96% humidity?

[Plasmoc]

I recently switched to a digital Acurite hydrometer and I’m a bit concerned about its readings.

It was reading 75-80% with my old junk one an 89-96% with the acurite so I looked upthread and saw the table salt calibration test. Yesterday I did the test with the acurite and after 4 hours it read 75% and at 8 hours it read 71% humidity. So, it’s reading 4% lower than it actually is.

This morning before work it said 92%. That’s too high right? How do I get it lower without hurting the crabs? I have 2 down, substrate is eco earth and doesn’t look flooded. I have 2 water dishes (de and sw instant ocean) and mist once every 1-2 days as needed (or so I thought). Do I just stop listing and hope it’ll gradually dry out a bit?


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[Hermiesguardian]

There's no such thing as too high humidity.

[scuttlecrusty22]

Creating and maintaining humidity - Hermit Crab Association
www.hermitcrabassociation.com/pages/humidity.html



***High humidity isn't going to hurt your crabs but it will end up being more work for you, I read in an article about hermit crab humitity (sorry for spelling) that a humitity higher that 80% can cause mold and fungi to grow a lot more quickly in a crabitat. I usually keep the humitity in my tank around 75% and it seems to be working well. There is no musty smell and no growing mold

[JoeHermits]

Are you concerned about mold? It won’t harm the crabs. I’d just leave things be unless things get really bad.


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[Plasmoc]

The crabbies seem to be doing fine, I’m glad this isn’t hurting them!

I have noticed their food molds really fast recently and the tank smells a little bit more than usual (damp earth smell, not fishy). I am allergic to mold so it would be nice to get it back to where it was in the 80% range. I’m not sure what I’ve changed doing,.. maybe it’s because I turned on the heat / humidifier in our home? It’s across the apartment but still.


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[aussieJJDude]

Since you have allergies, then yes, I would advise to be cautious with the amount you're misting the tank. Holding off like you said would be a good starting point.

Another thing you can do is allowing the tank to 'air out' a bit and allow some of the moisture to escape. It's important if you do allow the tank to air out, you have a reminder so you don't forget and allow the crabs to escape - a alarm for example is a good idea, or just keeping a watchful eye every time you do allow it to air out. Plus air circulation is a great way of decreasing the likelihood of mould from becoming a problem, since it prefers damp moist areas. Drying out the tank for short amount of times will do the opposite of that.

[Plasmoc]

Great ideas thanks!


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