ResearchGate Q&A snippet Question: Nest shredding / paper wisp destruction in low humidity vivarium — any fixes? We run our mouse room at around 25-30% relative humidity in the winter months (HVAC struggles to keep it higher) and have noticed nesting material, especially compressed cotton squares, gets completely shredded into fine dust within a day or two rather than being built into a normal dome nest.

Top answer: Low humidity is almost certainly the culprit — below 30% RH, static buildup in synthetic and cotton-based nesting material makes it fray apart instead of matting into a cohesive nest, and it dries out mouse skin in the same way it dries out human skin. Two things helped us a lot: switching a portion of the nesting material to crinkle paper strips (less prone to static shredding than compressed cotton squares), and adding a small room humidifier to bring RH up into the 40-50% target range recommended by most institutional guidelines. Dandruff/dermatitis cleared up within about two weeks of the humidity fix.