Hey there, Ill take a shot at some of this. I also live near chicago and kind of relate lol.

Pictures could really help me paint a better picture and help you out as soon as possible.

As for the temperature being 80 thats okay but extensive time periods above 85 can be deadly. Where is your vivarium located in your apartment? Keep away from direct sunlight. During hot periods do not be afraid to turn the lights off. It can drop the temperature up to 4degrees. Another trick if the vivarium is getting really hot would be to take a 1gallon ziplock bag and fill it full of water and freeze it. If the temp gets up to the high 80s put the ice brick on top (still in bag) and that should cool it down a bit fairly quickly. The most practical thing to do would be to mount your light a few inches up of your tank. I spray painted a few wood blocks and used it as a stand. That should also help with your humidity. Lowering your light level will also decrease your temp and increase humidity.


As for humidity you should not have to be misting so often. What type of gauge are you using? Eventually your eyes will be a better indicator than any gauge. Those cheap 10$ ones from petsmart/petco are garbage. You can set 3 next to each other and they all will read different. I would say if you must... invest in a good digital one. As for telling with your eyes.. good indicators that your humidity is alright would be damp wood/leafs, condensation on glass, and moist ( not soaking) soil. The top of your tank should be covered at least 90% with glass.

Hope this helps some! (i am not an expert and would be gladly stand corrected as i am fairly new too)

Keep shooting away questions.. ill do my best to help.

-Kevin