I switched bedding, now I have questions!

I recently made the switch from reptibark, to Harland aspen bedding. The main reason is that, the amount of aspen I get is 20x more than I get with a large bag of reptibark, and they are the same price. I love the new bedding too, it seems to hold heat in a lot better than the bark, and its a lot easier to clean.

However, since switching I've noticed a rather large drop in humidity with my snakes. Normally its 60-65% in their tubs. Now its always around 40-48% which I'm not a fan of.

So for all of you aspen bedding users, how do you keep your humidity up? I think I may have too many holes put into each tub, and if that's the case its and easy fix. How many holes do you guys use for your tubs? I currently use 15 quart, 32 quart, and 60 quart tubs for my babies, juveniles, and adults.

Any input would be much appreciated, as I currently have 3 females in mid shed, and I would really hate for them to have bad sheds because of me.

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Originally Posted by Montypython696

I recently made the switch from reptibark, to Harland aspen bedding. The main reason is that, the amount of aspen I get is 20x more than I get with a large bag of reptibark, and they are the same price. I love the new bedding too, it seems to hold heat in a lot better than the bark, and its a lot easier to clean.

However, since switching I've noticed a rather large drop in humidity with my snakes. Normally its 60-65% in their tubs. Now its always around 40-48% which I'm not a fan of.

So for all of you aspen bedding users, how do you keep your humidity up? I think I may have too many holes put into each tub, and if that's the case its and easy fix. How many holes do you guys use for your tubs? I currently use 15 quart, 32 quart, and 60 quart tubs for my babies, juveniles, and adults.

Any input would be much appreciated, as I currently have 3 females in mid shed, and I would really hate for them to have bad sheds because of me.

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Aspen can be hard to humidify and not mold...it has zero resistance and little retention, I only use it sand boas. 40% should not be too hard to fight though, probably just moderate misting two to three times a week should do the trick, many people I know that use aspen will also use slightly larger water bowls as well.

Yoop, try a larger water bowl and mist the tubs occasionally. Plugging up some of the ventilation holes in your tubs should help too. You can also try adding some damp moss over the warm side - put it under a solid hide and you'll create a humid hiding spot. :)

-Jen

I think the water bowl I have in there is pretty large already. But how many holes do you guys use in each tub? I want to have enough for good proper ventilation, but want to be able to hold a good humidity in there too.

When you mist, try not to drench the tub or else it can drip into the aspen and over time it may (and probably will) mould.
You can add in some damp moss to a shed box (homemade if you prefer, out of a plastic container for example) - which is what I do :)

I keep a THICK ( thin towels dry out way to quick) wett towel on top of the tank,covering about 75% of it..I cover a majority of the rest with tin foil. I also keep a large water bowl!slightly off center towards the cool side of the basking bulb..I keep a fairly decent size of tup o ware filled with wett sphagnum moss on top the hide directly under the heat bulb...

I wet the rag fully every morning and night..I also mist every morning and night when I wett the rag..

during shed, I mist constantly through the day and keep that towel pretty much constantly wett...seems to work well.. But I am looking to switch over to a diff bedding. I been using aspen and switched one tank over to a coco husk moss blend,holds humidity way better.

You should definitely look at getting into Eco Earth. It works great for balls because it retains humidity very very well . It also, to me, lasts longer and is not that bad priced. I get the bricks and do the soak method as you get ALOT for your money. Just my two cents. May be something you might want to look into.

I used to use aspen and fought humidity issues non stop. Now i only use aspen for my king snake. A breeder got me hooked on the Eco Earth and I haven't looked back since.