Humidity Issue Advice

[Sidius]

Thumbing through a few older posts, I've noticed I'm not the only one who struggles with keeping up the humidity in their tanks, which was a huge issue for me - but for a different reason. All my tanks are kept in my basement since I have the most room down there, however I also run a Sanidry down there which in essence is pretty much an industrial dehumidifier/air purifier which runs @ 50% humidity level and will cover a 2500sq ft area to prevent mold growth since pretty much all basements have a higher humidity than the rest of the house and where mold growth is most common (also my line of work). Anyways, I tried the saran wrap idea that some people posted but with misting and feeding, taking it on and off got to be a pain, I tried UTH on the bottom of the tanks to raise the humidity but with more reading was afraid I would injure my frogs so I took those off. So, I thought I'd post what I did to maybe give some others a little help. I ended up going to a local hardware store and getting a couple polycarbonate sheets and cutting them to fit the top of the tank by using a dremel tool, and traced the outline of my heat lamps and cut the holes for those, slightly larger though to provide some air flow. Don't get the cheaper sheets as they will warp and bend with the heat/moisture....learned that the hard way. The polycarbonate sheets are also flame resistant, which was another worry of mine with the saran wrap... heat lamps getting bumped or something and sliding next to the saran wrap. The photo below is of my Tomato frog tank, since adding the sheet to the top, I haven't had to mist as often and the humidity level stays constant at around 80-90% also helped with raising the temp a few degrees and stays @ 70/72F on one side and 80/82F on the other side, offering them a cooler side to go too. Hope this helps someone out

[Mentat]

Hello Sidius! I like what you did with the polycarbonate sheets! The gap around light fixtures is also good for providing some ventilation. Next time I have a whole tank top to deal with will try your idea.

I'm using saran wrap and the trick is to affix with tape to top edges. That way it goes with top when you remove it for maintenance or feeding. For example on an Exo Terra top you can actually seal the whole front half with saran and tape around edges, leaving the half back for light fixture. One of mine did curl up a bit around a lamp fixture once due to heat; but it was minimal and did not looked burned. Good luck .