Humidity

Hi everyone,

Today im picking up my first ball python she is a pastel, very excited. i have tank all set up but having problem at raising humidity it keeps dropping to 40% or below and ive been misting every hour pretty much. i have an exo-terra 40 gallon terrarium, with two heat lamps at 75watt bulbs and a hot side temp of 88, with cold side at 74. i just put plastic over top of the mesh on cold side after last time i misted hoping that might help hold it in, any suggestions??

Actually yes I do ;) i had the same problem. Replace the plastic on top with tin foil and cover pretty much the whole top except in the area of the light. Also what kind of substrate are u using? I would use cypress as that's the only substrate I can find that keeps my glass tanks humidity over 40. Usually my tanks are between 45-60%. Also you want your hot side about 90-92degrees and the cooler side between 82-84 degrees and the foil will help a lot with that.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.859292,-76.201706
1.0 normal bp- Blitz
1.0 Nicaraguan boa- Gavin
0.1 Red Tail Boa- Tara

Doing what I told u to do u would only have to list at the most once a day of even that much.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=36.859333,-76.201785
1.0 normal bp- Blitz
1.0 Nicaraguan boa- Gavin
0.1 Red Tail Boa- Tara

thank so much appreciate the help, just changed it to foil, hopefully temp will rise and humidity, we are using repti-bark for substrate

Eco earth substrate holds humidity well in glass tanks. Also a large water dish can help. If your new snake is young, your tank may be a bit big and scary for it. Make sure you have plenty of hides in it. Good luck with your new baby!

give this a read, it should help:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet

and this as well:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Husbandry-FAQs

This is how my glass tanks looked when I used them (I now use professionally made Reptile enclosures)

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...t/bd98c3f5.jpg

Note the the light is red. A red heat bulb can (and should) be on 24/7. The snake cannot see the red light which is why they are preferred. (These are the best: http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...uctId=11147193)

You should get this thermometer/hydrometer from Walmart (costs $12) they work much better and will last longer than the dial type sold at per stores

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...nt/photo-3.jpg

You will also need 2 identical hides, one in the hot side and one on the cool side. I like the ones sold on reptile basics. They are much cheaper and are easier to clean than the ones sold in pet stores. this is what they look like: (along with one of my Pastels :) )

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...t/da98c371.jpg

This is where you can get them.

http://www.reptilebasics.com/hide-boxes

If you have any questions feel free to ask

thanks im very excited , i have 3 hideouts, going to buy few plants to fill it up more, and i have a large water bowl. could i add eco-earth on top of whats in there already? or just change the hole thing?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Britt/Matt

could i add eco-earth on top of whats in there already? or just change the hole thing?

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You could do either... Personally I would just change it out but there aren't any issues related to mixing eco-earth with reptibark

wow thanks, was actually going to walmart to get one of those i orj bought the stick on ones then i found out they not as accurate. how do i upload photo so i can show what i have going on with tank, and when i bring her home to show a pic?

The easiest way is to upload the pictures to photobucket then use the direct link code to insert them into a post:

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...nt/HTPAP_1.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...nt/HTPAP_2.jpg

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...nt/HTPAP_3.jpg

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...3/IMG_0494.jpg

i plan on moving log back to middle, and replacing with a similiar hide like one on cold side, as suggested. still need to buy few more plants to fill it so it feels more comfy in there and not so scary for her.

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...3/IMG_0493.jpg

I fixed the second image for you :D

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/...3/IMG_0493.jpg

Looks good. The only thing I have to say about it has already been covered

Quote:

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i plan on moving log back to middle, and replacing with a similiar hide like one on cold side

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Although I would still recommend that you replace the Heat bulbs this these: http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...uctId=11147193

im wondering tho, i going to change bulbs to red ones, should i get a third heat lamp to heat up other side to get temp up to 80 and keep it there, i put foil on side without lamps but doesnt seem to be getting hotter on that side? or just leave it alone and shoudl heat up soon

I would get the Red build in 100 Watts (if your lamp can handle 100 watts) for the hot side and put the heat lamp on a light dimmer like this one:

http://www.google.com/products/catal...wAA#ps-sellers

you will only need to use 1 lamp on the hot side then.

I would then get a 50 or 75 way red bulb for the cool side and put it on a dimmer as well.

The Blacklight (UV) bulbs do not put out much heat so you might even be able to get away with just the 75 watt red bulb on the hot side.

Make sure that you get a red bulb like the one I put a link for in pervious post and not just a regular light bulb with a red coating on it. The bulb I recommended puts out a different type of light than regular bulbs.


Over time the entire enclosure will get hotter then eventually settle into its normal temperature. This can take up to a week. I really doubt that you will need both lamps on the hot side unless your room stays really cold (as in less than 62 degrees)

Instead of getting more plants, I would move that log hide behind the water dish and replace it with another cave-style hide. Since they're open at both ends, the logs don't really provide that much security, but it could work as a tunnel that reduces the overhead exposure when your BP goes from one side to the other.