Keeping Humidity up in a large tank

Hey Everybody,how's everyone doing?

as usual I thank everyone from the forum who's helped me in past problems and i give a quick update on my ball (Roxanne), (some may find this annoying but being a first time snake owner, i take alot of pride in my girl)

Her mouth rot has really cleared up and yesterday she ate her first hopper mouse (a frozen one) I recorded a video, if you guys want i'll post it

also I've stopped applying the mineral oil because the caps fell off (i forgot to explain in my last thread that she had retained caps,thats why i was using it)

and 2 threads ago I explained about the size of her tank (its a 75 gallon) but now with four hides (small "huggable" hides) and a hot side of 90 and a cool side of 85. through use of a water dish,constant misting, and a large sea sponge, I've been able to keep the humidity at about 55-60 but seeing as she's to shed soon I'm trying to get it up to 75 and despite constant misting,re-soaking the sponge and putting new water in the bowl i cant get it up past 60-65...

so i read online through other humidity questions and i read about this stuff called perlite...

so i googled perlite and found this site

http://www.perlite.net/

now i have class in about 10 minutes (college student) so i only paged over the site but it says its a volcanic rock substrate that has a pH of 7 (same as water, so its neutral) and supposedly works as a decent hydroponic

so i was thinking,next time i clean Roxy's cage I do this

layer of perlite
layer of wet paper towl
then a cocohusk substrate which i mist
then the water bowl
(also forgot to mention) 2/3 of mesh cage top is tinfoiled/wrapped

and should the humidity still not rise i will add the sponge...

so I guess my question forum is:

have you ever used perilite/ recommend it?

thanks again, Tiny

smaller tank = more humidity

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Buttons

smaller tank = more humidity

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You might try removing the tinfoil from the top and laying a wet (not dripping) towel across it...

The only thing that brought my humidity up was a wet hide (due to my ceramic heater). Spaghum moss in a container with a hole. I used a margarine container at first, then my wife got me a rock hide with a small hole and removable top. If you click on my images link, it's there. I just put the damp moss in there and she goes in on her own, humidity is around 60% now, and I had a complete shed yesterday.

Your idea sounds like it is just going to end up giving her scale rot instead. You don't want any sort of wet substrate.

If you are reluctant to move the snake out of the 75g, I would suggest covering the screen top with aluminum foil tape (found at home depot, hardware stores). And just misting twice a day while she is in shed. Also, you could make her a humid hide. Don't change one of her existing hides into one, simply make a new one out of a Tupperware container and some sphagnum moss.

Obviously your best solution would be to move her to a different enclosure all together. A 75g is too big for even the biggest ball python.

I would not use perlite as a substrate. That is mainly used in egg boxed to achieve a 99% humidity environment. It is not meant to be used with an acutal snake moving around.

Also, what kind of hygrometer do you have.

As long as you can keep the humidity above 60% for the shed, you should be fine honestly.

I would say your best bet is the damp towel draped over the screen top. I have used this even with tubs that were not getting humid enough. Also if you can get a small shoe box sized plastic tub and fill it about a third full with water, put it on the warm side. This will increase your humidity and she may also use it to soak in.

I of course, would advocate that you move her to a tub - so much easier, and she'll like it better too.

But I did want to caution you on the Perlite - be SURE that if you try that, the Perlite you get does NOT have Miracle Grow in it or other fertilizer.

Hi,

How do you plan to get the snake pee out of the perlite?

Cover all the screen top with tinfoil apart from any space needed for lamps. Try and find alternate ways of heating the tank that do not include lamps if you are using any.


dr del

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dr del

How do you plan to get the snake pee out of the perlite?

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can snake pee sink into that much substrate? through cocohusk,papertowels then the perlite?

Hi,

Eventually I would assume so - water makes it all the way down through solid sandstone etc to create the natural water table.

They really can pee a lot at times.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...hlight=natasha


dr del