Difficulty Maintaining Heat/Humidity?

[cannm]

Hi everyone. I'm looking for some advice on how to manage the heat and humidity levels in my tank.

Right now I have a 15 gallon tank (I think anyway, I've owned this tank for a long time) with 3 small hermies (1 PP and 2 Es). For the first few days, the temp and humidity levels were a steady 80-85. A few mornings ago, I woke up to a drastically low humidity level - I believe it was around 45%. I took some emergency actions and got the humidity back to where it should be. Since then, however, the temperature has been a constant 75, and the humidity still fluctuates between 50-90% and I can't figure out why, especially because I had no issues maintaining the same in the beginning. My hermies have been very active considering, I haven't noticed any changes in their behavior.

I have an UTH on the side of my tank for heating purposes. The substrate is sand castle consistency, there's damp coconut fiber, damp moss, three saturated sponges, and a full water dish. I also mist when needed. I have noticed that since getting the UTH, the water in the pool dish evaporates quite quickly and the sponges dry out.

Can anyone guide me on what I may be doing wrong?

Thank you!

[Undercrablife]

Some moss would be good and spray mist it with either fresh water and salt or make 2 moss pits with sprayed salt and fresh water so they can have good humidity

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[Undercrablife]

Or if it keeps doing that u might need new essentials

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[GotButterflies]

Hello! Welcome to the HCA!

Have you calibrated your hygrometer? http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 26&t=92540

Here is the emergency template so that we can help you: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... 27&t=46102

I personally love glass tops - they help hold in humidity well - but you cannot use heat lamps with them. If you have a mesh lid, you can use saran wrap or press n seal to keep humidity in.

I don't recommend misting regularly. That can lead to flooding your tank. Moss pits work, adding air stones ("bubblers") to the pools helps too.

[cannm]

This is probably a dumb questions haha, but do glass tops have to have holes or open areas for air to get in? I currently have a glass top, but there are about 1 inch openings on each side. Could this be the cause?

[GotButterflies]

My glass tops do not have any openings. Perhaps you ordered the wrong top. If you purchase the correct size it should fit the tank snug.


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[daws409]

Mine fit snug as well. I would add some sedan wrap, press n seal, or tin foil to your gaps. Doing so should solve the problem.

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[cannm]

Thanks everyone. I covered the openings with plastic wrap and walaa! The humidity has been 85% since last night. I always thought glass tops had to have some openings to allow oxygen in.

[daws409]

Daily food changes allows enough oxygen to enter the tank

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[mjjluver]

@Undercrablife, does spraying the moss with saltwater kill it?