Humidity during a shed

Hey you guys,

I just noticed that my ball python is shedding and I increased the humidity in my tank to about 90%. All I do is get a beach towel a little moist and throw it over my tank. Is 90% humidity too much for him while he's going through a shed?

Does my snake also need a water bowl if the humidity is fine in his tank? Reason being is that I have never seen him go in it once. I would like to put another place for him to hide on the other side of his tank as well. Also, what is a good type of lighting to put in his tank? I currently have a 20 gallon tank and have a UTH under his one hiding spot. I haven't gotten a lighting for him yet because a friend told me it isn't necessary and that I could cook him. Is that true? A lot of questions but I've only had a him for a month and I'm still learning more and more stuff about him.

Any tips are appreciated!

Thank you! :)

If your UTH hot spot heat and ambient cool side are within range (88-90 hot spot/~80 cool side), then a lamp isn't necessary. It just kills humidity.
If you have difficulty maintaining ambient temps, then a lamp may be needed for an extra boost.
And having 2 or more hides are always good if you have an open tank.

As long as there's no standing moisture on the floor or the walls, I wouldn't worry about humidity being too high for the time being. As long as you have good air circulation, it's fine.

You should provide water at all times. And ball pythons don't normally soak unless they have mites or the temps are too hot, so you probably won't see him going into it. It's more for drinking and maintaining humidity.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

If your UTH hot spot heat and ambient cool side are within range (88-90 hot spot/~80 cool side), then a lamp isn't necessary. It just kills humidity.
If you have difficulty maintaining ambient temps, then a lamp may be needed for an extra boost.
And having 2 or more hides are always good if you have an open tank.

As long as there's no standing moisture on the floor or the walls, I wouldn't worry about humidity being too high for the time being. As long as you have good air circulation, it's fine.

You should provide water at all times. And ball pythons don't normally soak unless they have mites or the temps are too hot, so you probably won't see him going into it. It's more for drinking and maintaining humidity.

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Hey Satomia,

Thanks for replying. My tank is about ~75 hotspot and I'm not sure about the cool side because I don't have a thermometer. Will the side with the lamp be considered the hotspot and the side with the UTH be the cool side? But I am guessing since his tank is about 75 I should get a lamp. But the humidity on the regular is fine. It's usually no less then 75% but I put the damp towel over the tank to help him out during his shed. So I don't think the lamp will effect it to the point where I have to worry about the humidity. So far I only have 1 hide in his tank and it is an open one. So I'll be getting one tomorrow for him and a lamp. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to work it out with my tank though because it's not really that big. Right now I have my water bowl on the cool side of the tank and bark in the middle of the tank and his hide at the hot spot. Is it fine to put the lamp over the cool side of tank to make it the hot spot? The only thing I'm worried about is putting the lamp over the water bowl but I can't really think of any other way to do it. What's bad about putting the lamp over the water bowl?

Are you using an analog temp gauge or digital? The temp you are reading could be ambient temp not the actual temp by the uth. I have a 20 lomg and my temp on hot sode is 90 to 91 and cool is 83 to 85. Ambient temp is around 85 my humidity is a constant 55, unless shes shedding then I raise ot with spritzing with warm water 2 to 3 times a day. I also have her water in the middle of the enclosure which helps with the humidity. I have a 60 watt red light and uth. I also cover 3 sides and most of the front so she feels more secure. Moss all over and in the hides on each end, and 2 digital temp humidity gauges. I try to keep her happy as a bp can be. She can go in either hide or under the water dish. She also hides under the moss.

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Originally Posted by Phantomtip

Are you using an analog temp gauge or digital? The temp you are reading could be ambient temp not the actual temp by the uth. I have a 20 lomg and my temp on hot sode is 90 to 91 and cool is 83 to 85. Ambient temp is around 85 my humidity is a constant 55, unless shes shedding then I raise ot with spritzing with warm water 2 to 3 times a day. I also have her water in the middle of the enclosure which helps with the humidity. I have a 60 watt red light and uth. I also cover 3 sides and most of the front so she feels more secure. Moss all over and in the hides on each end, and 2 digital temp humidity gauges. I try to keep her happy as a bp can be. She can go in either hide or under the water dish. She also hides under the moss.

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I'm using a analog gauge with a thermometer and hygrometer. I can't really spritz my tank though because I have aspen bedding. So I just throw a wet towel over his tank that way I can raise it when he's shedding. Damp enough to where you can definitely tell it's wet but not enough to where it's dripping at all. And I put the gauge pretty low and very close to the UTH. So I'm fairly sure that it is the hot spot it is reading unless I have a bad gauge. I definitely need to raise the temperature in my tank though. I'm not actually even sure what can happen to him if the temperature is too low for him. But I will definitely raise to prevent whatever can happen. Do you know if it matters if the water is under the lamp? And how do you cover 3 sides of the tank? Usually I just keep it all open. But I wouldn't mind covering all the sides and leaving the top open because he seems to sit in his hide allll the time. I rarely see him out at all. And it's only whenever we are not around. I keep him in my kitchen though so everyone can interact with him whenever they feel like it. But I would really like to see him come out more on his own terms then us taking him out and then he sits outside his hide for a few minutes before going back in. How much did you pay for your gauges and what brand are they?

Couple of things... do you have a lamp now or just uth? 75 is far too low for a hot side. RI can happen with the low temps/high humidity. You should really pick up a probe thermometer ($12 at Walmart for a acurite indoor/ outdoor therm) to see exactly what the temp of your uth is.
How thick is your aspen?
The snakes are not really display snakes and he would be much happier in a low traffic area.

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

Couple of things... do you have a lamp now or just uth? 75 is far too low for a hot side. RI can happen with the low temps/high humidity. You should really pick up a probe thermometer ($12 at Walmart for a acurite indoor/ outdoor therm) to see exactly what the temp of your uth is.
How thick is your aspen?
The snakes are not really display snakes and he would be much happier in a low traffic area.

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My aspen is approximately 2 inches thick. All I have right now is the uth which is on my hot side. But I'm definitely going to get a lamp tomorrow to ensure that the temperature is going to be high enough. What kind of bulb should I get for the lamp I get? Also, what exactly is a probe thermometer? Do you just lay it on the aspen where you want to know how hot it is? And our kitchen doesn't have too much activity really. The only time someone is in there is to either cook dinner or to grab a drink out of the fridge. So maybe 2 hours a day is there people in there. But then really no one forgets to take him out to interact with him.

The acurite has a probe that you place on the glass where the uth is. You put the body on the cold side.
2 inches is too much, the heat from uth won't get through that thick of bedding.
For a heat lamp either infrared or ceramic heat emitter

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

The acurite has a probe that you place on the glass where the uth is. You put the body on the cold side.
2 inches is too much, the heat from uth won't get through that thick of bedding.
For a heat lamp either infrared or ceramic heat emitter

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Can those accurite probes be put between the UTH and the glass?

No this is a thermometer not a thermostat. It goes inside to measure the temp

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I have a blanket around 3 sides attached with duct tape and a towel with saran wrap and foil shiny down on the screen. The towel covers half the front. They don't like being insecure. The probe can be put on the back glass close to where the uth is. He is hiding all the time because he is cold and insecure. Those analog gauges are notorious for being inaccurate. You can get a good dome for cheap at a hardware store and the red light I use is a 60 watt heat night light from a pet store. I do have it slightly elevated. I also hve 2 temp humidity gauges that I have 1 probe by hot and body by cool, and other is raised a little and same thing. Probe on cool body on hot. I haven't had any major fluxuations in temp and humidity. You can spritz aspen as long as you do it ligghtly so its not saturated. I use coco husk. It helps a little with holding moisture and notggetting saturated if done right. No you don't have to put he water on hot side. Put it in the middle and it will help with humidity. Also then it doesn't get too hot for him to drink. If you decide to put some foil and saran wrap on top keep it clear of the light you use. Its a fire hazard. Also anything you use to cover the sides can become fire hazards if they come in contact with that light. My girl is so much happier now that I did that. She will lay full length and watch through the window a while then go back to hiding and sleeping. I hope this helps you.

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Originally Posted by kmatias93

My aspen is approximately 2 inches thick. All I have right now is the uth which is on my hot side. But I'm definitely going to get a lamp tomorrow to ensure that the temperature is going to be high enough. What kind of bulb should I get for the lamp I get? Also, what exactly is a probe thermometer? Do you just lay it on the aspen where you want to know how hot it is? And our kitchen doesn't have too much activity really. The only time someone is in there is to either cook dinner or to grab a drink out of the fridge. So maybe 2 hours a day is there people in there. But then really no one forgets to take him out to interact with him.

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Even in a dark room all by themselves they can still feel insecure so being in the kitchen is not really the best place for him. Especially if its young.
To answer the question on water yes a water bowl is needed, they do not soak often but do you use it to drink occasionally. In a 20 long you should have plenty of room for 2 hides and the water bowl. I fit them in a 10 gal easy. There is excellent thread stickied on here in the husbandry section on setting up a 20 gal long tank, please take a moment and read it over.

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The thickness of the aspen on your hot spot doesn't really matter. I mean you don't want it super thick and two inches is too thick,but snakes aren't stupid,they will find the heat and they will burrow..over my hot spot I leave about 1/2-3/4 of Aspen and what does it matter,he burrows anyway and lays on the glass. I also keep the hot spot under the hide at 88-90...Which is why it's important to monitor your pad with a thermostat and thermometer. Also 75 is to low,bump it up at minimum 10 degrees,I'd say shoot for 86-88. High humidity and low temps can cause respiratory infection,which your snake doesn't want. It takes a bit of messing around with at first to find what exactly works,once you do,I advise u stick with it.
Ike I have done

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

The acurite has a probe that you place on the glass where the uth is. You put the body on the cold side.
2 inches is too much, the heat from uth won't get through that thick of bedding.
For a heat lamp either infrared or ceramic heat emitter

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Oh okay. So how thick should I make my bedding? Sorry for late response. Was out of town for the weekend.

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Originally Posted by kmatias93

Oh okay. So how thick should I make my bedding? Sorry for late response. Was out of town for the weekend.

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About a half inch, anymore and the uth has to be up too high. :)

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Originally Posted by Phantomtip

I have a blanket around 3 sides attached with duct tape and a towel with saran wrap and foil shiny down on the screen. The towel covers half the front. They don't like being insecure. The probe can be put on the back glass close to where the uth is. He is hiding all the time because he is cold and insecure. Those analog gauges are notorious for being inaccurate. You can get a good dome for cheap at a hardware store and the red light I use is a 60 watt heat night light from a pet store. I do have it slightly elevated. I also hve 2 temp humidity gauges that I have 1 probe by hot and body by cool, and other is raised a little and same thing. Probe on cool body on hot. I haven't had any major fluxuations in temp and humidity. You can spritz aspen as long as you do it ligghtly so its not saturated. I use coco husk. It helps a little with holding moisture and notggetting saturated if done right. No you don't have to put he water on hot side. Put it in the middle and it will help with humidity. Also then it doesn't get too hot for him to drink. If you decide to put some foil and saran wrap on top keep it clear of the light you use. Its a fire hazard. Also anything you use to cover the sides can become fire hazards if they come in contact with that light. My girl is so much happier now that I did that. She will lay full length and watch through the window a while then go back to hiding and sleeping. I hope this helps you.

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Oh okay thanks :) I'll have to go ahead and try covering those sides up. I'll probably go ahead and keep the top uncovered though. I don't want to risk burning the house down lol. I got my dome and light last night though so I'll be setting that up tonight when I get home. Hopefully I can get a substantial increase in temperature from it.

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

About a half inch, anymore and the uth has to be up too high. :)

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Oh okay. I'll go ahead and pick up some more bedding today then. Thanks for the help :)

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Originally Posted by kmatias93

Oh okay. I'll go ahead and pick up some more bedding today then. Thanks for the help :)

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Since you're using aspen, humidity may become an issue with the use of a lamp. Did you pick up infrared or ceramic?
Since you're picking up bedding you might want to look into cypress mulch or coco husk/eco earth or combine the two. I used eco earth when I had used the tank and it was a sanity saver when it came to keeping proper humidity

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

Since you're using aspen, humidity may become an issue with the use of a lamp. Did you pick up infrared or ceramic?
Since you're picking up bedding you might want to look into cypress mulch or coco husk/eco earth or combine the two. I used eco earth when I had used the tank and it was a sanity saver when it came to keeping proper humidity

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I'm actually not sure what kind of lamp it is. One of my buds had one lying around so he gave it to me. How can you tell what it is? But yeah I was thinking about getting cypress mulch cause I heard a lot of people saying that humidity does drop with a lamp. If anything, I'll put my lamp on one side of the tank and then put a damp towel on the other side of the cage to keep the humidity up. I have another question though. Is it bad to have the humidity jumping around too much? Because usually my humidity is at about 70 ish %. When my BP is shedding I put a damp towel over the tank to increase it to about 85-90%. But I do it 3 times a day when he is shedding and when I come back to the tank it's at about 70 again. So it's constantly jumping around while he is shedding. Can that cause a RI or something?

Infrared will be red when lit. Ceramic looks ceramic and kinda coiled. Black night bulb will be like purple. You don't want white light all the time. Humidity of 70 is perfect for shed, no need to take it up higher than that.

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

Infrared will be red when lit. Ceramic looks ceramic and kinda coiled. Black night bulb will be like purple. You don't want white light all the time. Humidity of 70 is perfect for shed, no need to take it up higher than that.

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Ohhh okay. Yeah mine is red so I guess it is red. Is infared good for lighting?

They don't need lighting they need heat... infrared is good just be ready to keep fixing the humidity

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

They don't need lighting they need heat... infrared is good just be ready to keep fixing the humidity

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So I put the lamp over my tank and it did raise the temperature in my tank about 10 degrees but it dropped my humidity 20%. I'm not sure if I just need to go ahead and change the bedding or if I can do something else to increase the humidity cause I'm pretty sure 50% isn't going to be fine for him. I'm gonna attach a pic of my tank and my thermometer/hygrometer. UTH is on the right side of my tank. And my BP is on the left side.

http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/y...sed6fcbb8.jpeg

http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/y...sf6e27883.jpeg

You can try wrapping 3/4 of the lid with saran wrap or tin foil. Also Eco Earth saved my sanity when it came to keeping humidity in my tank

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

You can try wrapping 3/4 of the lid with saran wrap or tin foil. Also Eco Earth saved my sanity when it came to keeping humidity in my tank

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Putting that much saran wrap or tin foil on the tank won't cause a fire? I leave the lamp on at all times. My BP ended up moving to the other side of the tank where the UTH and lamp is so I'm guessing he likes the heat. Just hoping he's smart enough to move if it gets too hot for him. I don't know if you can see my bedding in my tank that well but do you still I put too much in it?

You can do half the top if you feel safer, I prefer tin foil to saran wrap. The bedding could be a little thinner but I don't think its too bad.
You'd still be better of getting an acurite indoor/outdoor thermometer from Walmart for the temps and humidity, it gets the surface temps of the hot side and also the ambient of the cool side.
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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

You can do half the top if you feel safer, I prefer tin foil to saran wrap. The bedding could be a little thinner but I don't think its too bad.
You'd still be better of getting an acurite indoor/outdoor thermometer from Walmart for the temps and humidity, it gets the surface temps of the hot side and also the ambient of the cool side.
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Okay I'll make sure I make it a little thinner next time then. I'm probably gonna go with a different bedding as well too. I'm not seeing any acurite thermometers at Walmart online so I'll have to check in store to see if I can find any. How much do they usually go for?

$12 and I would definitely give the Eco Earth a try, if you do buy the bag NOT the brick. The brick is a pain in the butt.
The thermometers in store are by the weather products near the seasonal stuff

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

$12 and I would definitely give the Eco Earth a try, if you do buy the bag NOT the brick. The brick is a pain in the butt.
The thermometers in store are by the weather products near the seasonal stuff

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Okay I definitely will get some for the next time I change his bedding. I'll swing by Walmart tonight to see if I can find a thermometer for him. Thanks for all the help! :)

No problem at all, happy to help :)

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