70% RH in my beardie's tanks (and house) most of the time despite my home being climate controlled (huge oversized split reverse cycle refrigerative aircon (Fujitsu's biggest unit of the kind) 24/7 most of the year. Will be much more humid / steamy / tropical outside the house espec at night.
I live only a few kilometers from the ocean in subtropical north coastal Australia so is nearly always humid here.
The humidity here only drop under 40% in late winter or on a few scorching hot days in summer when the very hot dry gales / winds come direct from the interior.
My beardies are coping fine.

I also know beardie keepers who live in far north eastern tropical Queensland (Cairns/Mackay) , Northern Territory (Darwin) , and in the Pilbara and Kimberley Regions , 2 seasons = very hot very wet, and hot and dry. Their beardies are doing fine.

The humidities you cite are not an issue.

 

[wolfiemorph]

@kingofnobbys
Okay, thank you

@daughterofmyou
The substrate seems to be sand or crushed walnut, from what another beardie owner told me on here. My beardie is getting the Exo terra sand mat on Friday.

He does have a water bowl. It's about as big as him, and he's a juvenile. It's kidney-shaped, and on the cool side of his tank.

He has a screen top on his tank for the ventilation. I constantly have my fan running in my room on high.

 

[kingofnobbys]

@kingofnobbys
Okay, thank you

@daughterofmyou
The substrate seems to be sand or crushed walnut, from what another beardie owner told me on here. My beardie is getting the Exo terra sand mat on Friday.

<<<< OMG !! PLEASE tell them to get rid of that stuff IMMEDIATELY, especially if it's crushed walnut or (calci or vita)sand , these are LETHAL TO ANY DRAGON who accidentially ingest any .

He does have a water bowl. It's about as big as him, and he's a juvenile. It's kidney-shaped, and on the cool side of his tank.

He has a screen top on his tank for the ventilation. I constantly have my fan running in my room on high.

Please send him this : Cheat Sheet :
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=234738&p=1806050#p1806050

If you / he work through it methodically , the chances are there are likely a lot of issues that need to be tweeked or changed and they will pop right out at you, if you can give very detailed answers we will then be in a position to offer help. Is impossible to help you if you don't provide thorough details .

Focus on :
Basking globe
temperatures
UV
Substrate
Husbandry
........all of which most likely have problems based on the choice of substrate.
if you / he can report back with very thorough details and photos of the viv , lights, substrate, dragon/s we can then provide more guidance.

 

[wolfiemorph]

Focus on :
Basking globe
temperatures
UV
Substrate
Husbandry
........all of which most likely have problems based on the choice of substrate.
if you / he can report back with very thorough details and photos of the viv , lights, substrate, dragon/s we can then provide more guidance.

okay....like I said, I'm getting him a brand new MVB and fixture, new substrate (Exo Terra Sand mat), temp gun and his vitamins on Friday. They're being shipped right now, I ordered them on Saturday.

I got him off of craigslist with everything he had with him:

20 gallon tank (I was told it was a 40g... but i guess that's craigslist for ya :x )
Basking tree (I'm hoping to get him a rock soon)
Hammock to bask on
Kidney-shaped water bowl
Small orange/red heat lamp
Coil UVB bulb
Sand(?) substrate
and a crummy thermometer in the back of the tank.

His salad bowl and water bowl are on the cool side. I don't have anything to properly measure his temps with, all I have his the crap thermometer in the back.

 

[daughterofMyou]

I'd keep him on newspaper until his new substrate arrives. Honestly, I'd also swap out the coloured basking light as well. A bright white bulb is best to replicate natural sunlight, ideally between 4000-5000 kelvin. Anything lower than 3k looks like sunset to a beardie, which can stress the little guy out.

 

[wolfiemorph]

Okay, thank you. His 100 watt MVB and fixture just arrived today, which was surprising. But his new substrate and temp gun won't be here until friday.

I'm just nervous to use the new light without an accurate temperature reader...

 

[CooperDragon]

The MVB has to be set according to UVB output rather than heat produced. Which brand did you get? Generally the 100w bulbs should sit around 12'' above the basking area it it varies from brand to brand.

 

[SHBailey]

He looks pretty good, all things considered. Do you have any idea how old he is, or did I miss that? If that's a 20 gallon tank (it actually looks larger than that in the photo, at least to me), then it's either way too small for him already or else he's going to outgrow it in no time. Also, if you get him a new UV light, the one most often recommended is the Reptisun 10.0 fluorescent tube -- the T5 HO (High Output) version can be used on top of a screen top and enough will still get through. The coil type UV bulbs have a bad reputation and are usually not recommended. (You probably already know that proper UV light is very important for vitamin D and calcium metabolism to maintain bone health.)

I also agree that you should get rid of the sandy substrate ASAP, especially if it contains any walnut shells. Plain white paper towels are another good alternative -- they're cheap, safe, and disposable -- it's easy to spot messes when they happen and easy to clean up.

And thanks for raising the issue about humidity and thanks for all the info, Kingofnobbys and everyone else. In all my research :study: I've never been able to find anything definite about the optimum humidity range for bearded dragons, although I assumed that they needed it on the dry side since they're desert critters. We've got the opposite problem here in Alaska -- in the winter the indoor air gets really REALLY dry -- the thermometer/hygrometer probes in my beardie's tank often read between 0 (at the basking site under the heat lamps) to around 30% at the cooler end. We keep an upside down frisbee in his tank for a water dish and a little evaporation (although we've never seen him drink from it), we serve his veggies with water (keeps them fresher longer and helps with hydration if he eats them), and we bathe him almost every day and dribble water on his nose in the bath (sometimes he drinks it), so we hope he has plenty of opportunities to stay well enough hydrated.

It's nice to find out that beardies can apparently deal with a wide range of humidity from dry to wet and everything in between.

 

[wolfiemorph]

@cooperdragon
I got the Fluker's Sun Spot bulb and I think a Zilla 8.5 in fixture.

I won't be able to get a new tank until I earn the money ):

And no, I do not know his age, sadly.. but the lady I got him from just had everything with him and we brought him home the way he is now.

Yes, it's 30x13 ? I think. Length and depth, I didnt measure the height. But yes I'm pretty sure it's a 20g.

 

[CooperDragon]

I don't have any test data for that bulb, unfortunately. I haven't had good results with some of the cheaper bulbs from China so you may want to consider returning it or replacing it if you can. Based on similar bulbs, I'd set it 12'' above the main basking area but that's just an educated guess without taking Solarmeter readings from it.

 

[wolfiemorph]

Aw man...I can't exactly return it now... I really need it for him...i mean there were good reviews on it, so.. I'm hoping it's alright.

 

[CooperDragon]

It may be just fine, I just don't have data on it and the estimate on appropriate distance is just a guess on my part. If the bulb is working properly though, 12'' should be just about right. If you see lethargic behavior, hiding, lack of appetite or anything like that though please let us know as that may indicate a problem that is best addressed sooner rather than later.

 

[wolfiemorph]

Right, thank you! I'm getting my temp gun on Friday, so I'll install the new light and fixture then.