At a loss.......

[DeeDub]

Its drying out with a 40 watt? Wow, that is strange. I use a 50 watt basking light (spot light) in a tiny cage and it doesn't dry out. The surface will dry out in small areas after a few hours, but I mist and it's just fine.

I'd say maybe your substrate wasn't moist enough to start. What digital gauge are you using. If it's the exo terra termo/hydro digital gauge with the single probe, the humidity measuring device probably doesn't work very well. I have several of these and they really are poor quality. The temp function works really well, but the humidity function is always way off.

[NewFrogDude]

Its just a digital thermometer.

[GrifTheGreat]

Here you go. I find great deals on Amazon.com.
Zoo Med HygroTherm Humidity and Temperature Controller:Amazon:Pet Supplies

This is how I do a 10 gallon without a Hygrotherm.


There is a UTH on the left side that you cannot see. The light is dead center and is a 50 watt 75% intense spot light by Exo Terra. The lamp is a 5.5" Fluker's clamp lamp with dimmer switch. Temp stays at 80° to 82°. Humidity will sometimes drop to 64%. This works well and contains Pariah my second largest female.

[lumpbump]

I wish I had more helpful information to share with you but I only have one frog and I try and keep it as simple as I can. I dont use gauges to check constant temps or humidity; but I do have a temp gun that i use to check my reptile rooms ambient temperature which varries from about 74 or so to the low 80s depending on season and time of day. I just make sure his soil appear as if it had rained in there. Some people mist daily or what have you. I took a plastic 20 oz soda bottle and measured out 16 oz and marked it with a line and took a small nail and melted/poked some holes in the cap that i can use to make it rain in my cage (manually of corse). I usually give him like 8 or so ounces of treated water every day or two days at the least and by looking at the top of the substrate I water the cage or not. Sometimes it gets real wet then i wont water for a bit longer. I also drip water directly on top of him when he first comes out of the ground to rinse off any loose substrate on his skin. so that keeps him moist. I may even go away with the water dish and see how that goes because in about 5 months I have yet seen him to go in it on his own. Maybe Im lucky with my location being in a relatively humid area and I dont often use the heater or AC which helps keep my ambient humidity inside around 60 percent. I hope you figure something that works for you and your frog. Id like to think that as long as it is eating and behaving normally you have nothing to worry about but for me "less is more" when dealing with all my exotic pets from tarantulas to boa constrictors and my one frog buddy who is probably my only real pet. The others are what I call zooilogical specimens in my home zoo

Something to consider that I just thought about is your frog tanks' location in the room. Try and avoid putting them on outside walls as those areas tend to be affected more than an interior wall by the outside elements. Also if you really feel crafty you can make an enclosure in an enclosure. Take your current set up and put the whole thing in a larger acrylic/glass container and see if that helps retain heat and moisture better. People in the tarantula hobby make micro climates in the same way. Take your containers and put them inside a larger container and then heat the larger container which will heat the containers inside and the air around the inside container. It also helps keep humidity up if you have a container in a container. Just my thoughts.

[Lija]

I still suggest to get hydrotherm, keep in mind that with it you don't need humidity and temp gauges, so no need to spend $ on them. I was hesitant to buy it just because it is close to 200$ in Canada in stores, but after constantly failing a battle to keep climate where i want it to be i got one off ebay, amazon.com ships to US only. the thing is amazing and right now 3 more are coming my way.
I must say that is the best investment in a frog hobby!

[NewFrogDude]

I get that I need a hydrotherm but unless any of you want to get me one for Christmas the chances of me getting on are slim to none. I mist him frequently and his substrate is always pretty moist. So its just a strange balancing act to figure this out.

[DVirginiana]

Hmm... Is it super cold/dry outside where you are? This might be something that will happen every winter. Dry air from your home could be causing his humidity to drop too low. Can you get a regular humidifier from walmart or something and put in his room? You can probably find one of those very cheap. Even a crappy one would do, just sit it near his tank. If the air around him isn't super dry his substrate probably wouldn't dry out so quickly. I don't have a hygrotherm, I just mist several times daily. That might be a less expensive way to fix your problem.

Again, until you find a permanent solution you like, you can always moisten his soil a little more to compensate. Maybe even make a very wet spot on the opposite side of the tank from where he's sitting and let it evaporate out.