good substrate for humidity?

[nightingale]

i have my ball on aspen right now, but he's having a really hard time shedding (humidity here doesn't go above 30 less its raining). i'm thinking of using eco earth and getting him another hide with a bunch of moss in it. right now our baby is in a 10 gallon but we're moving him over to a 40 gallon as soon as i get it set up. plan on having lots of plants n' such in there as well - that should help too right?
contrary to what i've heard, our bp seems to love climbing around - had a little pvc jungle gym for him but switched it out for a few tree branches for him to rub on. he's still having a hard time shedding - any tips?

[K80tik]

i have my ball on aspen right now, but he's having a really hard time shedding (humidity here doesn't go above 30 less its raining). i'm thinking of using eco earth and getting him another hide with a bunch of moss in it. right now our baby is in a 10 gallon but we're moving him over to a 40 gallon as soon as i get it set up. plan on having lots of plants n' such in there as well - that should help too right?
contrary to what i've heard, our bp seems to love climbing around - had a little pvc jungle gym for him but switched it out for a few tree branches for him to rub on. he's still having a hard time shedding - any tips?

i live in west texas so humidity can be a problem with the dry heat. use cypress mulch. coco bark is kind of good i just dont like it. too fine like sand and gets in their mouth even when its damp, during feeding. also a tupperware container with some damp moss inside as a "humid hide". if its still a baby i wouldnt take him/her out the 10gallon and put in 40 gallon. biggest they'll need is a 20 long if that. fake plants do help with humidity, just remember the more thats in there, the more time to clean. also check out the sticky on making the tank more humid with some tape and such. also with humidity move the water dish to slightly over the UTH so the water gets warm and creates some humidity. with those 3 things you should be able to achieve at least 50% and 70% during shed. trust me i know, had the problem here in texas. gl

[Figure8]

Since I live in southern cali I've had humidity issues too - but like K80tik said, check out that sticky about covering the top of your tank. here's the link. Covering the top is pretty much essential with glass tanks, too much heat and humidity escape otherwise. With 3/4 of my screen covered and a little misting every 3-4 days I can keep the humidity at a constant 60%. Once I take off the lid or turn on a fan in the room it goes down to 30% within minutes though so watch out for those things. I'm using desert snow substrate right now but in the past I've used aspen and it worked just fine too. Hope this helps.

[bigballs]

hey figure 8 desert snow is garbage for holding humidity. i dont know your situation but if youre having problems then try something else if possible. even aspen can hold humidity better than desert snow.

[Figure8]

I wasn't suggesting he use it, just stating that if it could work with desert snow, aspen shouldn't be a problem either - if you mist once in a while and cover the screen top. I've had no problems with humidity at all with those methods.

[Sunny1]

I find that I have problems with humidity sometimes since the humidity in my house is usually around 30%. What I have found that works well is either cypress mulch, coconut bark (the bigger chunks, not the fine stuff that comes in a block), or repti bark. I prefer the cypress mulch, just cause I like the look of it in my tank the best, but what I end up with depends upon what the petstore has in stock when I go to get more bedding for her tank. I have my screen covered, I have my water bowl sitting slightly on top of the UTH, and I mist when necessary. Normally my humidity in my tank sits around 55%.

[K80tik]

I find that I have problems with humidity sometimes since the humidity in my house is usually around 30%. What I have found that works well is either cypress mulch, coconut bark (the bigger chunks, not the fine stuff that comes in a block), or repti bark. I prefer the cypress mulch, just cause I like the look of it in my tank the best, but what I end up with depends upon what the petstore has in stock when I go to get more bedding for her tank. I have my screen covered, I have my water bowl sitting slightly on top of the UTH, and I mist when necessary. Normally my humidity in my tank sits around 55%.

i love the way cypress mulch smells compared to others. like a wet forest.

cypress mulch > coco bark, aspen, desert snow ... for humidity at least

[nightingale]

wow, i didn't expect such a great response. thank you all so much - and thanks for pointing out that sticky. i'll switch him over to some other bedding and get something to cover the top up a bit. i probably will switch him to the bigger tank as soon as i know what i'm going to do with it (that will probably take a while) - the ten gallon just isn't big enough for all the stuff i want to put in it. he doesn't even have 2 different hides right now. thanks again.