havin humidity problems. help?

[Rawly]

so i cant get my humidity up to where it needs to be while my BP is shedding. right now im keeping it anywhere from 30-50%. my setup is a 40 gallon terrarium with a HE for the night and nomal heat lamp during the day, water dish, hide, UTH on the warm side and a tupperware with damp spagnum moss, i also lined the sides of the tank and the mesh top where the lights arnt sitting with foam core board. i try and mist it with a spray bottle every now and then but it seems to dry up quickly and isnt working long term since i cant always be home to mist it constantly. Any suggestions on getting the humidity up to the 70-80's during shed?

[JLC]

First off...the humidity doesn't need to be THAT high, even in shed. If you can maintain it around 50% all the time....that's usually plenty sufficient to promote easy sheds. Bumping it up to around 60% can be helpful during the shed cycle if the snake seems a bit dry to start with. Anything higher than that is just overkill.

Second off...you'll find that maintaining a proper environment in a 40 gallon glass tank is HARD. If you want to continue working with it all the time and putting in the expense and effort it will take to do that....then more power to ya. But I would highly recommend you looking into a smaller, more easily managed enclosure.

In the meantime...try covering the top with a damp towel. Some wads of wet (not dripping) paper towels scattered around the bottom can help as well...just be sure to change them out for fresh ones daily. A good moisture-holding substrate like cypress mulch or coconut husk can help, too.

Good luck with it.

[2Devious]

The humidity is prolly drying up fast because of the heat lamp.
Does the snake use the humid hide during the shed process? When you say tupperware with sphagnum moss, what do you mean exactly?
Humid hides, one both in the cool and one in the warm side during shed should help. A humid hide can be setup as such:

Tupperware bowl large enough for your snake to fit tight along with damp sphagnum moss - covered with a hole large enough for your snake to crawl in an out of either in the top or side.

You can also try a damp towel over the mesh top.

[bads15]

also place your water bowl over the heat pad. a wider bowl should give you quicker evaporation then a smaller one.

[Kaorte]

Your first problem is the heat lamps. They will bring down your humidity the most. Are you using digital thermometers with a probe? Your temps might actually be higher than they need to be. Chances are you don't even need the over head heat.

That being said, your UTH should be controlled by a thermoSTAT to prevent belly burns.

Second of all, the foam core board will actually absorb humidity since it is porous. Try covering 3/4ths of the screen top with a layer of aluminum foil or tape. Do not put any tape on the inside of the enclosure though. Believe me, you will be pulling it off of them and that is no picnic.

Third of all, the big tank. There is really no need to have a tank as large as a 40g. As you can see it can be hard to maintain temps and humidity. A big tank also requires a lot of security tweaks to make the snake feel safe. You will need more than two identical hides and lots of fake plants for cover. It is also a good idea to cover the back and sides with dark paper or foam core to help close off the tank a bit. I also think it looks rather nice. You could put pictures or something on the foam board. The easiest solution would be to get a smaller tank, preferably a 20g long.

[Reptile King]

I used to have humidity issues as well. I went to Lowe's and purchased a $10 piece of plexiglass (cut to fit the top) and that resolved all of my hunidity issues. It never gets below 50%......NEVER. As far as substrate goes I use outdoor carpet from Lowe's as well. I got 4 pieces of carpet for under $3. As a result, I do not worry about my ball python ingesting anything other than a mouse.

I also only use a UTH......I do not use any heat lamps. I use a tube florescent light for my viewing pleasure but that is its only purpose.

Good luck!

[lepidunce]

I will push for the damp towel every day I live. Seriously. Cover about two thirds of the tank top with a damp towel should keep the humidity from 60-70% at all times. Works like a dream. But I don't know if those numbers will translate to a larger tank. I'm using a twenty long. Either way, it works amazingly for me, and I am using a heat lamp. (temporarily)