Humidity keeps dropping

I'd try the moss, it's working great for me right now. My humidity is actually going up a little instead of going down like it has been. It's cheap enough even if it dosen't work not like you spent a bunch of money on it. I started out with very little in the corners of the tank then gradually increased the amount till I had it at a good level. I ended up putting it on top of his hides (couple pinches).

Covering the screen with almost any non-porous material will help keep both heat & humidity in. Don't cover the whole thing or make holes to allow for air exchange, and you can adjust how open it is as necessary. I'm currently using some styrofoam-like stuff which seems to be working well, and we had it already so the cost was right even though it looks horrible. I've seen plexiglass suggested, and that probably looks tons better but won't insulate as well.

Something more porous, such as cardboard or the damp towels suggested by 2Devious MIGHT be a concern as far as providing a breeding ground for bacteria or other nasties that like warm damp places. I'm not sure how it would be different than something like damp moss in a humid hide, which is something I haven't done yet but it seems to be a fairly accepted practice so maybe as long as you change it out frequently it won't grow nasties fast enough to matter.

As far as the humidity going down when the temps go up, that is because of how humidity is measured. Humidity is NOT a count of how many water molecules there are in a unit of air. Rather, it is an expression of what percent of the water that could possibly be in the air is actually there. Warmer air can hold more water. Therefore, if you have 50% humidity at 80 degrees, and you take that air in a sealed container so no more water can get in or out of it, and heat it up to 90, the humidity will go down even though the actual amount of water in the air remains constant.

That explanation wasn't very elegantly worded, so if you have trouble following it I might try again when it isn't so late at night!

To raise humidity, you need water to evaporate faster than it escapes out of the tank once it is in the air. The more water surface area you have, the faster it can evaporate. Making the water deeper won't help at all. You can also put the water on the warm side of the tank.

Misting, or having a little bit of dampness in your substrate, both essentially raise the surface area of water that is exposed to the air and can evaporate. But once the mist droplets or the substrate dry out, you are back to only the water container, and as your humid air escapes, there isn't enough surface area to keep the humidity up.

I know the substrate shouldn't be too damp or it can cause skin problems for the BP. I wonder if it would be ok to dampen 1/2 of the substrate, and put that in the bottom covered with a layer of drier substrate? It should still raise humidity (until it dries out again) but hopefully that would prevent problems for the snake's skin.

However, I think the easiest answer is to find the right amount of coverage for your screen top so that the water container provides enough humidity. That will be more consistant humidity and easier to maintain.

Most of this is based on my knowledge of how humidity and evaporation work, some of it is based on what I've read about keeping BPs, and a tiny bit of it is based on my personal experience with keeping a BP. So if someone with more knowledge directly related to BPs has something different to say, I'd listen to them above me.

i have 2 ball pythons in 2 critter cages. and the 40 gallon one was a pain to get the humidity up to nominal levels little lone the 70's for sheds. there is a wonderful sticky about taping up the top of your screen with some tinfoil in between the tape and the mesh since i did that i have had no issues with humidity and even had it up to 90 for about 10 mins before i removed the top to let some out.

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Originally Posted by sophia

So can I take this to mean that if my humidity is too high it might be helpful to use aspen shavings instead of newspaper?

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No actually the opposite. If you have high humidity and want to lower it you should use a dryer substrate...like newspaper instead of aspen. Sorry if that was confusing. :)

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Originally Posted by Enve

I'd try the moss, it's working great for me right now. My humidity is actually going up a little instead of going down like it has been. It's cheap enough even if it dosen't work not like you spent a bunch of money on it. I started out with very little in the corners of the tank then gradually increased the amount till I had it at a good level. I ended up putting it on top of his hides (couple pinches).

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The problem with moss is the exact same as with Cypress. It is really moist when new but will dry out over the course of a week or so...so yes you fixed your humidity issue but it will start to drop again as the moss dries out and you will be back to where you started.

The ONLY way to fix a low humidity issue is to raise the amount of available water to be evaporated (or capture and hold the water that is already in the system). As I and others have said this can be done with daily misting (to add water) a larger surface area water bowl placed under the CHE (again adds water to the system) or covering the screen top somewhat (to keep what moisture in already present from escaping).

Just a note on the sponge idea...yes this works well to add water to the system but I would only use it during a shed and remove it immediately. Keep in mind warmth and moisture = mold/bacteria/salmanila and sponges are perfect breeding grounds for them (that is why they are used in ALL fish filters)..just I don't suggest long term use - I wouldn't even use one in my kitchen ;)

Have you thought making the switch to a rubbermaid? You will never have this problem again if you do. Otherwise the only thing i can think of is duct tape 3/4's of the screen with sran wrap and mist the inside walls of the enclosure (not the substrate) if your substrate is too wet its not only bad for your snakes belly but its a waste of substrate becsause you will have to change it out.

We have about 2/3 of the screen top covered (with a wooden dinosaur puzzle for now, ha ha). I guess we can try a larger water bowl under the CHE. Too bad we have that fancy "reptile" rock-like looking water bowl - cute, but not working for humidity!

Another question b/c it gets DRY around here in winter, what about an in-tank humidifier? Does anyone have experience with or advice on those?

Also, I know the ideal humidity (non-shed time) is 50 - 60%, right? But what is too much humidity? Anything over that, or is it OK if it goes up to 80% or so as long as it drops again soon? I guess I'm wondering if up and down are OK or bad for the snake.

Thanks, y'all!!

had this problem when I used glass (still have 1 40gallon in use) and I picked up some plexiglass from home depot and cut it out to fit the top... Also check petco... they have a reptile humidifier(20$) (which can actually be made at home out of a gatorade bottle) that can be used to pump up the humidity and also add fresh O2 into the tank. This way you can cover the majority of the tank top. All you need is an aquarium pump (15$), the humidifier(20$) and plexiglass(14$) and your good to go... In the end my strongest reccomendation is to switch to a tub. Much easier to maintain than glass.

Too much humidity is like 80%... when you see condensation on the inside of the glass or the substrate is wet you need to make changes... Could lead to belly rot. Mine are in the 60's low 70's all the time.

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Originally Posted by JoshJP7

had this problem when I used glass (still have 1 40gallon in use) and I picked up some plexiglass from home depot and cut it out to fit the top... Also check petco... they have a reptile humidifier(20$) (which can actually be made at home out of a gatorade bottle) that can be used to pump up the humidity and also add fresh O2 into the tank. This way you can cover the majority of the tank top. All you need is an aquarium pump (15$), the humidifier(20$) and plexiglass(14$) and your good to go... In the end my strongest reccomendation is to switch to a tub. Much easier to maintain than glass.

Too much humidity is like 80%... when you see condensation on the inside of the glass or the substrate is wet you need to make changes... Could lead to belly rot. Mine are in the 60's low 70's all the time.

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Thanks for all the clarification. We'll work on it!

I got a large, shallow casserole dish under the CHE and it seems to be working great! Thanks! I am still tweaking for the temps, but we are getting close!