This article will teach you the easiest, most effective way to find and maintain the perfect balance of humidity in any reptile enclosure.
One of the most challenging aspects of keeping tropical reptiles like green tree pythons, chameleons and even green iguanas, is maintaining the higher humidity levels that these types of reptiles require.
Before delving into the various steps however, you need to understand what proper humidity levels look like.
All reptile care guides will suggest a humidity range for the specific species you are learning about. While that range is the goal you are shooting for, it does not have to be maintained at all times.
What Good Reptile Humidity Looks Like
Good humidity for a reptile isn’t one specific number. It’s a range.
You will find that when you do things like misting the cage, there will be a spike in humidity.
Then over the course of the day or night, the humidity level will slowly lower back down to the relative humidity of the room where the reptile is kept.
There is nothing wrong with this. In fact this is how it works in nature too.
The humidity raises when it rains, and then lowers as the sun comes out and everything dries.
You don’t need to maintain a constant humidity level at all times.
What you really want to achieve is a spike that is around 10% – 20% higher than the recommended range. You then control the amount of time it takes for that level to lower back down to match the surrounding air.
What Bad Humidity Looks Like
You do not want a wet environment. A soggy and soaked substrate for example, will not raise the humidity level of the enclosure any more than damp substrate will.
Water droplets on the walls and decorations after misting is to be expected, but those drops should have time to dry before the next misting.
Humidity is due to water VAPOR in the air, not physical standing water in the enclosure.
The Keys To Good Reptile Humidity
With these things in mind, you’re really only looking at controlling three things.
- The temperature of the enclosure
- The air flow in the enclosure
- The water vapor in the enclosure
Here are 15 ways in which you can achieve the perfect humidity level for your reptile.
1. Have The Right Humidity Measurements
In order to create the optimum humidity level, you need to know where your level is at any given time.
Of course this is basic, and most people know you should have a hygrometer (a tool used to measure humidity) inside of the enclosure. One is not enough!
You should really have three hygrometers to find the optimal humidity level.
You want to measure the humidity level at the top, middle and bottom of the enclosure.
Knowing the humidity in all three of these areas will help you decide where you’re lacking, and give you a better idea of how to solve any issues. This is Troubleshooting 101.
Ideally, one of those hygrometers will be located near the area where your reptile spends most of its time.
2. Reptile Humidity Experimentation
There isn’t some magical way to create the exact humidity level you’re after. There are too many outside factors which effect it. Where you live, the season, the temperature you set your home at, what the weather is like that day…The list can go on and on.
You don’t “get” the proper humidity level for your reptile. You find it.
What works for me might not work for you. What works for you may not work for someone else.
Sometimes you might have to mist your cage twice per day, or maybe you only need once every other day.
The key is to test various methods until you find what works for you. You do this through experimenting, and measuring the results.
3. Use A Front View Enclosure For Better Reptile Humidity Control
Heat rises.
So does water vapor.
When you have a mesh or screen lid, you lose a lot of humidity very quickly. An enclosure that has a solid top, bottom and sides rather than a screen top will help hold in the moisture.
You don’t want the air to become stagnant though. With no air movement at all, bacteria, fungus, mold and other harmful things can easily grow.
4. Add A Fan To The Enclosure To Control Humidity
Right now you’re probably saying, “What!?!? Won’t a fan dry out the cage and lower humidity?”
Yes it will, but not very much if it is pointing outwards.
If you’re savvy enough to add it yourself, a small fan that is blowing air out of the cage rather than into it will prevent the air from becoming stagnant. This in turn allows you to better seal the cage to contain more humidity. Of course you still want slits or air holes to allow in fresh air.
A small fan like the ones they use to cool computers is small, quiet, inexpensive and relatively easy to install and wire.
This is a great way to maintain humidity for reptiles such as chameleons which require more air flow than many other reptiles, but still need higher humidity.
5. Use A Large Water Bowl To Raise Humidity In A Reptile Enclosure
When I say large water bowl, I don’t mean deep.
Depth really doesn’t matter. It’s the surface area you’re after. A wide water bowl with a lot of surface area will allow more water to vaporize in the cage.
Side note:
One thing many people don’t realize about reptiles that require high humidity is that dehydration is caused from a lack of water intake rather than just water vapor in the air.
Make sure your pet has easy access to the water.
For arboreal reptiles like green tree pythons or emerald tree boas, this may mean securing the water bowl higher up in the cage, just underneath their perches.
Yes, they will drink water droplets from their body, but these snakes also drink from bodies of water. They may not go to the floor of the cage to find the water though, so make sure it is close to them.
Unlike many species of frogs that absorb water through their skin, snakes and lizards need to actually take in moisture through their mouth to prevent dehydration.
If your snake is dehydrated, raising the humidity level may not be the answer.
6. Add A Heating Pad To The Water Bowl
Adding heat to the bowl will cause the water to evaporate quicker, thus raising the humidity.
You can do this by placing a heating pad directly on the bottom of the bowl itself. If the bowl sits on the ground at the bottom of the cage, place the heat pad under the cage directly below where the bowl will sit.
Pro tip for perfect humidity!
There are also water bowls which are heated. These are intended for outdoor use in the winter in order to keep the water from freezing. There’s nothing stopping you from using it in the enclosure though!
Just be sure to follow all manufacturer safety guidelines for heating pad and electric water bowls.
7. Move The Water Bowl Closer To The Heat
This might sound like the above step, but it’s not.
This is a way to dial in the humidity a little more precisely when you already have it close to the goal you’re aiming for.
Your reptile’s enclosure will ideally have a gradient range of temperature. There will be a warmer part of the cage, and a cooler portion. If you are needing to raise or lower the humidity level by a small amount, move the water closer to or further from the warmth.
The closer the bowl is to the warm side of the cage, the higher the humidity will be. The further away, the lower it will be.
8. Mist The Cage
I know this may be a simple one for many people. That’s why I buried it a little deeper down, so you could get some of the good stuff early.
I would be remiss however, if I didn’t discuss misting. It is the number one way to control humidity in your pet’s enclosure.
The amount of water you spray into the cage, and how often you do so are going to have some of the most dramatic impacts on humidity levels.
I can’t tell you how much too mist, or how often. That is going to vary based on all of the other factors we have discussed.
Just know that the goal is to dampen the substrate, and to spread moisture to as many surface areas as possible. It is the combination of all these surfaces drying together that creates more water vapor in the air.
9. Add A Humidifier To The Room
The base relative humidity of your reptiles enclosure before you do anything to raise it, will be equal to the humidity level of the room that it is kept in.
Depending on where you live, the air may be dry.
This is especially true in the winter months. Adding a humidifier to the room will raise the level of the enclosure with no extra effort on your part, and will help maintain higher levels for a longer period of time.
Be aware!
High humidity in a home can destroy walls and furniture. I only recommend doing this if you have a room dedicated to reptiles, and use outdoor paint that is able to withstand the higher moisture in the air.
If you decide to go this route, I suggest setting the humidity level around 60%. The vast majority of lizards, pythons and boas require humidity levels around that mark.
10. Proper Substrate Choices For Reptile Humidity
Using newspaper as your substrate isn’t going to cut it here. In order to maintain higher humidity levels you need soil or wood.
There are a wide variety of various substrates on the market specifically for reptiles. Most of them list on the packaging the humidity levels they are best suited for.
Some recommendations would be cypress chips, repti-bark, coco fiber, orchid bark, and other similar materials.
Keep in mind, the material you use isn’t going to do the job by itself. The idea is for you to add moisture through misting, which is then absorbed by the substrate and released out slowly into the air.
11. Keep The Substrate Level Deep
Having a substrate that is 3-4 inches deep will allow it to hold more moisture without making it overly wet or soggy.
As I stated earlier, you don’t need to soak the material all the way through to the bottom of the cage, just dampen it.
12. Use Soil And Live Plants
An alternative to wood substrate is to use soil and live plants.
Besides being more aesthetically appealing, live plants have the added benefit of releasing moisture into the air. They will also suck up excess moisture from the soil to prevent saturation.
Be sure to use the proper lights to provide your plants with the sun rays that they need.
DO NOT use any fertilizer as this could be harmful to your pet.
Examples of good plants for your pet enclosure would be African violets, orchids, spider plants, ficus and various palms.
If you are housing an herbivore or omnivore which might try to eat the plants, do more research to ensure that the plants are not toxic to your pet.
13. Create A Water Table To Control Humidity
Just like there is a water table under the very ground you walk on, you can create a water table inside your enclosure.
Hydroballs are clay balls placed under the substrate level.
These balls absorb water and release it slowly through the substrate.
Place a layer of these balls in the very bottom of your enclosure, cover with mesh, and then add your substrate on top. Leave yourself some spots where you can pour water directly to the bottom of your cage without soaking the substrate.
I like to use pieces of 3/4” PVC that are somewhere around six inches long. You can then pour a few ounces of water in each one in order to wet down the hydroballs.
14. Use A Drip System To Control Humidity
Creating a drip system for your reptile enclosure is a great way to continuously add moisture and humidity all day long, even when you are not home to mist.
There are several drip systems available online.
When setting up an automatic drip, it is best to have the drops of water falling onto plant leaves.
If you want to get real creative, you can even set it up to where the water drop falls on a plant leaf, and then have another leave below that where any excess water from the first leaf can fall to.
This will prevent a soggy spot in the cage. And if your enclosure is made of wood, it will also help stop the wood from rotting out.
15. Use A Fogger
The final way to raise or maintain high humidity is through the use of a fogger. These work basically like a humidifier for the enclosure itself.
Using a fogger will leave a mist in your cage that some people don’t care for aesthetically.
For enclosures that are more open, like the mesh sides often used for chameleons, they are a great way to add a lot of humidity that would otherwise evaporate too quickly.
Summary
As you can see, there are tons of ways you can either increase humidity for your reptile enclosure, or maintain a fairly high humidity.
As I stated earlier, the key is to experiment and see what works for you. There is no one right way to accomplish this. No one size fits all approach.
Spend the time experimenting, reading your reptiles body language and physical signs, and develop a method that fits your needs.