Actual vs Relative Humidity?

[tnyfootprntz]

I really, really hate to bring up PETsMART, and I know a lot of you are tired of dealing with them, but this puzzles me too much.Why does their website's care guide recommend humidity levels between 50-60% Could it be they mean actual humidity? It doesn't say relative or actual. And the store managers, who are adhering to corporate guidelines, are just oblivious to this discrepancy? Hermies dying over a mere technicality? Does anyone know the actual name or contact info of the person who writes these pet care guides for PETsMART? They need to fix it...very misleading.

[Nicole]

Here is a link to the care guide:PetSmart Hermit Crab Care GuideAnd for anyone who wants to contact them:Contact PetSmartIf it helps, I'll call the (888)# tomorrow and see if I can get a person to talk to me and find out about getting it changed.

[tnyfootprntz]

Thanks, Nicole. Maybe you will have better luck at actually speaking to the right person than I did. I was told to send the letter I wrote to the attention of "services department" at PETsMART, Inc.19601 N. 27th AvenuePhoenix AZ 85027But the gal on the phone wouldn't give me the name of a person to address the letter to.It would be nice to know the names of the vets (or whomever actually wrote the care guide), so we can know who to communicate with directly. PETsMARTS in our area aren't perfect, but they are trying to adhere to the guidelines, and the guidelines are very misleading.The last thing I want to do right now is harrass PETsMART and nit-pick everything that isn't perfect about their treatment of hermit crabs. I just want to focus on that humidity issue so at least the store managers won't be needlessly suffocating the crabs in their stores.

[Guest]

I am having the same issue with them here in Mississippi. Their humidity stays at a constant 50 to 53 relative humidity and they don't get that their vets were talking about actual humidity. I believe they would raise it if their guidelines would change.

[tnyfootprntz]

I don't know if they're talking about actual humidity or relative humidity. That's what I want to find out. If they meant actual humidity, that makes me at least feel better to know they have a little understanding about what hermit crabs need to breathe. But who on earth uses gauges that read actual humidity? And if they mean relative humidity, then we are dealing with absolute idiots, and all hope is lost.

[tnyfootprntz]

I called the "questions regarding PETsMART.com" number:888-839-9638 The lady pulled up the care guide for land hermit crabs and started spouting off something about humidifiers, didn't really know anything at all about hermit crabs and was actually trying to advise me about their care without even thinking about the question I asked:"Is that relative or actual humidity?" I told her I knew how to take care of hermit crabs but the care guide was contributing to crab deaths in the PETsMART stores.Anyway, she said she would make a note and see about getting it changed.We'll see how long that takes....Maybe if a few other people bring it to their attention, it'll get done sooner.

[Nicole]

Sue, I did hear back from corporate today (the person on the 888# gave me the number to call). I wish I had the conversation word-for-word, but basically I explained the problem to the lady that called me back. She seemed to be genuinely interested, and it seemed as if she was taking notes as I talked. I told her I belonged to a hermit crab forum and we were concerned that too many people, including the store managers, were getting the wrong information about humidity levels from the PetSmart care sheet. I told her what the correct levels should be and that if people adhered to the 50-60% humidity range, it would almost certainly kill their pets. After all that, she said she would pass on the information. Sigh.I wish I could do more. I'd like to think that they will look into this; I realize it's not the most pressing issue in the world to a big company but it's so very easy to correct.Anyone who would like the corporate number to call, PM me.

[Guest]

I see on there that they also recommend gravel as a substrate. Perhaps we should add that to the list of things to get them to change on their care sheet. Other than the two glaring errors about the humidity and substrate, it's not TOO bad.

[tnyfootprntz]

The three key items I listed in my letter as being critical to the hermit crab's survival were humidity, temperature, and access to both fresh and salt water. Like I mentioned before, the MAIN thing I wish to address with PETsMART right now is the humidity. Their pet care guide should probably be overhauled completely, true enough, and I know how important substrate is to a hermit crab. But I chose to concentrate on those three things in my letter, because those are life-and-death to hermit crabs.

[Guest]

camecm- Unless the gauge SPECIFIES that it measures actual humidity, assume that it's measuring relative humidity. Even if you're wrong, it's the safer assumption to make. There's no real danger to your hermies in having the humidity higher than the 75-80 range. It can cause problems with mold growth in your tank unless you take other steps to prevent that, but it won't bother the hermies a bit. And I'd have to say that a "too high" humidity is to be preferred over a too low humidity. My own tank usually stays in the 85-90% humidity range, and my crabs seem quite happy with that, especially my exotics.

[NewCrabber]

Since the subject of actual vs relative humidity has come up in this thread, I thought some of you might be interested in reading this - Interesting Info On Humidity.

[tnyfootprntz]

Oh neat - thank you. That helps me understand the difference between the two. I didn't know if there were different types of hygrometers floating around out there in the pet supply world, but after reading that, I see that we're not likely to find one that doesn't read relative.Wow, there sure has been a lot of in-depth discussion on LHC over the years. Thank goodness for the Library.