Fall weather and humidity questions.

[Yzmasmom]

Because of the cooler weather, we put a small humidifier next to Yzma's tank, as even with spraying, her humidity would drop to the low 40s within hours.

Now, with the room door cracked, her Temps stay perfect and her humidity ranges from 55% to 65% and we haven't had to mist her enclosure in over a week.

However, her ROOM is incredibly humid. I guess it doesn't all seep into the tank because of the tape on the top and is just keeping her where she should be, but I have three questions:

1. Is 55ish to 65ish ok for non sheds? (Worried that over 60 will cause an illness. Sometimes it hits the high 60s so we open the room door a bit to lower it again.)

2. Is the insane humidity in the room goig to cause a scale rot or other illness risk for her? (Even though her tank is dry (substrate.)

3. Do they HAVE to be misted? She won't get sick as long as her ambient humidity is ok right?

Thanks.

[BPGator]

What's the humidity in the room? I imagine the air temperature in the tank is higher than in the room, which leads to lower humidity in the tank.


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[Yzmasmom]

Not sure what it is in the actual room. But it's definitely boosting it in her tank which is good. The room is just so humid now though, lol. Good thing it's the spare room!

She's ok if not misted and being at 65ish right? Even with the room itself being more humid?

[BPGator]

65% is great for her. I'd be more worried about the humidity in the room being too high. You don't want any condensation building up anywhere that could lead to mold.


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[Reinz]

My adult will go in and out of her water all of the time causing humidity spikes in the low 70's that last for weeks at a time. Mid 60's last for many weeks. She has never been ill. However she does have her 90 degree hot spot available at all times.


Elvira chill'n
The humidity reads 71 in this photo.

[Yzmasmom]

Thanks everyone! So, as long as the room humidity isn't causing condensation on the inside of her tank which will lead to mold, everything is fine? So far there's never condensation unless we mist, so we stopped that. I just wasn't sure if she needed a regular misting or not, regardless of humidity.

[Coluber42]

They don't need misting per se, just the right humidity.
The problem with misting as a way of raising humidity is that a spray bottle makes everything damp for a short time and boosts the humidity sky high as all those water droplets evaporate, but it actually doesn't introduce very much water total into the enclosure, so the effects don't last very long. Once all those little water droplets evaporate, they're gone and the humidity starts dropping as some of it escapes and some of it gets absorbed by other materials in the enclosure.
Alternatives like putting a bunch of moss in an additional bowl with water in the bottom so that the moss wicks up the water to let it evaporate faster, or using a substrate that can absorb a lot more water, add a whole lot more water to the enclosure which evaporates over time and keeps the humidity higher. Even just using a larger water bowl placed under/over a heat source will be an improvement.

Another way to put it is, pump the spray bottle ten times into a measuring cup and see how much water is in there. It's probably less than the amount you could pour into a substrate of eco earth and have it absorb; less than you could soak into a big ol' pile of sphagnum moss; less than a bowl of water with something absorbent sitting in it to wick it up, etc. If you poured that amount of water into a larger-diameter dish, it would be very shallow and would all evaporate very quickly. Fill the larger water dish with more water, and it can keep evaporating (thus putting more humidity into the air) for longer before it's empty.

[Yzmasmom]

Makes sense. She seems like a happy little pet rock, so I shall keep on keeping on.

[cchardwick]

What kind of substrate do you have? I use Reptichip coconut husk, it's amazing stuff. I usually take my snakes out of their tubs twice a week and sort through the substrate for waste and dead mice if they didn't eat. Then I'll use a two gallon pump sprayer and spray it down while I'm turning it with my hand (with gloves on). That Reptichip can hold a lot of water and not really get wet, it soaks it up instantly like a sponge, unlike aspen or cypress or any other wood based substrate. My humidity spikes and then over the course of 2-3 days falls back down in this desert climate. I try to keep it from falling too low with my ball pythons. If it does fall quicker than the other tubs I'll add more substrate and that will hold more water and hold the humidity longer. I'm pretty sure my humidity spikes to 100% when I first spray them down and I don't have any issues. I tried misting the snakes directly when I started but I had one snake in particular that didn't' like it and I think it made him mean LOL. Now I totally remove the snake, which I think helps calm down all the snakes. I think all snakes should be held at least twice a week to mellow them out.

[Yzmasmom]

I use cypress mulch. I can see what other bedding is out there. (I've heard of mites comming from some bedding though.)

Cchardwick, do you really have a missing snake??