Humidity issues--a dry room?

[dkspftw]

Hey all,

This is my first post as I'm about to own my first ball. I've kept a number of exotic pets before, most of which are much more demanding in their care than pythons, so I figured I can handle it.

Don't like to do anything half way, so my first BP will be a gorgeous little 2012 female mimosa.

I'm not a huge fan of the sweatbox aesthetic, as I'd like the snake to be in a visually appealing environment and be somewhat visible when not totally up in a hide.

Anyway, I've got a pretty standard exoterra screen-topped terrarium, 36x18x24'' I believe, with about 1'' of cypress mulch for substrate. Hides are made of driftwood and lace rock arranged so as to make caves and look all cool. There's an extra large standard issue exoterra water dish, and I heat the enclosure with a 100w ceramic heat emitter and a 30w under the tank heating pad. Both are controlled by an on/off controller with a temperature probe, and my other thermometers show the numbers are where I want them.

But I can't for the life of me get the average humidity over 15% or so. I've got 2 digital probes in the tank, and the one that's a few inches from the water dish ranges from 20-30, but the one near the heat source and most of the hides usually sits at about 12-15%.

I've taped up about 85% of the screen top with thick, nonporous tape, the only openings being a strip where I put some LEDs to light the tank during the day and a few cracks around where the heat emitter dome sits. The dome is surrounded by taped-down tinfoil.

I've added an auto-sprayer and I have it set to go for about 20 seconds every 8 hours. This will briefly up the humidity, but in doing so the temperature drops 5-8 degrees. And it seems to take less time for the humidity to drop than for the tank to heat back up.

I think the room is unusually dry due to it being winter and the heat being on in my building.

The vendor who is selling me the snake says I shouldn't worry about it too much, and I should just manually give the snake a good spritzing when it shows sign of approaching a shed. He's a successful, well reviewed breeder, and I don't think he's trying to trick me. I've already paid for the thing, after all, so he has nothing to gain.

Should I increase the frequency and/or duration of the spraying?

Should I seal off the strip under the LED with something clear? If so, there will only be 1'' or so of exposed screen on the top, although there's obvious openings in the front of the terrarium, where the doors open and close. Would that be enough air for an adult BP?

In theory, the snake comes in Wednesday, so I'd like to get this stabilized ASAP.

Thanks in advance for your expertise, and I'm sure this boils down to frequently asked n00b questions.

[Willie76]

You'll still want some area open to prevent stagnant air build up. When I had glass, screen top enclosures, I would use warm wet towels (not dripping...but wet) to cover the screen top with enough area for my lamp and a small area for air exchange. I would re-moisten the towels twice a day (morning before work and before bed). The problem with most glass enclosures is they are too tall and have screen tops...heat and humidity rises. I would seriously look at investing in a T8 from Animal Plastics or the lower Exo-Terra Medium-Low/Large-Low (depending on size of your snake). I live in the North Central United States and have also used moistened moss and even placed a washcloth inside the enclosure to help with humidity. Ideally, you want 50%-60% non-shed and 70%+ during shed...that's what has worked for me in the past. Just try not to over saturate the enclosure as this can lead to scale rot and bacteria build-up.

[I-KandyReptiles]

Hey all,

This is my first post as I'm about to own my first ball. I've kept a number of exotic pets before, most of which are much more demanding in their care than pythons, so I figured I can handle it.

Don't like to do anything half way, so my first BP will be a gorgeous little 2012 female mimosa.

I'm not a huge fan of the sweatbox aesthetic, as I'd like the snake to be in a visually appealing environment and be somewhat visible when not totally up in a hide.

Anyway, I've got a pretty standard exoterra screen-topped terrarium, 36x18x24'' I believe, with about 1'' of cypress mulch for substrate. Hides are made of driftwood and lace rock arranged so as to make caves and look all cool. There's an extra large standard issue exoterra water dish, and I heat the enclosure with a 100w ceramic heat emitter and a 30w under the tank heating pad. Both are controlled by an on/off controller with a temperature probe, and my other thermometers show the numbers are where I want them.

But I can't for the life of me get the average humidity over 15% or so. I've got 2 digital probes in the tank, and the one that's a few inches from the water dish ranges from 20-30, but the one near the heat source and most of the hides usually sits at about 12-15%.

I've taped up about 85% of the screen top with thick, nonporous tape, the only openings being a strip where I put some LEDs to light the tank during the day and a few cracks around where the heat emitter dome sits. The dome is surrounded by taped-down tinfoil.

I've added an auto-sprayer and I have it set to go for about 20 seconds every 8 hours. This will briefly up the humidity, but in doing so the temperature drops 5-8 degrees. And it seems to take less time for the humidity to drop than for the tank to heat back up.

I think the room is unusually dry due to it being winter and the heat being on in my building.

The vendor who is selling me the snake says I shouldn't worry about it too much, and I should just manually give the snake a good spritzing when it shows sign of approaching a shed. He's a successful, well reviewed breeder, and I don't think he's trying to trick me. I've already paid for the thing, after all, so he has nothing to gain.

Should I increase the frequency and/or duration of the spraying?

Should I seal off the strip under the LED with something clear? If so, there will only be 1'' or so of exposed screen on the top, although there's obvious openings in the front of the terrarium, where the doors open and close. Would that be enough air for an adult BP?

In theory, the snake comes in Wednesday, so I'd like to get this stabilized ASAP.

Thanks in advance for your expertise, and I'm sure this boils down to frequently asked n00b questions.

You seem to be doing all that one would recommend for improving screen tank humidity.

I wouldn't have even bothered with a tank. I'd suggest a tub set up until you can afford a xpvc enclosure. They hold humidity wonderfully.

http://www.animalplastics.com

[dkspftw]

You'll still want some area open to prevent stagnant air build up. When I had glass, screen top enclosures, I would use warm wet towels (not dripping...but wet) to cover the screen top with enough area for my lamp and a small area for air exchange. I would re-moisten the towels twice a day (morning before work and before bed). The problem with most glass enclosures is they are too tall and have screen tops...heat and humidity rises. I would seriously look at investing in a T8 from Animal Plastics or the lower Exo-Terra Medium-Low/Large-Low (depending on size of your snake). I live in the North Central United States and have also used moistened moss and even placed a washcloth inside the enclosure to help with humidity. Ideally, you want 50%-60% non-shed and 70%+ during shed...that's what has worked for me in the past. Just try not to over saturate the enclosure as this can lead to scale rot and bacteria build-up.

So you think there's no way to replace what is essentially the action of putting the towels in there? Like, maybe even setting up the sprayers to spray ONTO a small towel that's just kept in the enclosure?

It's frustrating cause I've already spent nearly $1000 setting up their current enclosure, and it has the dimensions/look that I'd like for the part of the room they'll be in.

And the cost of getting a replacement T8 is really a non-issue. I just was extremely happy with the look/feel/location of my tank and thought I'd spent all the money I was going to have to for now.

As it stands, it would be potentially dangerous and/or harmful for the snake to be in the current, way too dry enclosure, yes?

[Willie76]

Over all, I think you're fine. It's just going to take a little manual work to keep humidity up. Don't get me wrong, my humidity does drop...especially in winter here in the upper midwest, but once I see it hit 40% or below, I am misting a few more times a day. The main thing is during shed. If the humidity isn't kept up, you'll get a shed that comes off in pieces and stuck eye caps (no fun to get off). As long as you're vigilant in misting...you should be fine.

Is a room humidifier an option for you? Is this a dedicated snake room or in a shared space? The other thing you can try is putting a second, smaller water bowl on the warm side. The heat will evaporate the water in this smaller bowl and aid in bringing humidity up.

[dkspftw]

I actually proposed this idea on a fish forum a while back, but it was shot down for potentially generating too much humidity. Maybe it would solve my problem, as I have too little.

Anyway, what if I took an exoterra food bowl and sawed off a chunk of it so that it has a flat edge. I'd then drill two holes in the tank about 1'' off the bottom and run a couple of pipes into the water bowl, connecting to a pump and a mini "sump" under the tank. This would ensure a constant supply of clean, running water even if the snake pooped in its water dish. (I'm kind of an aquarium freak, so I love DIY stuff like this.)

This is probably a crazy idea but figured I'd throw it out there.

And to respond to Willie76 (sorry a bit awkward at the forums):

It's my living room, unfortunately, so I'd have to humidify my whole apartment. And the problem is that the heat in my place is intense, so I usually leave some windows open when I go to work. I think it's this combination that makes it get so low. And we've been having crazy weather recently, so there have been times I've come home and my apartment feels like a rainforest cause the day randomly jumped 20 degrees. I'm gonna see if I can get by more with turning down the heat and keeping windows shut more, as we're starting to near spring.

[martin82531]

I have my boa set up in 40 gallon tank, I use Eco-Earth and I maybe have to re-hydrorate the soil maybe once a week. I cut a piece of cardboard and wrapped it in tinfoil draped with a dry towel. I have both a UTH and a heat lamp, by keeping the heat lamp on the same side as the UTH, I have found this gives my perfect ambient temps and doesn't kill my humidity.




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[Marrissa]

Wow all of that and only 15%? That's weird. I have a 20 gal for my BP. Normally I keep about 80% of it covered with cardboard wrapped in aluminum and the heat lamp on the hot side. I use eco earth and mist it really well whenever dry patches appear (which is almost every day since I keep it thin so he can feel the belly heat coming through). I get 70-85% pretty easily with that. Lately I've been taking a section of the carboard off for more airflow since it's getting hotter and the ambient has risen to 86F without it. Even then I'm keeping 55-70%. Oh I also have his water bowl close to the hot side and I dump and refill the water every day/every other day.

Maybe try eco earth? If it gets really necessary what about a room humidifier? When I first got Allure (and it was much colder) I had a small personal humidifier going constantly in my room and that seemed to help. Now that it's warmer I'm not really having an issue with the humidity since I don't have to run my little space heater to help boost the room temp. Is there a vent near the tank that could be blowing on it?

[dkspftw]

Thanks for the replies everybody!

Couple of other thoughts:

Should I switch to a heat lamp rather than a ceramic element? I heard they dry tanks out less and most people here seem to be using them, although I don't really see how there could be much of a difference if you achieve the same temperatures.

Maybe I should try a different substrate.

Also, maybe the positioning of my probes has something to do with it? Maybe I'm not getting accurate results from them? I actually put the probe at the entrance to what I figure will likely be the main hide, but does the fact that it's sitting on the ground make any difference? Does the probe need to be elevated (stuck to a wall or something) to function properly? (It's a digital I think either exoterra or something similar).

[anwhit]

Honestly? I had the same problem too. I literally did everything everyone suggested me to do and I only was able to get it up to 20%. I've thrown this link around a lot of times, but I use this portable humidifier that's able to fit right in the tank. When the tank is at 20% I'm able to just turn it up a couple of notches to get it between 50-60% But, again, I wouldn't suggest doing it until you are sure you have tried absolutely everything. It's much cheaper than buying a whole new cage and works like a charm.

http://www.cvs.com/shop/product-deta...r?skuId=737138