Complete newbie here, just picked up a couple of mourning geckos which I'm keeping in a 12x12x16 mesh-top glass enclosure.
My house is kept at 77F, 40% +/-10%, and enclosure temperature is generally 77F +/-4F with .
Given that they require dew/rain for drinking, I've hooked up a cool-mist humidifier to provide heavy dew morning and night, maybe 5-15min at a time, which reliably keeps the humidity in the enclosure between 60% and 80% for the vast majority of the time and leaves heavy dew for a few hours.
Pics below.
That said, has anyone checked that use of foggers in this manner is safe/humane for reptiles? If you try to breathe the discharge of a humidifier, or in an enclosed space as heavily fogged as this, you'll quickly start coughing/choking.
I know that reptile-specific foggers are available, but I suspect they don't have the output to mist this heavily in any decently-sized open-top tank, and it's not an issue if it's not filling the space with aerosol (which is great for keeping humidity up but probably insufficient for causing dew.
I'd be concerned that the suspended moisture might be uncomfortable at best, or harmful at worst (I've heard pet reptiles are at risk of respiratory infections from excessive moisture, and the discomfort from breathing fog is probably aerosolised water hitting the lungs). Using distilled water, so there's no concern of dust or other contaminants.
Does anyone have any information on this besides gut feelings?
My house is kept at 77F, 40% +/-10%, and enclosure temperature is generally 77F +/-4F with .
Given that they require dew/rain for drinking, I've hooked up a cool-mist humidifier to provide heavy dew morning and night, maybe 5-15min at a time, which reliably keeps the humidity in the enclosure between 60% and 80% for the vast majority of the time and leaves heavy dew for a few hours.
Pics below.
That said, has anyone checked that use of foggers in this manner is safe/humane for reptiles? If you try to breathe the discharge of a humidifier, or in an enclosed space as heavily fogged as this, you'll quickly start coughing/choking.
I know that reptile-specific foggers are available, but I suspect they don't have the output to mist this heavily in any decently-sized open-top tank, and it's not an issue if it's not filling the space with aerosol (which is great for keeping humidity up but probably insufficient for causing dew.
I'd be concerned that the suspended moisture might be uncomfortable at best, or harmful at worst (I've heard pet reptiles are at risk of respiratory infections from excessive moisture, and the discomfort from breathing fog is probably aerosolised water hitting the lungs). Using distilled water, so there's no concern of dust or other contaminants.
Does anyone have any information on this besides gut feelings?
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