Proper Care of Your Camera - Caring For the Lenses and Keeping Humidity in Check!

Ok, you have completed the process of going to the store or ordering your new camera on line. Now it's time to learn how to care for your expensive piece of equipment. Cameras are very delicate and require dedicated attention while outside of its carrying case.

Keeping Your Camera Dry!
The first thing you want to keep in mind is that you do not want to expose your camera to water, sand, dirt, or other corrosive substances. These can work their way into the microchips inside your camera's mother board and destroy sensitive connections and wiring. If you have to use your camera in dusty, dirty conditions, take a dry cloth and gently wipe the outer casing before returning your camera to its case.

Humidity Control

Caring For The Camera Lenses
The next thing you must remember about caring for your camera is keeping the display screen clean and free of oil build up. Your fingers accumulate grease and oil throughout the day, and it can accumulate on your camera's LCD display, creating a black film that makes viewing your pictures quite difficult. Spray a little Windex on a rag and gently wipe the screen only.

You must also turn your camera off before connecting and disconnecting power sources and transfer cords. It is also a good idea to switch off the power before removing batteries or memory cards so you don't lose what pictures you have saved.

Humidity Control for Your Camera Storage
When using your camera in high humidity, keep it protected from condensation as much as possible. Water will cause your camera's electronic systems to short and will make your camera no longer usable. Condensation can also form on the inside of your lens. If this happens, take your camera to the nearest repair shop and have it cleaned. If you decide to store your camera for an extended period of time, place it in a dry closet and place silica gel packets in the case to prevent moisture build up. Once you take your camera out of the case again, check for any sign of damage or condensation.

You also do not want to leave your camera in a vehicle for extended periods of time. Heat and direct sunlight can damage delicate parts and can actually cause your LCD display to distort. You also do not want to place anything magnetic next to your camera. The force of the magnetic pull can rip connections and ruin batteries.

Proper Care of Your Camera - Caring For the Lenses and Keeping Humidity in Check!

Measure Humidity Levels In Your Home in Fall and Winter, With a Hygrometer

It can be said that while humidity is essential to our health and our homes that Winnipeg in the winter is drier than in humidity than the Sahara Desert. True we all need some moisture as well as humidity in our homes and offices to maintain both comfort and health levels. However either too much or too little humidity can result in any number of problems ranging from condensation on window panes, moldy bathrooms, and musty basements to the full gamut of serious problems and concerns such as permanent damage to building and structures or respiratory concerns and allergies.

The most reliable way to measure the overall humidity in any dwelling is with a standard hygrometer - a fairly small, inexpensive as well as easy to use measurement tool which can be had at most big box or smaller hardware or building construction or heating / air conditioning supply stores and outlets.

Humidity Control

Is there an overall relative humidity (R.H.) rate or measurement that is held in the heating and air conditioning trades as a fair and acceptable health and comfort standard? Yes, overall and in general furnace and air conditioning cooling trades recommend in the range and ranges of 30 %. Remember as well that the term is not simply the one word "Humidity" but rather "Relative Humidity". What this entails is that the measured humid levels and measurements - that is moisture in the air - is relative to the temperature. Moisture is released by air as the temperature decreases, and picked up by the air as the ambient temperatures increase. Thus air that has a low rate when warm or hot, can and will rank a high number as it cools. Acceptable comfortable air when warm - say 75 or 80 degrees Fahrenheit can when chilled to 20 degrees begin to give up its moisture, become humid and "sweat" when cooled or chilled to the lower temperature ranges. Thus in the wintertime and cold weather the humid rh index should be no more than 30 % - thus giving lots of leeway should temperatures decrease yet more. However during the warmer times of year - say during summer - the R.H. relative humidity levels can increase to 60 % maximal range with no concerns what so ever to health or comfort.

What can be done to reduce excessive or high moisture levels in your home or abode? Plenty and most of it is fairly easy, standard and relatively inexpensive. Remember though that the issues may be seasonal so that problems do not creep up in the summertime but will over the cooler winter, fall and even springtime seasons.

Here are some simple steps to consider. First of all reduce moisture loss. Close the bathroom shower and washing machine drier utility rooms during use. Open the windows or better yet install an outdoors leading exhaust fan or fans. If rooms are draughty or chilly then caulk up and seal up air draft leaks, and as well insulate walls and doors if possible.

Improve heat to areas that need it. It may be a simple matter of a heating professional adjusting the heating duct flow balance in your home and / or simply cleaning ducts of dust and wintertime debris to increase and speed up warm air flow from your furnace.

Perhaps your furnace needs to be cleaned and tuned up this fall as well. Lastly do not forget to replace or clean your furnace's air filters. Clogged furnace filters restrict and reduce warm air flow. Throw away disposable filters are inexpensive to replace and can be swapped in a snap. More expensive yet effective electronic air filters need to be cleaned as well. You can simply wash the electrostatic air filters in a sink with warm clean non soapy water or in many cases even placed in a clean water cycle in your dishwasher.

In the end with a little bit of work, effort and rearrangement you should be able to normalize humidity levels in your home so that they are not an issue to health or comfort. That is high enough in the summer yet not to great during the colder and damper winter and fall times.

Measure Humidity Levels In Your Home in Fall and Winter, With a Hygrometer

How to Care For Orchids Indoors - Temperatures, Humidity and Placement

If you've chosen to grow orchids in your home It's a good idea to be as prepared as possible before you go out and buy your plant. In my opinion, orchids are one of the most worthwhile and rewarding plants you can grow in your home. While it's true that learning how to care for your orchids is a life long pursuit, don't despair because you can still successfully grow them with a good grasp of the basics. We've all got to start somewhere, right?

There are several species of orchids that make ideal indoor orchids and I would suggest that if you're a beginner that you start with one of these plants to give yourself the best chance for success. Growing your orchid indoors can be a little more tricky than in a greenhouse where you often have a little more control over the growing conditions, but is still easily achievable if you can match their requirements.

Humidity Control

Phalaenopsis orchid species make fantastic indoor plants, not only are they beautiful orchids with long lasting blooms they tolerate dryer conditions, such as those in a centrally heated home, better than most.

What to look for when buying your orchid

Check for signs of diseases, maturity and general health in your orchids before you buy.

Starting from the top down check the orchids flowers, if they are already wilting you can probably move on to the next plant because this orchid has reached the end of its blooming cycle.

Check for spots or discolouration on the flowers and leaves and make sure to check the underside too and around the crook of the leaves and the stem. Discolouration could be the sign of an unhealthy or diseased plant. The orchids leaves should be thick, green and firm, yellowing leaves could be a sign of over watering or too much light. Dark green leaves could mean too little light.

Check the roots if you can, they should be firm and whitish with darker coloured tips, Soft or spongy roots indicate an unhealthy plant.

Placement

Once you've got yourself the perfect orchid you'll need to find the perfect spot to keep it. Maximising the daylight hours whilst avoiding sunburn is key to caring for your orchids. Indoors you've got to find somewhere with long periods of shaded or diffused light. Eastern or western facing windows often provide the longest hours of sunlight whilst avoiding the strong midday light but to be sure you can use a blind, net curtain or frosted glass to diffuse the light.

Humidity

Species of phalaenopsis orchids will be pretty forgiving of dryer air in your home but many orchids prefer a much more humid environment especially tropical and sub-tropical species. A humidity of around 60% is not unreasonable. This is much easier to achieve in a greenhouse but you can increase the humidity around your orchid indoors by using a water tray or humidity tray. Basically the orchid is supported above a tray filled with water, the water evaporates and increases the humidity around your orchid. Pretty simple, but effective too.

Temperature

One of the biggest challenges of growing you orchid indoors is often to provide them with the correct temperature range. The conditions and temperature fluctuations that your orchid prefers may not be ideal living conditions for you. Phalaenopsis especially enjoy the warmth of an indoor home environment but each orchid species will have its own requirements. Try to get a night time temperature drop of around 10 - 14 degrees Fahrenheit. Some orchids will require a much lower temperature during periods of no growth, you may have to relocate your orchids or even move you indoor orchids outdoors to achieve this. Getting these temperature ranges correct will help ensure that your orchid keeps blooming time and time again.

How to Care For Orchids Indoors - Temperatures, Humidity and Placement

Reptile Keeping For Beginners

In this article we will briefly go over the basic needs of most reptiles, to give a background on how to keep reptiles, before exploring the ways in which you were in some subjects such as nutrition because of the large variability between species concerned are governed.

HEATING

Humidity Control

This is with almost all reptiles in captivity in England universal. Our climate supports many species of native reptiles from snakes viper, but the species commonly kept as petsusually are made in very hot climates, and so additional heating. But is not simply a matter of maintaining the nursery is a radiator!

All reptiles are cold blooded so they can not control their body temperature regardless of their environment, how we do it. The only way to have some control over their body temperature is to move from warm areas to cold areas and vice versa. So we need to provide a temperature gradient. This is obtained by heating one side of the finished productVivarium to create a hot spot and leaving the other side relatively cold. The temperatures needed for hot spots and cool end varies from species to species, so this should be explored.

Heating methods

There are several methods that can be used for the preparation of this temperature gradient in the nursery. By far the most important way for beginners is a carpet base. A heat mat is a thin electric that you can place in the nursery or in some casesright side of the nursery (be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions). A block heater usually cover about one third of the surface on one side of the nursery. Heating mats are one of the lowest-powered heating methods for reptiles and therefore are only suitable for the species of the temperate regions, such as corn snakes.

The temperature of the heating mat is an inexpensive device called a stat on a mat (like a thermostat for heating mats). Sinceare several brands of thermostats, which have been specifically designed for heating reptile. A thermostat is also an important piece of safety equipment that prevents excessive heat on the hot side.

Another method of heating is with a light bulb light spot on the ceiling of the nursery, which is controlled by a thermostat. Dimming thermostats to monitor the temperatures in the nursery and to reduce or increase the power supplied to the lamp to adjust the temperature,in the nursery. This method is much more powerful than a heating pad, and can provide higher temperatures. It can also be used to provide a basking a hot plate that can not be created. In nature, many reptiles are basking in the sun to warm up and so this type of heating system promotes a natural behavior for many diurnal lizards such as bearded dragons. A red spot lamp can also be used at night for most reptiles, since most can not see the color red.

Due to the very high surfacetemperatures of spot bulbs, a guard around the bulb is absolutely essential to prevent your reptile from getting burnt.

Another alternative is a Ceramic Bulb that emits only infra red and no visible light. This is ideal if you are keeping the vivarium in your bedroom so the light doesn't disturb you. It is also better suited for reptiles that require exceptionally high temperatures as Ceramic Bulbs come in power ratings up to 250w or even higher in some cases.

Ceramic bulbs can be controlled with a dimming thermostat, though a cheaper alternative is a Pulse Proportional Thermostat which is constantly turning the bulb on and off to maintain the required temperature. If a Pulse Proportional Thermostat were to be used with a spot bulb it would burn out the filament very quickly and you will be constantly replacing the bulb. Ceramic Bulbs on the other hand don't have this problem.

Again, the surface of the bulb can get exceptionally hot and so a guard around the bulb is essential!

Please fully research the requirements of the reptile you are interested in before deciding which heating method is best suited for you.

LIGHTING

Many reptiles need specialist lighting. This is usually provided using fluorescent strip bulbs designed specifically for reptiles that emit a form of ultraviolet light called UVB, the most popular brand in the UK being Exo Terra's Repti Glos though there are many other brands available varying in price. Pretty much any day active lizard will require this form of lighting. It is very important because day active reptiles synthesize a vitamin called D3 using UVB light. Vitamin D3 is an essential vitamin that allows reptiles to metabolize the calcium in their food. Without it, they can not metabolize the calcium regardless how much is in their diet and so they will suffer from a crippling condition known as Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) which can result in severe skeletal deformities and in worse case scenarios, death.

Normal fluorescent lights do not emit UVB and nor do common ultraviolet lights like "black lights." Always use a light that is designed to be used for reptiles. These bulbs also emit visible light, however they will only emit UVB for a period of around 6 months so regardless of whether the bulb is still emitting visible light after this time it will need replacing.

For maximum effect, the bulb should ideally be no more than six to ten inches away from the reptile, though the range is effectively doubled if you use a reflector. Try to position the bulb and arrange the vivarium so that your reptile will spend a large part of the day within range of the bulb i.e., when basking.

There are several types of UVB emitting fluorescent bulb. Repti Glos come in three types: 2%, 5%, and 10%. The percentage refers to how much of the light's spectrum is in the UVB range. 5% and 10% are the most popular though are suited for different types of reptiles. 5% bulbs are usually used with Rainforest and European species since the intensity of the sunlight in these areas is relatively low. 10% bulbs are usually used for desert species that spend a large part of their lives in direct sunlight.

Nocturnal reptiles like Leopard Geckos do not require any specialist lighting as they rarely venture out in daylight.

Please fully research the requirements of the reptile you are interested in before deciding which lighting system is best suited for you.

HUMIDITY

Humidity in the vivarium needs to be maintained to match the reptile's natural environment. Without the appropriate humidity your reptile will suffer from respiratory problems, and if the humidity is too low, may have problems shedding their skin. Average indoor humidity in the UK is around 30-50% so if your reptile requires humidity levels higher than this the tank will need to be sprayed with a mister to raise the humidity. An inexpensive device called a Hygrometer can be used to monitor the humidity levels in the vivarium.

Vivariums with higher humidity levels are more prone to mites and mold so be sure to remove any feces and dead food immediately.

SUBSTRATE

There are several factors in choosing the right substrate. The main factor is the humidity. If your reptile requires a high humidity then you want to use a substrate that can hold moisture well. A few examples are Orchid Bark, Sphagnum Moss, Coconut Bedding and Komodo's Tropical Terrain.

There are a few other options for reptiles that do not require high levels of humidity, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Beech chips are one of the most popular though others include Bio Grass, Repti Maize, and Reptile Carpet.

The main problem with Beech chips (and indeed any substrate that is in particle form) is that there is a risk your reptile could accidentally swallow it while eating which can block the digestive system or cause serious internal damage. A safer alternative is Bio Grass which is basically compressed grass pellets. These pellets break down when wet and so can be easily passed through if swallowed. This is also true to a lesser extent with Repti Maize which is made out of kiln dried corn. When swallowed Repti Maize goes mushy around the outside and so is not so hard to pass through and less likely to cause internal damage like with beech chips. The main problem with using these kind of substrates is that they will disintegrate if they get wet which can be a nuisance around their water bowl. Of course all ingestion problems can be avoided if you use a substrate that isn't in particle form like Reptile Carpet which is a coarse felt like material you can use to line the bottom of the vivarium. This will eliminate the ingestion problem, though it will prevent lizards who like to dig into the substrate from doing so.

In some cases it may be more appropriate to feed your reptile outside of the vivarium.

Again, please fully research the reptile you are interested in to help you decide which substrate is most suitable.

REPTILES SUITABLE FOR BEGINNERS

Due to the specialist requirements of reptiles, not all species are suitable for beginners. A few that we would recommend for someone starting out in reptile keeping are Leopard Geckos, Crested Geckos, Bearded Dragons, Corn Snakes, Kingsnakes and Hermann's Tortoises. These species grow to a moderate size, are very hardy and usually have very good temperaments making them ideal beginner species.

Reptile Keeping For Beginners