Red-tailed Boa Humidity help!

Hi all, I have a red tail boa named Deadpool and he's roughly 10yrs old and about 6ft long. I recently have been struggling with his humidity. I'm wondering if maybe I should change his bedding? Currently I use aspen bedding in his cage. I've started spraying his cage with some water to help keep up the humidity but the number goes up and comes back down pretty quickly. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I strongly suggest cypress mulch. 3inch everywhere. keeps humidity at 75% easily by dropping water and shuffle it weekly.

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Welcome to the forum, Rosebilly95!

Yeah, changing his bedding should take care of your humidity problems. Aspen doesn't hold humidity very well. Try using cypress mulch or a coconut-based substrate instead, like Eco Earth or Reptichip. Use at least two inches of substrate, though three or even four would be better. Adding an additional water bowl or switching out the one he has for a larger one can help as well.

What kind of enclosure are you keeping him in (glass with a screen top, PVC, wooden, etc.) and what kind of heat source are you using (CHE, RHP, UTH, etc.)? Some enclosures hold humidity better than others, and CHEs can dry out enclosures.

And good on you if you've kept Deadpool for most of those ten years. It's nice to see people stay dedicated to their snakes!

Yes aspen is a nightmare for humidity in boas vivs , I use a good layer of orchid bark or cypress mulch to keep my humidity right

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Originally Posted by richardhind1972

Yes aspen is a nightmare for humidity for boas, I use orchid bark or cypress mulch to keep my humidity right

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Unless, like in my case, you live in Mississippi! I have all my snakes on aspen right now and didn’t even spray my Suriname during his last shed cycle and got a perfect one piece shed.

In drier climates I completely agree though. Orchid bark, cypress, coco husk chips, etc are a good fit


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If you are using an UTH (under tank heater) I don't recommend 3 or 4 inches of substrate. That would cause way too much build up of heat. However if not using a UTH then that will be fine. With a uth one inch would be a lot better. Cyprus Mulch is good for humidity.

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Originally Posted by rakeonepow

I strongly suggest cypress mulch. 3inch everywhere. keeps humidity at 75% easily by dropping water and shuffle it weekly.

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Anyone know how cypress mulch compares to something like Repti Chip? I've been using Repti Chip for years but find that I have to spray/mist every 1-2 days in the winter if I want the humidity over 50%. As info, I only use AP pvc enclosures.

I use Reptile Prime bedding and it's awesome. It's a little pricey but well worth it imo. I also think humidity is sometimes an overblown issue. Hydration is the key. As long as the snake has continuous access to fresh water you should be fine. My relative humidity is running about 30% right now. This week my boa, carpet and scrub have all had perfect sheds and none of my snakes have ever had an RI or any other health issues.

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

Anyone know how cypress mulch compares to something like Repti Chip? I've been using Repti Chip for years but find that I have to spray/mist every 1-2 days in the winter if I want the humidity over 50%. As info, I only use AP pvc enclosures.

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I use cypress mulch in my BRB enclosures. Depending on age they're either in tubs or PVC enclosures. I add water once or twice a week but not by misting, I pour it into the substrate and mix it.

I use Reptichip and it works great. I prefer it over mulch because it doesn’t splinter and I feel more comfortable feeding him on it. You can put coco fiber down first then put husk over it. Also, you could put sphagnum moss in the hides if you need extra help. It will not mold as it naturally has trace amounts of iodine in it. When you mist fill your bottle up with hot water, this will help even further. Hopefully this helps you out. So far my boa has been the easiest pet to care for well after the sand boa I guess haha Definitely my favorite species thus far.


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