isabelly
New Member
- Messages
- 19
- Location
- California
Hello! I got my first leo about three days ago, and had a question about the humidity and temperatures in her tank. I live in Los Angeles, so generally speaking the climate here is mild-hot (70's-90's; never drops lower than 70 in the house) and relatively dry. I have Isabela in a 20L tank (30x12x12) with a small UTH on the right side of the tank...I want to say it's the Zoo Med 6x8 one? It's attached to a probe thermostat that I have set for 91, and I have a digital thermometer on the cool side for the floor as well as a digital thermometer/hygrometer in the center of the tank to read the ambient temperature and a temp gun to check specific floor temps.
The floor temps for about 2/3 of the tank tend to be around 70-75, and the air temp also hovers around 70. Inside her warm hide is about 88-92, and a couple inches around it it can be in the high 80's, but I've noticed that the UTH is so small that it only gets into the high 80's/low 90's right under her warm hide. I'd still say it covers about 1/3 of the whole tank, maybe slightly less, but I was wondering if I should invest in a larger one or if she's fine just having that hot spot where her hide is? She's been spending most of her time in there while she's been adjusting though I've also caught her exploring and sitting in her moist hide a few times, which I keep between the warm and cool sides of the tank.
Also, I've noticed that the humidity looks like it's high for a leo--it's been in the 60% range since I set up the tank, and I did a calibration test on my digital hygrometer to make sure that the readings were accurate. I have a very shallow water bowl on the cool side of her tank, and I use the Exo Terra 3 in 1 hide with sphagnum moss for her moist hide, with a screen top on the tank. I've been following the instructions on my sphagnum moss pack to soak it in water and then wring it out, so it's just moist and not wet, but is it possible that the moss is raising the humidity in the whole tank? I bought DampRid and put the container behind the tank on my desk but it doesn't seem to be making a difference. Mostly I'm wondering if that humidity level is going to be an issue for her in the long run. Our weather tends to be dry with only occasional rain (right now my local humidity level says 41% for the area) and I invested in a dehumidifier just in case, but I was a little concerned that the DampRid hasn't done anything and it's stayed at a 60% reading.
I'll attach a photo of my set-up so you can visualize it better. Cool side is on the left and warm on the right. This was taken before I got her, so the overhead light was just on for photo purposes. I only use the UTH for her heat source and my desk is near a window, so she gets her daylight cycle that way.
The floor temps for about 2/3 of the tank tend to be around 70-75, and the air temp also hovers around 70. Inside her warm hide is about 88-92, and a couple inches around it it can be in the high 80's, but I've noticed that the UTH is so small that it only gets into the high 80's/low 90's right under her warm hide. I'd still say it covers about 1/3 of the whole tank, maybe slightly less, but I was wondering if I should invest in a larger one or if she's fine just having that hot spot where her hide is? She's been spending most of her time in there while she's been adjusting though I've also caught her exploring and sitting in her moist hide a few times, which I keep between the warm and cool sides of the tank.
Also, I've noticed that the humidity looks like it's high for a leo--it's been in the 60% range since I set up the tank, and I did a calibration test on my digital hygrometer to make sure that the readings were accurate. I have a very shallow water bowl on the cool side of her tank, and I use the Exo Terra 3 in 1 hide with sphagnum moss for her moist hide, with a screen top on the tank. I've been following the instructions on my sphagnum moss pack to soak it in water and then wring it out, so it's just moist and not wet, but is it possible that the moss is raising the humidity in the whole tank? I bought DampRid and put the container behind the tank on my desk but it doesn't seem to be making a difference. Mostly I'm wondering if that humidity level is going to be an issue for her in the long run. Our weather tends to be dry with only occasional rain (right now my local humidity level says 41% for the area) and I invested in a dehumidifier just in case, but I was a little concerned that the DampRid hasn't done anything and it's stayed at a 60% reading.
I'll attach a photo of my set-up so you can visualize it better. Cool side is on the left and warm on the right. This was taken before I got her, so the overhead light was just on for photo purposes. I only use the UTH for her heat source and my desk is near a window, so she gets her daylight cycle that way.
