i'm at my wits end...humidity is not staying constant (sorry its long)

i know i've got another post going but i really wanted to start a new one cuz this is another seperate issue.
lemme just start by saying that the day before we brought my baby girl home (sunday) i had the humidity going inside her terrarium. granted its going unchecked at the moment because my stupid self forgot all about the accu-rite i needed to get...
come monday i misted throughout the day to keep the humidity going and misted 1 last time before the trip to go pick her up. we arrived back home at 2 am tuesday morning to my horror at finding everything all out of whack, temps were down, humidity was gone...so i misted the mulch again, fixed some of it to where it actually lets the heat through...
so since then the temps have stabilized as best as they're going to i guess and i've been misting the mulch, checking it every few hours to see if its drying out to where i need to mist it again.but...
the humidity is fluctuating like crazy - it's going from somewhat humid to not at all the next time i come in to check it no more then 3 hours later. there is a little bit of screen on the top of the terrarium but i've got that completely covered with aluminum foil.
but what the he** is going on?!
i'm seriously getting upset here cuz i'm really worried that the snake will get sick if the humidity keeps fluctuating like this. i've thought about using a humidifier in the room but we've never used one before and i dont know how they work exactly or if i'd need to constantly run it to keep the humidity at a constant level inside the snake's cage...
i know i really do need the accu-rite so i can know what the humidity is but there's just no way we can get one at the moment so i'm stuck with misting and hoping for the best.
MAN i feel so stupid now. kicking myself in the arse is not going to help the situation, i know but...
thank you all for being so patient with my numerous posts in the last few days.
i promise i will settle down when these issues are resolved.

what part of the country are you in? During the winter humidity is hard to control. When it gets cold out all the humidity drops out of the air and that sucks the humidity out of any snake tank as well. I found if you mist with warm water and cover the top with a hot wet/ damp towel it helps quite a bit. Also mist the terrarium then stir the substrate and mist again repeat this so its moist all the was through the substrate rather than just on the surface. Just have to try to stay on top of it this time of year.

i'm in south carolina.
i am actually already doing that moistening the mulch and mixing it up. my bf says "your not supposed to mist it that much."
i just told him as long as its not soaking wet then it's ok.
i was about to ask...if i get a humidifier, which is looking like i might need to, do i get the cool mist one or the warm mist? i'm reading the reviews and trying to get an idea on how they work cuz like i said we've never used one before.

I don't think it maters if you get the cool or warm mist ones i have both in my apartment. personally i like the warm mist ones better they use less water and work more effectively.

okee dokee. thx

where in the room do i set up a humidifier? right next to the terrarium or...?

As long as you set it up near the terrarium it should be fine. The humidifier won't add humidity to the tank it will add it to the room and keep the humidity in the tank from dropping compleatly out. You will still need to mist and keep tabs on it.

oh...i thought it would help with the humidity inside the terrarium...hm well then buying a humidifier is pointless if it wont do anything for the terrarium, lol.

U can buy the humidife for the cage too they seel them specifectly for it

You can defintiely try the damp towel on top of the terrarium. I have used this trick myself before for when the snakes are in shed and I have had great success.

A humidifier in the room will help a little the damp towel works very well and I have not herd many good things about humifiers for tanks. Boils down to them not being worth it.

mkay. well it seemed like a good idea but i'm glad i ran it by here before spending the money and being disappointed...

if it helps with your humidity, i had a problem keeping my humidity and i brought a waterfall which filtered into the water bowl. my bp flick loves it and it looks quite nice aswell, but also it helps keep humidity at a constant.... and also when it starts to get high i can just switch it off and on when needed :)

I am guessing your in a glass tank. If so go buy some plexi, cut to size (should fit snug, or if your good make it so it can slide like you lid. There are many options here to make it work)

Now....about 10 (more or less as you see fit) holes in the lid (plexi) and there you have it. enough air for the snake and keeping the tank all closed off like that keeps humidity up with little effort like a tub and it still pretty! Drill more holes to keep humidity down as needed.

Worked for my gf's crested like a CHARM. Also a bigger water bowl will DEF help with this process.

This will cost you no more than 15 bucks at a home depot or lowes

definitely somethin' to look into. thx
UPDATE: i've got a damp hand towel covering the screen on the top to see how that works.

2nd UPDATE: with the damp towel covering the screen on top there is now some good humidity in the terrarium...finally.
if i cant get my hands on an accu-rite at all this month its definitely in the budget for the 1st of january.

How are you measuring the humidity now?

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Originally Posted by charlie.g

if it helps with your humidity, i had a problem keeping my humidity and i brought a waterfall which filtered into the water bowl. my bp flick loves it and it looks quite nice aswell, but also it helps keep humidity at a constant.... and also when it starts to get high i can just switch it off and on when needed :)

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My wife wants to get one of those, do they work alright? And how is it powered?

fat boy - um there is no way i can measure the humidity right now without that accu-rite which is why i'm beatin' myself up so bad for forgetting it...i can tell when theres humidity in there with my hand though, i know, not a really reliable method but i figured as long as i can definitely feel the difference then that means theres something goin'. im still gonna try like heck to get my hands on an accu-rite THIS month but i was just saying JUST in case i dont succeed then i know for sure i'll get one on the 1st. i've been watching the snake like a hawk since we brought her home, just keepin' tabs on her activity level and i've been misting the mulch no less then 3 x's a day just keepin' it from drying out.
so far i've noticed she's out of the hide box in the evenings just kind of roaming a little, checking things out before going back in. i know she's drinking cuz i've seen her do it and the water is usually lower in one of the water dishes compared to the other one...
so everything looks good from what i can tell.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thedarkwolf25

My wife wants to get one of those, do they work alright? And how is it powered?

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yeah they work well they just plug into the mains through a plug socket the only thing with it is that when you turn it on if you have not used it in a while it will be making all the right noises but will take a good half hour for the water to atchually come out as it has to pull its way to the top of the waterfall
hope this helps :)

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...lved&p=1337616

Quote:

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Originally Posted by charlie.g

yeah they work well they just plug into the mains through a plug socket the only thing with it is that when you turn it on if you have not used it in a while it will be making all the right noises but will take a good half hour for the water to atchually come out as it has to pull its way to the top of the waterfall
hope this helps :)

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If it uses an outlet doesn't that mean that I have to have the cord coming out of the top of the tank? I'd like to avoid that if at all possible.