Humidity and tank cleaning questions

[GrifTheGreat]

Hello again, everyone. I have tons of questions since I new to the pacman world, so thanks again for all your help and thanks in advance for your help with these issues too!

I am looking to have more steady humidity levels in my pacman's tank. I mist him frequently to keep it up, usually every couple hours if I can. However, during the week when I'm at work, his humidity has time to drop as I am not here to mist him and have been leaving his daylight lamp on to keep him warm.

Would adding some plants help hold some humidity in? It has been better since I put saran wrap on his tank's lid, but I am not super comfortable with the humidity falling to 30% or so while I am gone, even though I am able to get it right back up as soon as I get home. I saw some fake plants at the pet store today, but I didn't know what was better than something else, or if particular materials were safer for my froggie, or easier to clean. I was looking into humidifiers, but they are quite expensive and I'd like to see if there are more steps I can take before jumping to the humidifier level, though I have no issue investing in this sometime in the near future if it is a worthwhile enough option.

Oh, and what do you use to clean your tanks? Again, not sure what is safest or what is better than something else. Thanks in advance!

I use Wipe Out 1 terrarium cleaner/disinfectant. You can find it at most Petsmarts. I remove all items and old soil. Wash the remaining soil off the walls of the inclosure with de-chlorinated water then dump that water out of the tank. I then dry the tank by wiping down with paper towels. Then I spray the tank down with the Wipe Out 1. It has to sit for 5 minutes or more then you just as the name says wipe it out til dry and no more of the disinfectant is in the tank. As a precaution since amphibians are so sensitive to chemicals I wash down the tank again with de-chlorinated water and wipe dry again.

You can't use Wipe Out 1 on water dishes and tank items like fake plants. You have to use Wipe Out 2 which I can never seem to find so I buy Jurassi-Wipes which are also used to wipe down stains and strong odor spots in the tank. Since my tanks never smell horrible or bad at all I just use them to wipe down my water dishes and fake plants. The wipes contain lime and citrus oils to attack smells and staines. You must let your tank and terrarium furniture air out before returning them to the tank.

Underneath the coco fiber on the bottome of the tank I use the Zilla Terrarium Liner. This liner is made like outdoor carpet so water and moisture pass throuh it easily. Its only purpose is the act as a small drainage layer and to keep my frogs off the glass where their urine will settle with the excess water. This way the frogs don't absorb any of the urine/amonia. You can wash these liners but I recomend disposing of them after 2 tank changes. Mainly because you can't use harsh cleaners on the carpet for fear of them staying in it and possibly killing the frog. I soak them in scalding de-chlorinated water to kill germs and remove urine and amonia. I also rinse them in scalding de-chlorinated water.

As for humidity I have my screen tops covered with plastic wrap on 3/4 of the lid to hold in heat and humidity. Unlike most her though my humidity and light setup is almost automated. My frogs 12 hour day night cycle is controlled by a Zilla Power center which is a large serge protector with a tmer built in that turns my frogs light on and off at the set times I've saved into it. The humidity is controled by a Zoo Med Hygrotherm temp and humidity control unit. It has a sensor that you place in the desired area of the tank and set the temp and humidity levels where you want them and save them in the unit. If it gets too hot the unit will turn off heat units for your inclosure or turn on cooling units like fans to cool the enclosure down. If the humidity drops below your settings it will automatically turn on a fogger(humidifier) or misting unit to raise the humidity back to optimal levels.

I have 2 Zoo Med Repti-Foggers hooked up to the Hygrotherm to keep humidity up and they turn on to raise the levels in the tank when it drops. Now these Hygrotherm unites have some tolerance levels. It won't kick on everytime the humidity drops 1 or 3% below set level of humidity. You can set the amount of % points it can drop before kicking the foggers on so its still in the correct range and not running everytime it drops to 79% which is good because it keeps the humidity within the correct 70% to 80% range all day.

You still have to mist the soil so it stays moist. The fogger units to help with the moisture levels slightly due to them keeping the humidity up and some of the water vapor condensing on the substrate. You must use Distilled water with fog machines(humidifiers) otherwise mineral and calcium deposites form on the condenser of the unit and cause its life to drastically be short.

Please note that distilled water is only for misting and foggers. You can't use it for your frogs water because the distilled water is the cleanest form of water and contains no minerals or salts and will actually steal your frogs vitamines and minerals from them if they were to soak in it. Thus killing your frog over time.

[nlopez]

Wow, Mentat, that is REALLY a clever idea. I have to admit, I am very impressed by this setup!

My main concern was the humidity dropping so much while I am away from the house. It is pretty well kept up when I am around, but it seems that the 8-9 hours that I am at work is just long enough for it to drop too low for my comfort, especially when I leave on his daylight lamp. I had considered getting a timer for the light, but they hadn't had any at the pet store last time I went. I think a timer might be the best option since I leave for work just before 6am (when it is still dark here), so I'd be able to have his daylight lamp go on later and keep his infrared light (which doesn't suck up humidity as fast) a bit longer.

I think I will ultimately end up getting a humidifier if this keeps up. It would just make me feel more comfortable knowing that when I am out of the house, my baby is staying comfy in his tank. I literally could think of nothing else today except that he might be drying out, and even though I needed to run errands after work, I ran home to mist him and make sure he was humid enough.

The cleaning products I have read the most about was the Wipe Out 1 (I have never seen Wipe Out 2 either, despite claims that it exists), and am glad to hear this is a good option. I also leave a terrarium liner underneath the substrate now, in efforts to keep my froggie from sitting in his urine. Looks like Wipe Out and Jurrasi-Wipes will be the way to go!

Where do you guys put froggies while you clean? Last time I put him into a container lined with paper towels that were semi wet with dechlorinated water, but it was just a quick cleaning of the tank when I changed him from the too wet substrate to the new layer, so he was sitting right next to me where I could watch him. Do you guys use an additional tank? Have someone else watch the little nuggets for you? Thanks in advance!

[Mentat]

Wow, Mentat, that is REALLY a clever idea. I have to admit, I am very impressed by this setup!

My main concern was the humidity dropping so much while I am away from the house. It is pretty well kept up when I am around, but it seems that the 8-9 hours that I am at work is just long enough for it to drop too low for my comfort, especially when I leave on his daylight lamp. I had considered getting a timer for the light, but they hadn't had any at the pet store last time I went. I think a timer might be the best option since I leave for work just before 6am (when it is still dark here), so I'd be able to have his daylight lamp go on later and keep his infrared light (which doesn't suck up humidity as fast) a bit longer.

I think I will ultimately end up getting a humidifier if this keeps up. It would just make me feel more comfortable knowing that when I am out of the house, my baby is staying comfy in his tank. I literally could think of nothing else today except that he might be drying out, and even though I needed to run errands after work, I ran home to mist him and make sure he was humid enough.

The cleaning products I have read the most about was the Wipe Out 1 (I have never seen Wipe Out 2 either, despite claims that it exists), and am glad to hear this is a good option. I also leave a terrarium liner underneath the substrate now, in efforts to keep my froggie from sitting in his urine. Looks like Wipe Out and Jurrasi-Wipes will be the way to go!

Where do you guys put froggies while you clean? Last time I put him into a container lined with paper towels that were semi wet with dechlorinated water, but it was just a quick cleaning of the tank when I changed him from the too wet substrate to the new layer, so he was sitting right next to me where I could watch him. Do you guys use an additional tank? Have someone else watch the little nuggets for you? Thanks in advance!

Thank you! Humidity is very stable on this tank; more so than in my African Bullfrog set-up and that one is in water right now.

Since I use red light; it's on 24 hours a day. Just use dimmer to lower temp at night.

Humidifiers work but it's another piece of equipment to buy and maintain.

As long as tank or aquarium is healthy I do not clean them with disinfectants or sterilize them. A water change or soil change is all I do to tank/enclosure and wiping glass, etc. when required. Also, if using water filters; can clean media in old tanks water during water change.

Just place frog in a safe plastic container with high walls it can't jump out or use one of those plastic critter keepers they sell in pet shops. A wet paper towel is nice and all you need to add. Hope this helps; it's just some info on stuff that works for me right now.