[HOW TO] Retain Humidity in the tank

If you keep scorpions or tarantulas that require a high level of moisture / humidity here's a really simple tip that you may or may not have already thought of. I currently have a 10 gallon communal Emperor tank with 8 scorpions. I covered the entire top of the tank with a sheet of saran wrap and put a few small slits in it for ventilation. I placed the screen lid on top of the wrap / tank and pulled the wrap tight. It does what it is supposed to do. This is more of a tip for beginners.

If you aren't able to shell out the money for a few incandescent hoods w/ light strips then the saran wrap works like a charm. I also have a heat lamp that is a couple of feet away from the tank but that I shine into one end of the tank at an angle. Surprisingly enough I often see my Emperors up against the glass sunning themselves. THAT is a new one on me. But it has worked well for me thus far. Hope it can help someone else.

jason

if you are going to wrap the top of your enclosure with plastic or glass and then put a heat light on it, be careful. this setup can easily become an oven! i once killed a tarantula this way when i was younger. ive never done this again. if you cover the tank with glass or plastic, try using fluorescent lighting as it doesnt put out NEARLY as much heat and it will keep the temps in your enclosure at much more desired temps.

-josh

this is realy useful since i have kritter keeper.does work like a charm

I use the putting the heat mat under the water bowl which helps out considerably.

You can also use a towel over the enclosure.

or cover and leave only a small space for air to come in and spray water in it!lets make sure that we spray enough water for the moisture inside the tank.
thanks

My containers were made with a hole at the top and they retain the humidity very well if I mist it every day This kind of enclosure is brilliant

Looks quite funky as well

kettlehandle wrote:

My containers were made with a hole at the top and they retain the humidity very well if I mist it every day This kind of enclosure is brilliant

hate to bump an old topic, but is there any site/location that sells those enclosures cheaply ? or at all?

here's a site that sells cages like that. They're high quality but expensive.

http://www.tarantulacages.com/terrestrial.html

i have that saran wrap.. how about aluminum foil? i'm a newbie

Should work pretty well. I still say that restricting ventilation is bad and the best way to raise humidity is to just dump water on the substrate or implement a false-bottom system.

Thats cool but you can start growing mold like that. Another thing is if you dont allow enough air slits you may suffocate your pets. I am not trying to knock your method just tryin to say its a bit dangerous if youre not careful. You can get the desired effects with a false bottom. Its just as easy and way cool looking.

goood ideas i may have to try a few

Sithis wrote:

Thats cool but you can start growing mold like that. Another thing is if you dont allow enough air slits you may suffocate your pets. I am not trying to knock your method just tryin to say its a bit dangerous if youre not careful. You can get the desired effects with a false bottom. Its just as easy and way cool looking.

it would grow mold if you covered part of the lid with a moist towel?

Should I dry out the towel and clean the towel like once a week or something?

Thats what I am doing right now I am using a moist towel covering most of the top of my enclosure and its bumped my humidity up quite a bit