Hello all?
At what level does humidity become a health concern for Leopard Geckos, specificly young Leopard Geckos? I have read that high humidity can cause respitory issues for desert dwelling geckos.

I have a 20L with an Under Tank Heater, Moist hide on the hot side, a hide in the middle, and a hide on the cool side. I also have a reptile night light that I use on cold days to assist the Under Tank Heater. I have a reptile day light that I do not use because it brimgs the temps up to high. I finally got the temp gradient correct and I now ignore the ambient temperature. I bought a table lamp dimmer to control the output of the Under Tank Heater and it now stays at 94-95 at the hottest point of the Under Tank Heater.

However, my humidity levels flucuate between 30% and 50%. I have seen it as high as 60% one one occasion. The care sheet calls for a 10% humidity range and I can't seem to accomplish this. What is the best way to lower the humidity in the tank. I live in NJ and it is humid here. I would guess the humidity in the house stayes in the 30 to 60% range as well? Any suggestions? Should I be concerned about the humidity? Will high humidity curb the appitite of baby Leopard Geckos?

Thanks,
Eric

what kind of tank is it? do you have a screen top? what kind of substrate?

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It is a 20L with a screen top and a Zilla carpet. In fact the entire cage and set up was packaged by Zilla, I believe. Thanks for the reply.

You could keep the moist hide on the cool end maybe...as long as it doesn't get too cold in there. Keeping it on the hot end will cause more evaporation. Make sure the water bowl isn't over the Under Tank Heater either. Having anything with moisture over an Under Tank Heater will cause evaporation of water vapor into the rest of the tank. Getting a screen top with wider screen might help a little bit too, depending on what type of screen lid it is.

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Thanks for the reply. I keep the water dish on the cool side. At what level is humidity dangerous to Leopard Geckos? The moist hide is over the Under Tank Heater. I have the hottest point of the Under Tank Heater at 94-95f. I can lower it more if necessary. That is just in one small spot of the Under Tank Heater. The temp in the moist hide is 78F. The is about an inch of pete moss. The moist hide is a butter tub. I can move it to the cold side but I fear that it would be too cold in there. The cold side varries from 68-72F depending on the room temp.

I would move the moist hide off of the Under Tank Heater. That is increasing evaporation which is leading to the high humidity.

30-40% is fine for a leo. The 10% is listed so people will keep it as low as possible. You really don't want to go above the 40% if you can help it. That is one of the reasons the leo has the moist hide. If they need a higher humidity level, they can seek it out. Keeping them in a higher humidity level though is where you can run into problems. It's the contant exposure that leads to an upper respiratory infection.

Once you get the moist hide away from the heat source, the humidity level should drop drastically.

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Thanks for the reply. I will do that. Is it dangerous if the surface under the moist hide is 70F and may drop to 68f at night?

Not as long as there is a warmer place for the gecko to retreat to if needed.
They know better than we do what temp area that they need to be in.

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Merlin,
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