shedding ???s

I have a BP who went into shed yesterday ( eyes cloudy, skin dull ) along with misting the sides of the tank to keep humidity up, I've misted the snake to is this a good thing to do ?? I'm also having heating problems right now, can't seem to get the temp past 84-85 on the hot side, I'm using a 100 watt infra red bulb plus a human heating pad. Still with this low heat my BP spends alot of his time on the cool side, just wondering if this is so bad. while he is shedding I'm keeping the humidity at around 70.
Any advice would be GREAT !!

i kept my hunidity at about 70 too, the shed was nowhere near perfect but its all good.As far as misting the snake itslef, i dont see any problem with it i dont really do it i just mist the plants subsrate and the walls but i guess you could mist the snake i think it would make the skin nice and moist and easier to come off.

Thanks Brandon, what do you think about my heating problem ?

umm, well 85 isnt bad, mine is like 85 90 on the hot side.Do you have a screen top ? maybe the heat is getting out through there ? I put some saran wrap to cover the top and closed it all up exept where the heat lamp goes, it holds in the mumidity great !! maybe try that.

Yep, I've actually have a peice of plexie glass over the other side of the screen, I'm thinking it could be from the over all temp in the house has gone down. Thanks again Brandon

Are you using a digital thermometer?
Is the probe from the digital thermometer on the floor of the tank?
What size tank is it?


I am using a 10 gal and with a 60W infared can get the temps to the 90s without a pad ...

Make sure you're measuring with digital and if so, and you are using a glass tank try insulating three or all of the sides with cardboard cut to fit snugly. What's the ambient temp of the room the enclosure's in?

I am using a digital therm, I've got the probes stuck to the side about 2 inches off the floor/ using 20 galon glass tank, should I just let the probe dangle closer to the floor? He still spends alot of his time on the cool side. could it be that my therm isn't reading propper?

your probe should be directly on the ground, whether you are using an UTH or an over head lamp, thats where your snake wil be, not a couple inches off of it

So I should just lay the probe right on the floor??

Yes, and if you have the sticky pad exposed, cover it with a piece of paper or something so it won't get stuck to your snake.

What about my guy always on the cool side, does this mean he is getting enough heat?
Thanks Marla

well, once you put the probe in the right place, and then see the temps then, you might realize that they could be toooooo hot, so he wont go over there

or maybe he just prefers the cooler side, like my new snake, in the day, always on the cold size, but at night, hes all about, in, ontop of, around his hot hide

You're welcome. :) You didn't mention what your cool side temp is or what kind of hides you have. If he really spends nearly all his time on the cool side, the two most likely possibilities are that either he feels like it provides the temp he needs better than the warm side or he feels the hide on that side is more secure.

BINGO !! went down and fixed the probe, like Marla said to do ( covered the sticky with paper ) layed the probe on the floor and the temp stated to go up. As for a hide on the cool side, I only have a hide on the hot side, does he really need one on the cool side ?? Thanks

Definitely.

Dont make them sacrifice thermoregulation (heat/cool) in order to feel secure (hide) - because they will.

Yes, as Smulkin said, he definitely needs at least one hide per side, preferably snug hides with some heft to them so that he can feel secure in them. It is essential that they be able to thermoregulate and feel secure, and it doesn't need to be expensive. Let us know later what the reading for the warm side is, because it may turn out to have been too warm for him.

Try putting the probes inside the actual hides I have three digital temp guages one underneath each hide (cool side/warm side) and one in the middle of the cage. The difference between putting the probe about 1" next to the hide and actually in the hide was about 8 degrees difference it made a big difference.

Yes, he needs a hide on the warm and cool side ... so he doesn't have to choose between thermoregulating and hiding, with two hides ... he could do both at the same time.