Tub questions

[kimmu]

So I am finding it impossible to maintain 50% humidity in my current 20L glass tank. I have foiled the top, I have two water bowls in the tank, and I currently wet sphagnum moss to try and bring in the moisture. I can maybe hit 50% for an hour and then it drops back to down to 35%-40%. It seems like PVC tubs keep humidity much better than glass tanks and was reading about switching to one. However, the other issue is I live in an extremely cold house, so I have to have a heat lamp running at all times to keep ambient temps above 75. As far as I see from set up guides, there would be no way to set up the lamp with a PVC tub, so that switch would lead to dropped ambient temps.

I'm starting to think it's just not possible to meet the environment requirements for a ball python in my house :/ It's an old house with radiator heat and we're usually lucky if we can keep it 68 consistently in the winter, right now it's 65, not to mention the radiators kill overall humidity as well. Turning up the heat isn't an option.

[Reinz]

You may find the tub easier for you. In fact you may end up with too much humidity and have to make more holes.

If you look at the top of this Husbandry section in the index you will see stickies on to set up a tank and also a tub. Give those a go.

[kimmu]

I've already looked at them and my tank is set up like the one in the tank guide, but the tub one does not address how you maintain ambient temps in a tub in a cold environment. UTHs do not do much to ambient temps, so them alone would not work.

[Mangiapane85]

UTH with a stat for the tubs, space heater with a thermostat. Works great for my snake room.

Although I have since switched to a rack.

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[kimmu]

We're actually banned from using space heaters in our lease or else I would be using one for ME lol I'm actually wondering if I could rig a humidifier to more directly mist the tank than just the whole room with some tubing.

[DLena]

Use two separate UTH mats and tstats. Use the one on the warm side to keep the on-the-glass temp at 90-92 and one on the cool side to keep the on-the-glass temp at 78-80. Provide three identical hides for warm, cool, middle parts of the tank. That makes it much easier for the snake to self -regulate. As for the humidity, I have switched my balls onto reptichip. It keeps humidity up longer. When humidity starts to drop, just give the bedding a good misting so it's holding the water and slowly releasing it into the tank. Never mist the snake.

[Alexio]

Depending on your commitment you could buy or build a sealed enclosure. They maintain independent heat an humidity from the surrounding environment. I have 5 and they all work quite well in the cold.