Tank questions??

Hi,

I have a two foot ball python. I have her in a 24" 18" 12" tank with a screen. The problem is that the house I live in is always on 68 degrees, AC running all the time. So this is my problem on this tank I have two heat lamps. One has a 75 watt and the other has a 50 watt. I put the big hood and light right in the center and the smaller one on the hot side. My branch she basks on the temp is about 96 degrees and the ground on the warm side is around 87 degrees. The cool side is about 76-79 degrees. The problem is that my humidity is always around 40-45. I can't get it up, I spray and it goes up to around 55. THATS IT!? What do I do? I tried putting two towels on the cool side and just having one light, but then it was too cool. Do I give heat for humidity? Also I have an UTH under a log so it get warm there. I also have a cool side hide, and a huge water bowl. Two nights since I have had her (one month) side got in her water bowl and soak all night. HELP!!??

well, i dont think the soaking issue is that big? did she poop/urate? did you find any mites/ticks/parasites on her or in the water bowl? where did you get here, she might of been a tad dehydrated. my new BCI has soaked for a while and pooped in her bowlsounds like you should start getting ideas to upgrade your tank. you can try covering most of the tank, or you could buy some spungom moss. for rex, my BP, i have a cover i made for him. it consists of this... a trashbag rapped around a piece of cardboard with holes for the heat lamps. i cut the holes roughly one inch bigger then the heat lamps for air exchange and so it doesnt burn the trash bag. then i put tape over the sides, and sealed it to my top. my humidity stays around 60-63 with lamps. this idea didnt come from me, so dont credit me with it, someone else thought of it, just cant think of who right now.

First thing to do, take a deep breath and relax.

Second, you have no humidity because its escaping through the screen and most likely the lights are drying ur tank out a bit too, plus the AC gets rid of humidity. All these things combined are not helping your situation. You should do this. Get a second UTH for the cool side. Hook both up to a thermostat if u haven't already, and get them set so the temps are pretty much where they are now cause your temps are fine.

I also think 96degree basking spot is a ***** much for a BP. I honestly thing you dont need either of those lights, but if you have too, 1 is enough. You can do a few things to keep humidity up.

Use no lights and cover the top with a damp towel. If the humidity goes too high when its totally covered, fold the towel a little so it leaves the screen open a little. Experiment until you have your humidity sitting in the 60's. When it dries out, dampen the towel again.

Use contact paper or duct tape on the OUTSIDE top of the screen. I'm not sure exactly how other people do this, so hopefully someone can tell you how to do it the best.

Also, I think 24" long tank is much too short for a 2ft BP. But I could be wrong.

I really need the lights to keep up the temp. She is very healthy and has no problems. Honestly she fits the tank just fine. I broke my leg on my football team so not working. I do plan on building a cage when I get back to work. I will build it to hold humidity and heat so I don't have to use so much of it to keep the temps right. Maybe if I put a humidifier right next to the setup?? I tought about getting a space heater but it is summer and I can't find one.

A 2 foot long tank is fine for a 2 foot long BP, as long as the tank is a foot or more wide (square foot of enclosure per foot of snake is a good rule). As for humidity, what substrate are you using right now? Cypress mulch, or one of those eco earth type substrates hold moisture well and could help quite a bit to get your humidity up.

I personally use a sterilized peat moss/soil mix, and it holds moisture great (in fact, too good if I don't dry it out thoroughly first before putting it in), which keeps my humidity in the 60's if I just spray slightly every now and then or well into the 70's if I give it a good spray. I've never seen anyone speak in favour or against it as a substrate before, but it's worked very well for me so far and being completely organic and pretty soft I can't imagine it could cause any harm if ingested.

How many heating pads are you using?

I have one uht on the warm side. I think that I solved the problem but it is kind of time consuming. Spraying once and putting a damp towr over the expose screen and it keeps the humidity up to 60%

Thank you for not SHOUTING.