Need some advice on keeping my humdity up!

[Froggiefressh]

Hi everyone, I hope I'm posting this in the right thread. I find myself misting my pac man's tank all the time(meaning more then like 5 or 6 times a day). I use a CHE which I'm guessing is the problem. My house is pretty cold in the winter, like right now its 66 degrees Fahrenheit on the thermastat. Now before I got my pac man I ran test CHE bulbs and fixtures to see which would get the temp. to where I needed it. The CHE I decided to use and worked the best to keep the tank between 78-81 was a 100 watt CHE bulb by all living things. I seen a few post where people said don't use any bulb above 50 wattage, but If I didn't the temp. would be way to cold for my poor little pac man. I have the light on one side of the tank(where my little guy's favorite and only spot is) and on the other side I used clear plastic wrap to try to keep up the humdity up. Any ideas on what I should do? When I get a chance I want to try a few other light bulbs to see if I can keep the temp right and not use such a powerful bulb. Any info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[KingCam]

Try using an under-tank heat pad or heat cable instead of a high wattage bulb. Then you could cover more of the tank to hold in humidity.

Heat Pads, Heat Panels, Heat Cable & Rocks

[BigBlue83]

i have tyhe same problem. I live in new england (ct) and winters are cold. i have to mist all the time as well, and its hard because i work monday through friday. I have a heating pad, and that doesnt do it by itself, so im forced to use an infrared bulb. which drys out the tank too. i did the plastic wrap thing, helped slightly. my pac is never out of the ground always burrowing and i think its because of the humidity issue. so this is what ive done and have noticed a large difference. so much so my pac has stayed out from burrowing for two days straight. even went to her water dish and sat for 45 min.
at lows they sell plexiglass. i bought a piece that was 14 inch long and 12 inch wide. well i scored the edge with a razor blade a couple times till it was deep enough that i could snap the excess off. i have a ten gallon to the 14 inch length fit good perfect actually as to still leave space for air. i cut it width wise just enough so it would sit on the inside lip that fish tanks naturally have. then i just sit the caged lid on top. the plexi glass isnt thick enough to disturb the cage cover and it sits perfect almost as having the tank have four sides. now my heat stays in there. another option would to be get the measurements and go to a glass place and have them cut i piece of glass to sit right in on those notches.... when i get home i will take photos to show you as well. good luck

[Heatheranne]

Yep, that's what I did . Had glass cut to fit the same way. If you spray and cover it works well.

[Froggiefressh]

Thank you guys for the advice, Kingcam in my opinion I do not trust the under-tank heat pads and my pac man burrows to escape the heat from what I've been told that would cause him to bury straight towards the heat instead. Bigblue That is such a great idea! I am going to do this without a doubt. What would be better to use plexi or glass? Heather what do you mean by spray and cover it?

[KingCam]

Kingcam in my opinion I do not trust the under-tank heat pads and my pac man burrows to escape the heat from what I've been told that would cause him to bury straight towards the heat instead.

You could buy a low wattage heat cable/cord and experiment with that. They are incredibly adaptable. You could wrap it around a limb made to hang above his head, you could attach it to the side or back of your tank, you could even just lay one across the top of the tank to see if the heat goes far enough down to benefit your frog. What if you attached it to the bottom side of your lid? Then the heat would be trapped in the enclosure, but the source of the heat would be above head, and burrowing would still provide relief if he's trying to escape the heat.

I have a few heat cables at home, and I honestly dunno what I'd do without them.

Zoo Med 11.5 foot Repti Heat Cable

[Froggiefressh]

Oh I see whatch you mean. That is pretty awsome, I haven't seen those before surprisingly hah. I think I will experiment with that and see what I come up with! thanks Kingcam =)

[KingCam]

Oh I see whatch you mean. That is pretty awsome, I haven't seen those before surprisingly hah. I think I will experiment with that and see what I come up with! thanks Kingcam =)

Good luck Let us know what you decide on and if it works!

[GrifTheGreat]

You could buy a low wattage heat cable/cord and experiment with that. They are incredibly adaptable. You could wrap it around a limb made to hang above his head, you could attach it to the side or back of your tank, you could even just lay one across the top of the tank to see if the heat goes far enough down to benefit your frog. What if you attached it to the bottom side of your lid? Then the heat would be trapped in the enclosure, but the source of the heat would be above head, and burrowing would still provide relief if he's trying to escape the heat.

I have a few heat cables at home, and I honestly dunno what I'd do without them.

Zoo Med 11.5 foot Repti Heat Cable

Cameron, if Greg uses Heat cable he will have to hook it up to a thermostat. Heat tape and heat cables get really hotm much hotter than a UTH. That being said he should use a UTH, but you do NOT place it on the bottom of the tank. You place it on the side of the tank and be sure its the opposite side of the water dish. Heat tape and heat cable is best used for rack systems for multiple amphibian and reptiles not for just one tank. Too dangerous and you could cook your frog without a thermostat not to mention the glass will be much hotter from heat tape or heat cables than a UTH.

Just buy a UTH and place it on the side of your tank Greg. You'll be better off and a lot less hastle.

[KingCam]

Cameron, if Greg uses Heat cable he will have to hook it up to a thermostat. Heat tape and heat cables get really hotm much hotter than a UTH.

We must be talking about two different heat cables. The one I linked to is only 15 watts.

They come in 15 watts, 25 watts, 50 watts, 100 watts, and 150 watts. I'm sure you're right about needing a thermostat for the higher wattage ones. All I know is I use the 15 watt cables, plugged directly into the wall, and I've never had any problems with tanks overheating.

I've had UTH's melt a plastic roach bin before, but my heat cables won't even melt electrical tape (that's what I use to secure them in place a lot of times).

Heat tape and heat cable is best used for rack systems for multiple amphibian and reptiles not for just one tank.

In the case of the 50 foot cables, yes, I agree. However, the one I linked to only has 5 feet of hot cable. I can't see how anyone would use 5 ft of cable to heat more than one enclosure. In my opinion these small, low wattage cables were designed for single tank applications.

HOWEVER! I don't want to be responsible for Greg cooking his frog, so maybe he should just take your advice and forget I said anything.

[Heatheranne]

That's awesome! Sorry it took so long to type back. Busy week. I'm glad you found a great alternative .

[pansie]

I just bought some plexiglass and cut it to fit inside the ridge in my tanks for my pixie and my pac (covering 3/4) and my humidity is staying WAAAAAY more stable! thanks guys!

[Heatheranne]

Great!