Fluffy likes playing in the mud.

I have been having a great deal of difficulty keeping my humidity above 50%. I have installed a hose that brings wet air into the enclosure. But it is not air tight and even tapeing the door seams and totally closing off the screen top, I was reading 49%.

So I took an old water dish filled it with aspen shavings and flooded that with water.

IT WAS AMAZING! Not only did this bring the humidity up to 65%, but Fluffy went straight to it and started rolling in the slush. He splashed it all over the area making a real mess. It looked like he was having a LOT of fun.

My question is should I replace the aspen with moss (softer). And should I clean up the wet aspen that is around the slush bowl?

Is there a high probability of an RI from this set up?

Carefull he's not spending to much time in that. Thats a good way to get scale rot.

As Ed said, wet substrate is a great breeding ground for bacteria, fungi, and all other kinds of ill stuff that aren't good for your snake.

Make sure that the hides you are using, or should be using if you aren't, in the enclosure are secure. Snakes don't "play" in the mud...chances are it saw the bowl of wet substrate as a better hiding place than it had before, and thats why it went in there.

So, specifically:

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My question is should I replace the aspen with moss (softer). And should I clean up the wet aspen that is around the slush bowl?

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No, wet moss does not make a good substrate for ball pythons. Their enclosure should be HUMID, not WET....there's a difference.

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Is there a high probability of an RI from this set up?

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So long as your temps are where they should be (82-84/92-94) and your humidity is between 50-70%, you shouldn't worry too much.

Great advice. He only played in the slush pit for about 10 minutes. I will clean up all the wet substrate that is outside of the slush pit and change it out daily to prevent mold and bacteria.


I hope we get some rain or snow. I don't like is so dry myself!

Outsideof shed why do you want or need to keep your humidity above 50%? Unless the snake is actually getting dehydrated it really doesn't matter and as pointed out your slush pit is a great breeding place for bugs and scale rot. It sounds like it may work well when he is blue but otherwise I think you are creating problems rather than helping things.

HUMIDITY
50-60%
70% (or humid hide) impending shed

The humidity should be kept between 50 and 60 % unless shedding and then only at and slightly above 70 during the blue and shed time frame. If the humidity is to low they can risk getting an URI just like if the temps are to low and the humidity is right on.

If it comes to a choice between risking scale rot or maintaining humidity in the 40% range....I'd opt for lower humidity. 49% is FINE. 50% is not a magical number. Mid-40's is fine. Higher might be a bit better, but its not an absolute.


Just be sure to keep an eye on your snake and be aware of when its getting ready to shed so you can then take extra measures to up the humidity, such as a humid hide and/or a bowl of water for soaking.

I'll second what Judy said....my humidity is rarely above 55% and I get perfect sheds every time...I usually spray a shot of water down on the paper after I clean and a little more during shed cycles.

I believe that I can maintain above 45% without the slush pit.


From the comments here, the extra wetness may be not worth the problems that it may cause. I certainly can keep the range between 45-60%. Durring a shed (my experience with fluffy is 2-3 days) I can jack up the humidity with a wet sponge on a ceramic tile (that is what I did last shed).

Thanks all for the good discussion.

Let me ask this are you using a screen top VIV. IF so is the top covered with tinfoil and duck tape? like in this http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=32800.
Also are you using a UTH or lights to heat your enclosure?