Help with Humidity

[Satanslillgrl]

I have had my first BP for about 2 months now, and I think I'm doing pretty OK with not making her suffer too much while I figure out all her tricks. She's in the right size tank, she has hides and branches, her temp is always right. Really, the only things I've really messed up on are not noticing her mites right away (which are getting taken care of already) and....

HUMIDITY!!!!!!

It's been lower than it was supposed to be from the start. It usually hit about 40%. But, now, with the mites and all, her bedding has been switched to paper towels instead of the mulch I had her in. Her humidity has since dropped down to about 25%, which I know is unacceptable. To top it all off, she's currently shedding, which is our first shed together.

I was wondering if anyone had any tips for me in regards to raising her humidity. It's a 29 gal. glass aquarium with an UTH and a heat lamp for her basking area. I have one small water dish for her to soak in, and a plastic soup bowl filled with water on the hot side of her tank. I also have plastic wrapped as much of the screen top as I can without the risk of the heat lamp melting it.

Please. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm gathering the supplies to make her a humid hide thingy for right now, but I really need to get her overall humidity up.

[Kaorte]

What wattage is the heat lamp? Do you even need it? That is what is killing your humidity.

Here are a few things you can do:

1. Instead of plastic wrap, go to the hardware store and get some aluminum tape. Tape the entire screen but leave a hole for the lamp.

2. Get a lower wattage lamp or get rid of it completely

3. Make a humid hide for your snake. Don't turn an existing hide into a humid hide, get a tupperware container and cut a hole in it. Put some damp paper towel or sphagnum moss in it. Make sure to rehydrate it every day or so and change it out every few days.

4. Cover the back and sides of the tank with dark paper or foam core board. This will help insulate the tank a bit better.

5. Mist a few times a day.


What are you measuring your temps and humidity with? Could you take a picture of your setup.

[Satanslillgrl]

I for sure need the heat lamp. Otherwise the temp only gets to around 70*F. The bulb is 100 watt, which is as low as I can get to maintain her basking temp in the 90s (usually 93*F). I can't get a picture right now, but I'll try to soon. I'll try switching to foil as soon as possible, too. Thanks.

[zantedeschia]

Huh, your setup sounds a lot like mine.

Two things are dropping your humidity. I see you live in MI, I'm assuming it's cold and dry there. Ambient low humidity is one of them.

The other is it sounds like you're opening the cage a lot to deal with the mites. That will drop your humidity.

Couple suggestions. Mist a lot. When I mist, I spray the underside of the top (which I have covered with plastic wrap) and a couple of the sides so that there's moisture on the glass to evaporate. It's been warming up here so I've needed to mist less, hardly at all.

The other thing I have is a dish of spagnum moss. I keep it real damp, the slow evaporation ups the humidity. You also might try a larger, shallow water dish. Something with more surface area, again, to slowly evaporate.

[zantedeschia]

Another thing, I didn't have much success with the plastic wrap until I actually taped it on (with packing tape). Foil works too but you have to tape that as well.

[Kaorte]

I for sure need the heat lamp. Otherwise the temp only gets to around 70*F. The bulb is 100 watt, which is as low as I can get to maintain her basking temp in the 90s (usually 93*F). I can't get a picture right now, but I'll try to soon. I'll try switching to foil as soon as possible, too. Thanks.

You shouldn't need a heat lamp and a UTH on the same spot for a hot side temp of 93*. What kind of thermometer are you using?

A heat lamp should only be used to keep the ambient temperatures in the high 70's - low 80's.

[Satanslillgrl]

The "hot" end of the tank is usually in the 80* range. The heat lamp is there to keep her basking spot, which is a piece of wood suction cupped near the top, at 90*.

I foiled it and put an extra water dish in and it's at about 40% right now. She's still retained a bit of her shed though.

I'm working on trying to get some of that moss.

[Kaorte]

The "hot" end of the tank is usually in the 80* range. The heat lamp is there to keep her basking spot, which is a piece of wood suction cupped near the top, at 90*.

I foiled it and put an extra water dish in and it's at about 40% right now. She's still retained a bit of her shed though.

I'm working on trying to get some of that moss.

Ball pythons don't bask in the sense of sitting out under a light on a piece of wood. You are better off providing belly heat as your hotspot with a hide and using the light to maintain ambient temperatures in the low 80's.

[Satanslillgrl]

Oh! Well then, maybe I'll see if I can get rid of the light, or lower the wattage. Thanks.

[ls1goat04]

i taped cardboard around the tank which helped with insulation. i live in chicago which is reeealll dry in the winter. depending on where your tank is you could put a humidifier in the room. i did and now mine are up 50%to70% depending on how high i run it. just an idea