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Post by kevman on Apr 2, 2005 10:18:52 GMT -8
Greetings.. I have a 6 foot by 2.5 foot cage. I can get the humidity at 90% in the morning by putting warm water in my iguana's pond. Then I put hot water in his waterfall which causes steam to come up. I do this when my iguana is sleeping, so he doesn't get burnt. Anyways my problem comes when my cage starts to warm up. I have a leak somewhere and its causing the humidity to drop like crazy, from 90%, in about half an hour it was at 60%. Mind you, this happens when I'm at school, so I can't spray it. When I get home, my cage is at 50% humidity at 90 degrees F and my iguana is sitting in his pond..
Now I am currently looking for a way to design my own automatic sprinkler. Would you have any suggestions? I have some spare parts from an old sprinkler system I could use, and plently of electrical grade PVC pipe, that is pretty small.
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Post by IguanaKing on Apr 2, 2005 17:03:45 GMT -8
Greetings.. I have a 6 foot by 2.5 foot cage. I can get the humidity at 90% in the morning by putting warm water in my iguana's pond. Then I put hot water in his waterfall which causes steam to come up. I do this when my iguana is sleeping, so he doesn't get burnt. Anyways my problem comes when my cage starts to warm up. I have a leak somewhere and its causing the humidity to drop like crazy, from 90%, in about half an hour it was at 60%. Mind you, this happens when I'm at school, so I can't spray it. When I get home, my cage is at 50% humidity at 90 degrees F and my iguana is sitting in his pond.. Now I am currently looking for a way to design my own automatic sprinkler. Would you have any suggestions? I have some spare parts from an old sprinkler system I could use, and plently of electrical grade PVC pipe, that is pretty small. Kevman, Don't worry too much about micromanaging the humidity in your ig's habitat, 50-60% is fine.  When you say you have a leak somewhere, I hope that your ig's cage isn't completely sealed. He/she will need plenty of ventilation too. What I find works best is to have a well-ventilated cage in a room with a steam humidifier (outside the cage of course). Just close the door to the room and the humidifier will do just fine. Depending on the size of the room, you may need more than one. Oh...if you choose to use a steam humidifier...don't worry about using special, distilled water in it to prolong its life. Most of them only cost about $30 USD and will FAR OUTLAST the negligible gain of $30 USD worth of distilled water ($30 of distilled water=far less than one year. My $30 steam humidifier has been running with ordinary tap water for 6+ years and is STILL going strong.) ;D |
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Post by prism_wolf on Apr 2, 2005 18:19:30 GMT -8
Igs cages need to dry out between spells of higher humidity. Even the canopies of the rain forest are not that high in humidity. The breezes through the branches help keep the molds and mildews and other fungi from growing on everything...including the igs. When I had my vaporizor...I had it on a timer. I used it mostly at night when the natural dew point would be at it's highest anyway. Then I would keep it off during the day except for a 2-3 hours session mid-day. Our well water is high in mineral content, however. My poor vaporizor had heart failure at the young age of 3 months...  . |
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Post by IguanaKing on Apr 2, 2005 18:34:50 GMT -8
DOH!!! I forgot to take well water into account...yeah...that stuff is hard on anything it touches. I start mine in the morning and run it until it runs out of water (it shuts off automatically without a timer). But, where I live, the ambient humidity RARELY gets above 10%, and when it does, its not long enough for it to effect the inside of my apartment. |
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Post by mar on Apr 7, 2005 12:23:30 GMT -8
As has been said above, you don't need to keep the humidity really high, if you do so you are asking for problems.
I used to run a hot mist humidifier on a timer cycling 30 minutes on and 30 to 60 minutes off during the day and off for the night. Worked well except for the high mineral content of south west Indiana water. Even with weekly acid washes I never had a humidifier last more than a season down here.
I now just use a pump type garden sprayer and spray down the cage a few times a day (usually 10 to 15 times daily or about 1.5 liters daily). This is working great except for the calcium spots that show up all over everything.
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Post by LotharsPeople on Apr 7, 2005 18:13:32 GMT -8
Our well water is high in mineral content, however. My poor vaporizor had heart failure at the young age of 3 months... . Prism Wolf, Mineral content (hardness) can vary greatly from one source to another, as you probably know. I've been involved in treating problem water for a number of years now and have seen everything from 1 grain (17.1 ppm) to 170 grains (2907 ppm). The best solution is a simple water softener, the only concern I would have is that water with a very high mineral content once softened would now contain a relatively high count of sodium (still less than most bottled waters). I probably would not feel comfortable using this for an Ig's drinking water, on the other hand to use it for misting or in a vaporizer it should not be a problem |
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Post by prism_wolf on Apr 8, 2005 9:49:49 GMT -8
Thank you LP. I will keep a water softener in mind. I love the taste of my well water though. It's very sweet. To use one would take the taste away. Any suggestions?
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Post by mar on Apr 8, 2005 10:15:14 GMT -8
With water like this I always try to buy the simplist design humidifier available. A water softener is not an option for me nor do I want to soften the water. These are the two humidifiers that I have had the best luck with:
Vicks hot mist: Wide base low design with a heating element that sits in a small amount of water and boils it off. Weekly cleaning with acid (vinegar, Sprite, Coke, CLR) is critical.
Cool mist ultra sonic type I think it is a Honeywell: Handled the hard water fine with daily rinses even though the destructions said it wouldn't.
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Post by kevman on Apr 8, 2005 13:01:37 GMT -8
With water like this I always try to buy the simplist design humidifier available. A water softener is not an option for me nor do I want to soften the water. These are the two humidifiers that I have had the best luck with: Vicks hot mist: Wide base low design with a heating element that sits in a small amount of water and boils it off. Weekly cleaning with acid (vinegar, Sprite, Coke, CLR) is critical. Cool mist ultra sonic type I think it is a Honeywell: Handled the hard water fine with daily rinses even though the destructions said it wouldn't. I don't have that problem where I live, we had a vapourizer 11 years before it died.. |
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Post by LotharsPeople on Apr 8, 2005 14:27:37 GMT -8
Thank you LP. I will keep a water softener in mind. I love the taste of my well water though. It's very sweet. To use one would take the taste away. Any suggestions? Prism, Depending on the hardness of your water source, softening it may well not change the taste so it's noticable. Studies by the Water Quality Association have shown that the magority of people can not tell, by taste, whether it's hard or soft water that they are drinking. Most water treatment dealers will visit your home for free to do a demonstration and test your water for no charge. These dealers will bring with them a mini softener for this purpose. Have them run a glass or two through it for you to taste test. That way you'll know for sure if you enjoy the taste before making a purchase. Those little "Brita type" filter jugs everybody uses, the filters contain a mix of active carbon and water softener resin, most people do not relize that they also soften the water. Mar, One product I've found removes the hard water scale beutifully, the only problem is it does'nt say on the label what the active ingredient is. The name probably would'nt help either, it's bottled by a local chemical distributor and of course he gave it his own trade name. This distributor is a friend of mine and I will find out what it is and post when I do. The product is a descaler which is sold to institutions for use on urinals and toilets, works like a litte miracle. Clean as a whistle in five minutes, just like new only shinier. Rinses clean away also with only water. I've been using it at the shop and at home in coffee makers for a couple of years now. |
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Post by mar on Apr 8, 2005 14:56:09 GMT -8
I've been using it at the shop and at home in coffee makers for a couple of years now. Nothing like the smell of vinegar or coke going thru a coffee maker... |
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Post by prism_wolf on Apr 8, 2005 15:04:41 GMT -8
This was my downfall. I did not clean it as I should. This is a good brand...and very inexpensive. Almost disposable. I believe I used the vinegar twice in it's life. Nice and inexpensive cleaner, too. No reason but laziness I suppose...  . |
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Post by Merlin on Apr 8, 2005 16:23:20 GMT -8
This was my downfall. I did not clean it as I should. This is a good brand...and very inexpensive. Almost disposable. I believe I used the vinegar twice in it's life. Nice and inexpensive cleaner, too. No reason but laziness I suppose... . Don't feel bad V. You aren't the only one! Its just too easy to get sidetracked and put it off! |
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Post by WillemsMom on Apr 9, 2005 16:09:27 GMT -8
Ditto that, V.
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Post by IguanaKing on Apr 9, 2005 16:18:04 GMT -8
Don't feel bad, V. I haven't had to do that with my humidifier, EVER. Not sure I would if I had to...I'd probably just keep shelling out cash for new ones. I guess I'm just lucky with the mineral content of my water. |
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When you say you have a leak somewhere, I hope that your ig's cage isn't completely sealed. He/she will need plenty of ventilation too. What I find works best is to have a well-ventilated cage in a room with a steam humidifier (outside the cage of course). Just close the door to the room and the humidifier will do just fine. Depending on the size of the room, you may need more than one. Oh...if you choose to use a steam humidifier...don't worry about using special, distilled water in it to prolong its life. Most of them only cost about $30 USD and will FAR OUTLAST the negligible gain of $30 USD worth of distilled water ($30 of distilled water=far less than one year. My $30 steam humidifier has been running with ordinary tap water for 6+ years and is STILL going strong.) ;D
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