Humidity during a shed

[kmatias93]

Hey you guys,

I just noticed that my ball python is shedding and I increased the humidity in my tank to about 90%. All I do is get a beach towel a little moist and throw it over my tank. Is 90% humidity too much for him while he's going through a shed?

Does my snake also need a water bowl if the humidity is fine in his tank? Reason being is that I have never seen him go in it once. I would like to put another place for him to hide on the other side of his tank as well. Also, what is a good type of lighting to put in his tank? I currently have a 20 gallon tank and have a UTH under his one hiding spot. I haven't gotten a lighting for him yet because a friend told me it isn't necessary and that I could cook him. Is that true? A lot of questions but I've only had a him for a month and I'm still learning more and more stuff about him.

Any tips are appreciated!

Thank you!

[satomi325]

If your UTH hot spot heat and ambient cool side are within range (88-90 hot spot/~80 cool side), then a lamp isn't necessary. It just kills humidity.
If you have difficulty maintaining ambient temps, then a lamp may be needed for an extra boost.
And having 2 or more hides are always good if you have an open tank.

As long as there's no standing moisture on the floor or the walls, I wouldn't worry about humidity being too high for the time being. As long as you have good air circulation, it's fine.

You should provide water at all times. And ball pythons don't normally soak unless they have mites or the temps are too hot, so you probably won't see him going into it. It's more for drinking and maintaining humidity.

[kmatias93]

If your UTH hot spot heat and ambient cool side are within range (88-90 hot spot/~80 cool side), then a lamp isn't necessary. It just kills humidity.
If you have difficulty maintaining ambient temps, then a lamp may be needed for an extra boost.
And having 2 or more hides are always good if you have an open tank.

As long as there's no standing moisture on the floor or the walls, I wouldn't worry about humidity being too high for the time being. As long as you have good air circulation, it's fine.

You should provide water at all times. And ball pythons don't normally soak unless they have mites or the temps are too hot, so you probably won't see him going into it. It's more for drinking and maintaining humidity.

Hey Satomia,

Thanks for replying. My tank is about ~75 hotspot and I'm not sure about the cool side because I don't have a thermometer. Will the side with the lamp be considered the hotspot and the side with the UTH be the cool side? But I am guessing since his tank is about 75 I should get a lamp. But the humidity on the regular is fine. It's usually no less then 75% but I put the damp towel over the tank to help him out during his shed. So I don't think the lamp will effect it to the point where I have to worry about the humidity. So far I only have 1 hide in his tank and it is an open one. So I'll be getting one tomorrow for him and a lamp. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to work it out with my tank though because it's not really that big. Right now I have my water bowl on the cool side of the tank and bark in the middle of the tank and his hide at the hot spot. Is it fine to put the lamp over the cool side of tank to make it the hot spot? The only thing I'm worried about is putting the lamp over the water bowl but I can't really think of any other way to do it. What's bad about putting the lamp over the water bowl?

[Phantomtip]

Are you using an analog temp gauge or digital? The temp you are reading could be ambient temp not the actual temp by the uth. I have a 20 lomg and my temp on hot sode is 90 to 91 and cool is 83 to 85. Ambient temp is around 85 my humidity is a constant 55, unless shes shedding then I raise ot with spritzing with warm water 2 to 3 times a day. I also have her water in the middle of the enclosure which helps with the humidity. I have a 60 watt red light and uth. I also cover 3 sides and most of the front so she feels more secure. Moss all over and in the hides on each end, and 2 digital temp humidity gauges. I try to keep her happy as a bp can be. She can go in either hide or under the water dish. She also hides under the moss.

[kmatias93]

Are you using an analog temp gauge or digital? The temp you are reading could be ambient temp not the actual temp by the uth. I have a 20 lomg and my temp on hot sode is 90 to 91 and cool is 83 to 85. Ambient temp is around 85 my humidity is a constant 55, unless shes shedding then I raise ot with spritzing with warm water 2 to 3 times a day. I also have her water in the middle of the enclosure which helps with the humidity. I have a 60 watt red light and uth. I also cover 3 sides and most of the front so she feels more secure. Moss all over and in the hides on each end, and 2 digital temp humidity gauges. I try to keep her happy as a bp can be. She can go in either hide or under the water dish. She also hides under the moss.

I'm using a analog gauge with a thermometer and hygrometer. I can't really spritz my tank though because I have aspen bedding. So I just throw a wet towel over his tank that way I can raise it when he's shedding. Damp enough to where you can definitely tell it's wet but not enough to where it's dripping at all. And I put the gauge pretty low and very close to the UTH. So I'm fairly sure that it is the hot spot it is reading unless I have a bad gauge. I definitely need to raise the temperature in my tank though. I'm not actually even sure what can happen to him if the temperature is too low for him. But I will definitely raise to prevent whatever can happen. Do you know if it matters if the water is under the lamp? And how do you cover 3 sides of the tank? Usually I just keep it all open. But I wouldn't mind covering all the sides and leaving the top open because he seems to sit in his hide allll the time. I rarely see him out at all. And it's only whenever we are not around. I keep him in my kitchen though so everyone can interact with him whenever they feel like it. But I would really like to see him come out more on his own terms then us taking him out and then he sits outside his hide for a few minutes before going back in. How much did you pay for your gauges and what brand are they?

[Crazymonkee]

Couple of things... do you have a lamp now or just uth? 75 is far too low for a hot side. RI can happen with the low temps/high humidity. You should really pick up a probe thermometer ($12 at Walmart for a acurite indoor/ outdoor therm) to see exactly what the temp of your uth is.
How thick is your aspen?
The snakes are not really display snakes and he would be much happier in a low traffic area.

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[kmatias93]

Couple of things... do you have a lamp now or just uth? 75 is far too low for a hot side. RI can happen with the low temps/high humidity. You should really pick up a probe thermometer ($12 at Walmart for a acurite indoor/ outdoor therm) to see exactly what the temp of your uth is.
How thick is your aspen?
The snakes are not really display snakes and he would be much happier in a low traffic area.

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My aspen is approximately 2 inches thick. All I have right now is the uth which is on my hot side. But I'm definitely going to get a lamp tomorrow to ensure that the temperature is going to be high enough. What kind of bulb should I get for the lamp I get? Also, what exactly is a probe thermometer? Do you just lay it on the aspen where you want to know how hot it is? And our kitchen doesn't have too much activity really. The only time someone is in there is to either cook dinner or to grab a drink out of the fridge. So maybe 2 hours a day is there people in there. But then really no one forgets to take him out to interact with him.

[Crazymonkee]

The acurite has a probe that you place on the glass where the uth is. You put the body on the cold side.
2 inches is too much, the heat from uth won't get through that thick of bedding.
For a heat lamp either infrared or ceramic heat emitter

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[Mr. Misha]

The acurite has a probe that you place on the glass where the uth is. You put the body on the cold side.
2 inches is too much, the heat from uth won't get through that thick of bedding.
For a heat lamp either infrared or ceramic heat emitter

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Can those accurite probes be put between the UTH and the glass?

[Crazymonkee]

No this is a thermometer not a thermostat. It goes inside to measure the temp

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