# Humidity question for Bearded Dragon



## AntC (Apr 2, 2016)

My first post as a new BD keeper although as a child I kept many reptiles that one could go out and catch without any problems and only stopped when my mother insisted I get rid of my collection when I was bitten by an adder! I recently kept Corn Snakes until my grand daughter thought she would like them and off they went!

Briefly, my beardie is about five months old and healthy. The viv is 4' x 2' x 2' and the substrate is sand 60% and sterilised top soil 40%. The stone is limestone paving which I had to grind the edges off when I broke it up because they were so sharp. The branches are either from a walnut tree that was in our garden and blew down in storm Katie or a branch from my snake days of unknown origin. There is an Arcadia D3 39 Watt slimline luminaire along the top front and the heat lamp is a PAR 38 120W lamp which keeps the basking stone at a comfortable 43 degrees centigrade and controlled by a dimming thermostat. It heats up quickly in the mornings and seems to run at about half power all day. The ambient temps are around 31 and 27 degrees and the spot temp is measured with an infrared thermometer.

My question is about humidity. I have read here that it should be around 45% but mine, measured about half way along and up the viv is rarely above 17%, even after a good spray of water. I find it hard to believe that in their natural environment BDs would often experience high humidity, or am I wrong? He has been in this viv for about two weeks now.

This is the warm side










and the cool










And this is him - a very ordinary little fellow but aren't they easy to love?










So if anyone can answer my humidity question, I should be most grateful.

Cheers

Ant


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## PancakeS (May 8, 2016)

You don't need to spray the tank at all! Beardies come from very arid environments. To hydrate your beardie you can put a water bowl in the viv but its not really necessary as the most effective way is to give them a bath and soak them in water for about 5-10 minutes as it also helps them with shed. Do this about 3 times a week for younger dragons and 1-2 times a week for adults. So remember don't worry about humidity with beardies as long as its dry and warm he/she will be fine! :2thumb:


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## AntC (Apr 2, 2016)

PancakeS said:


> You don't need to spray the tank at all! Beardies come from very arid environments. To hydrate your beardie you can put a water bowl in the viv but its not really necessary as the most effective way is to give them a bath and soak them in water for about 5-10 minutes as it also helps them with shed. Do this about 3 times a week for younger dragons and 1-2 times a week for adults. So remember don't worry about humidity with beardies as long as its dry and warm he/she will be fine! :2thumb:


Thanks for your reply and that's reassuring about the humidity. However, I take issue with your theory that a twice weekly bath will do anything to hydrate him unless he drinks the bath water and I wouldn't drink mine! He is also a bit stress at the moment and I don't want to do anything to make that worse.

But thanks again anyway.

Cheers

Ant


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## **louise** (Nov 10, 2010)

Hi, welcome to the forum. Looks like a great setup you have there. 

I also keep mine on a loose substrate and I spray the cool end every couple of days. Main reason being that my setup is bioactive and a slightly damp area is great for the cleanup crew (woodlice, springtails etc) but it is also good to provide an area with higher humidity for the dragon. 

As you have already realised, they do not come from completely dry areas that lack any humidity and the constant relaying of info that anything above 50% humidity is bad for them is complete rubbish. A humidity gradient is fine. As long as they are not exposed to high humidity 24/7 throughout the entire enclosure, they will be just fine. 

bathing them is not needed. Another myth, constantly regurgitated is that bathing them will hydrate them and that they take water through their vent. Again, as you pointed out, the only way they will get any benefit is if they drink the water and seeing as most dragons defecate when bathed, drinking the water isn't a good thing!

You sound like you know what you are doing and have a good grasp of what your dragon needs. To increase the humidity a little you could try adding more soil to the cool end. My substrate is around 8 inches deep which means the bottom layer in the cool end stays quite moist.

A water bowl should always be provided.


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## PancakeS (May 8, 2016)

AntC said:


> Thanks for your reply and that's reassuring about the humidity. However, I take issue with your theory that a twice weekly bath will do anything to hydrate him unless he drinks the bath water and I wouldn't drink mine! He is also a bit stress at the moment and I don't want to do anything to make that worse.
> 
> But thanks again anyway.
> 
> ...


If your bath water isn't the most clean you can plop him in a tub of proper size put some water in there( Luke warm ) and treat it with some declorinator, cheap to buy in any pet stores and they also get hydrated from soaking it up in their skin as they have small pores in there skin and only drink rarely but if he is skitish right now just provide a small water bowl for him.


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## murrindindi (Feb 19, 2009)

PancakeS said:


> You don't need to spray the tank at all! Beardies come from very arid environments. To hydrate your beardie you can put a water bowl in the viv but its not really necessary as the most effective way is to give them a bath and soak them in water for about 5-10 minutes as it also helps them with shed. Do this about 3 times a week for younger dragons and 1-2 times a week for adults. So remember don't worry about humidity with beardies as long as its dry and warm he/she will be fine! :2thumb:


Hi, you couldn`t be more mistaken, Bearded dragons in the wild inhabit a wide variety of habitats with a range humidity, at times it can get over 60%.


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## AntC (Apr 2, 2016)

All that I know about keeping my beardie is what I have learned on this brilliant forum but I do find that there is an awful lot of conflicting advice on here and you have to sort through in your own mind and decide what's best for your setup.

I wish I could have a deeper substrate but the viv I have doesn't really allow for anything over the 3 inches it has now. He loves digging and sand goes everywhere, including in the window channel, and any deeper and it would all come out when I open the window!

He's a very late riser though! It's now nearly 2.00pm and he hasn't come out of his little cave. Not really worried as he gets plenty of uv light once he starts basking, but I might have to do something if he hides away for any longer in the day.


Thank you for your replies, it really is helpful to have advice from people who know!

Cheers

Ant


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## AntC (Apr 2, 2016)

murrindindi said:


> Hi, you couldn`t be more mistaken, Bearded dragons in the wild inhabit a wide variety of habitats with a range humidity, at times it can get over 60%.



This is interesting. I know they live in several different habitats in central Australia but I was unaware that any such place would have a humidity of 60%. I think I shall try and convince mine that he's a desert dweller!

Cheers

Ant


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## **louise** (Nov 10, 2010)

AntC said:


> All that I know about keeping my beardie is what I have learned on this brilliant forum but I do find that there is an awful lot of conflicting advice on here and you have to sort through in your own mind and decide what's best for your setup.
> 
> I wish I could have a deeper substrate but the viv I have doesn't really allow for anything over the 3 inches it has now. He loves digging and sand goes everywhere, including in the window channel, and any deeper and it would all come out when I open the window!
> 
> ...


Yes it can be very hard to know what's best when there is so much false info out there that is just passed around by people who have no idea how true it is. Then of course you have people who refuse to believe that a loose substrate can be beneficial to a bearded dragon and think that if you don't use lino tiles your dragon will drop down dead from impaction! 

At the end of the day you have to do what you feel is best for your animals.

I'm glad to see you have gone for a loose substrate. They really do love to dig. I'm lucky as my viv has a very deep base board but even so, I do get a lot of dirt in the runner but it's worth it when I know my girls can dig like this


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## **louise** (Nov 10, 2010)

PancakeS said:


> If your bath water isn't the most clean you can plop him in a tub of proper size put some water in there( Luke warm ) and treat it with some declorinator, cheap to buy in any pet stores and they also get hydrated from soaking it up in their skin as they have small pores in there skin and only drink rarely but if he is skitish right now just provide a small water bowl for him.


I'm sure he meant the bath water is dirty because he has bathed in it. In other words, why would you want to drink your own bath water? :lol2:


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

Do you know how long the basking spot stays at 43? Him not coming out until mid afternoon sounds a bit odd, as if he may not be warm enough.


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## AntC (Apr 2, 2016)

The basking temp gets to 43 degrees pretty quickly, say half an hour, and then the thermostat dims the bulb and it stays at that temp pretty much all day. He is shedding at the moment which might explain his behaviour. He doesn't go down to the cool end much except to pick at his greens and his appetite for dubias is fine.

He has been a bit more active today, but is currently doing his agrophobic cave man thing.

Cheers

Ant


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

> but is currently doing his agrophobic cave man thing.


Lol, bless.


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## murrindindi (Feb 19, 2009)

PancakeS said:


> If your bath water isn't the most clean you can plop him in a tub of proper size put some water in there( Luke warm ) and treat it with some declorinator, cheap to buy in any pet stores and they also get hydrated from soaking it up in their skin as they have small pores in there skin and only drink rarely but if he is skitish right now just provide a small water bowl for him.


They do NOT hydrate themselves by soaking up moisure through their skin (pores), if they could do that they would lose moisture the same way. Please do not offer advise unless you`re absolutely sure the info is relaible, it causes MUCH confusion! 
I would suggest you update your information. :2thumb:


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## murrindindi (Feb 19, 2009)

AntC said:


> This is interesting. I know they live in several different habitats in central Australia but I was unaware that any such place would have a humidity of 60%. I think I shall try and convince mine that he's a desert dweller!
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Ant


Hi again, this species ranges into northern Victoria (my home state), rest assured the humidity in parts of their natural range DOES go over 60% on occasion. 
What many keepers fail to take into account is that in the refuges they choose the humidity is normaly significantly higher than the "outside" air. You will cause the dragon quite serious health problems if you keep the humidity too low for extended periods. 
I should also mention it`s extremely important to know the gender in order to provide suitable nesting areas (at all times) if the animal is female.


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## PancakeS (May 8, 2016)

murrindindi said:


> Hi, you couldn`t be more mistaken, Bearded dragons in the wild inhabit a wide variety of habitats with a range humidity, at times it can get over 60%.


I am not mistaken, never in my life have I ever heard of misting a bearded dragon enclosure...


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## hugh (May 19, 2007)

PancakeS said:


> I am not mistaken, never in my life have I ever heard of misting a bearded dragon enclosure...


That is primarily because most care sheets are wrong!

There is a pervading myth that arid environments contain no moisture. As others on this thread have stated, this is false. If there were genuinely no water then life could not exist. As it does then clearly there is water.

One major way that plants and animals in arid regions are adapted is to take in small amounts of water from the small amount of dew that forms overnight when temperatures can drop a long way from their day time highs.

Beardies are no different, they can be observed 'sipping' water droplets that form in their skin from the dew. We do not have any dew form in our cages but can provide an approximation via light misting.

Another adaptation is their ability to extract moisture from their food. They do this extremely efficiently via an specialised digestive system including the ability to hold fecal matter in their vent for a period of time to extract any remaining moisture prior to excretion.

Therefore, providing vegetables and insects that are well moisturised should give them a large amount of their water requirement.

What is less clear is that bathing is beneficial or that providing standing water such as a water bowl is necessary.

Many people comment that they never see their dragons drink from a water bowl. I believe that this is because the dragon is adequately hydrated and so has no need of the water bowl. However, I know that many people prefer to take a better safe than sorry approach.

Either way, there is still a lot to learn about keeping reptiles perfectly healthy in captivity but the best we can do is to try to emulate their natural environment as closely as possible.

A sanitised wooden box with standing water and no substrate seems to me to be a long way from their natural habitat!

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