here's a picture for the visually curious.

Wish I could help you more, but around here (west central fla) we just hang staghorns under the trees and basically forget about them. Never tried to keep one in the house. I was wondering about the whitish stuff that seems to be sprinkled over the plant and mounting board. No chance it could be some kind of scale, is there? If it is, you'll want to take care of that. I like a spray of a solution of soap, oil, and water (1 tsp mild liquid dish soap, 1 tsp oil-canola will work-, in a 2 pint spray bottle), at weekly intervals for 3 or 4 weeks. Don't use insecticide on ferns; many will curl up and die as soon as it touches their fronds.

These plants come from a humid environment. They make large clumps that stay damp all the time, and misting every day is a tease. Water it every day and let it drip in the shower.

If you want to know the humidity in your house, get a hygrometer and be prepared for a shock. The average home is down around 15-20%. They like it at 60% or more. Hang it in the shower as often as you can and see the turgidity return.

After a while it will make a cup base (the infertile fronds). At this point, put it in a hanging basket, wire is good. This is where you put your begonia blooms, fallen leaves, etc. Orchid bark is good. Then you can just water the cup.

The one here is 60lbs or more. It hangs in a south window not too near the glass, but the fronds can reach the window. It started out smaller than the one you picture.

Ficuswrangler is correct that in FL they are suited to the climate. Winters are dry, but there is a heavy dew almost every morning. Summers are wet to very wet, and every spot can count on rain at least 1X per week, plus the humidity varies from 40-100%.

I use 15 gallons of water in the sitting room where the indoor plants live, we also have an aquarium that loses about 3/wk, plus we have a fountain for humidity. The result? Tonight it is 51% relative humidity at 66F and 33F outside.

Our fern (Platycerium bifurcatum) can drink more than a gallon without water coming out the bottom. It hangs above a vinyl lined tray thing I built in when I was building the house. The fern hangs from the ceiling (which is 2X6 tongue and groove yellow pine) with 5/16 chain and has grown over the chain, the original wire basket it hung in has long since been swallowed by the infertile fronds. The ball is about 2ft dia., and the fronds reach out from that. It gets fed fertilizer a couple times/yr, and gets leaves, etc. put in the middle. And it likes water.

generally, indication of lack of relative humidity or ambient moisture around platycerium and most plants needing high level of such is browning of their leaf tip and margin.
it's interesting to note that p. veitchii can thrive in both arid and moist environment. in arid condition in rock outcrops open to direct sunlight, it becomes verdant in stellate hair to protect itself from too much heat, light and water loss, and its fertile fronds reduces in volume to prevent further water loss due to transpiration.

the staghorn shown above looks like a p. hilii because of its pendulous fertile fronds. i've been growing a bunch of this. i also water when i see slight wilting, but most of the time, i let mine stay dry even after early sight of wilting.
they grow much slower relative to p. bifurcatum even with utmost condition.
goodluck!

Wow! I've never posted here before, but everyone is so knowledgeable (apparently)--thank you all!

The white in the picture is diatomaceous earth. Saw a few ants and thought it would be wise to nip that in the bud...

Yeah, I have no idea what humidity is like in our house. I'd imagine incredibly bad. What I can say, for myself, is that when I mist, I mean, give them a good dripping bath with the spray bottle (unless the plant requires indirect misting). I usually do this 2x's a day.

I guess the consensus is that I should maybe try soaking instead of pouring water over the plant. @Keylyn, I think you're right about it because p.hilii. And I have noticed that the plant can look fairly healthy even when it's been dry a while. And your suggestion that it's a slow grower definitely makes me feel better (at the least).

@Dzitmoidonc, your sitting room sounds amazing. Is a hygrometer different from a moisture meter? I have one of those and it just gives me a simple 1-10 wetness reading. I'm guessing the hygrometer is a humidity reader? Expensive at all? I probably should invest in one anyway.

On that subject, if anyone sees this--do pebble trays work? I've got a fittonia that I was thinking about making one for. I could also place some around the area of the fern to increase the humidity.

Hah! Maybe I should just take it into the shower with me! (I'm kind of serious about that actually...)

Im looking for detailed instructions on how to plant the staghorn in a wire basket with a cocoa fiber liner..do I sit the fern with the part that would normally be packed with moss on a board?...I have 2 peices and would like to leave one down here at our winter home in Florida and take the other one home to Michigan and have it hang under our cherry trees..any help would so be appreciated....Judy