Hey all! I am going to be getting my first snake, a pretty little boy Thursday -- and before I actually pick him up, I want to make sure that his new home is setup properly. I have read tons of care sheets and information pages, and have also combed this sub-forum. As of right now, I feel I have a good start, but I know what I have still needs a lot of work. I am 100% sure I am having a case of pre-snake nervousness. Haha.

This is what I have so far:


Cool <------------------> Warm
Tank is a 20gal, 30X12X12


At the moment I am really struggling with humidity and proper heat. Unless I mist, the humidity refuses to go above 40ish. I just covered the top of the tank with foil and am hoping that helps, and am currently testing the affect that different size containers of water have on the humidity (hence the Tupperware haha). In the picture I have carpet on the bottom of the tank, but I also have a bag of Aspen to try out.

I am also worried about having a proper temperature gradient. On the cool side the temperature seem to stay at around 74-76F, and on the warm the thermometer reads around 83F, and directly under the hide it is about 86F. Is this alright?

I am not sure just how accurate the readings are since I am using analog meters for now. However, I am planning to head to Walmart before Thursday to pick up a temperature gun and hopefully find a digital hygrometer along with a thermostat.

One of my major concerns is the heat and humidity. I work EMS and my shifts are 48/48 (twice a month) and and 24/48 hour shifts and I want to make sure that my enclosure is exactly how it needs to be, especially for those shifts where I am stuck at the station for 48 hours.


Any help on the humidity and temperature issue would be greatly appreciated! Along with any other pointers ya'll can give to a newbie.



I have set the temperature of my room to stay at around mid 70's in hopes of that helping to keep it from fluctuating.


One day... one day... I'll have a super awesome pretty enclosure! *Shakes fist.*