Long time breeder says humidity control isn't actually needed?

@ 7:47
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP8RKNN0Wmo

:confusd:

I like Brian Gundy. (Was sorry to read of Big Momma's passing - she was a lovely boa.) I don't know what to make of that, however. Where does he live - maybe the South East?

Also, I still like a digital thermometer hung where I can read it instantly. I have to take off the top of the tank to use the temp gun. That is a pain.

He lives here in the Bay Area, CA. Super nice guy. It is rather naturally humid around here, I don't do anything extra for humidity but when I lived in Las Vegas humidity was a constant struggle. (I didn't watch his vid yet)

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Originally Posted by distaff

Also, I still like a digital thermometer hung where I can read it instantly. I have to take off the top of the tank to use the temp gun. That is a pain.

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​I totally agree about the convenience quickness of the well placed digital. But the temp gun has it's uses. It works to do the occasional more accurate bottom or hide reading check and I use it to take the temp of F/T feeder. I get it to 90 or a bit hotter. I measured a live feeder once to see what temp they were.

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Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

He lives here in the Bay Area, CA. Super nice guy. It is rather naturally humid around here, I don't do anything extra for humidity but when I lived in Las Vegas humidity was a constant struggle. (I didn't watch his vid yet)

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This is probably what he's talking about. Whether you have to keep a close humidity or not depends on your area. I lived in Sacramento, CA and had to keep an eye on humidity but not too much, as the ambient humidity there is around 50%. However I've lived in North Central Washington for the past seven years, and the ambient humidity here is 30%! I've only not had reptiles the past two years up here, and keeping humidity up has always been a constant struggle. I even had to worry about the beardy I looked after. He never fully shed, or shed very often, and he was drinking a lot. I had to soak him two to three times a week to keep him hydrated.

Absolutely location dependant! Here in Show Low AZ, I probably wouldn't need any, but once I'm back down in the valley where it's typically around 0%Rh, I absolutely am going to need it.

Once you already have a good gist of your humidity range in your area over the seasons, assuming you live in a relatively humid area, and AFTER you've already had a digital humidity monitor, then I don't think it's always needed.

For newbies in the hobby though, it's definitely necessary to even find out what your humidity is, and whether it's too high or too low.

I'm in Los Angeles, and the humidity in my apartment is always 55%~70%.

I respect Mr. Grundy's views, though this is the first I have heard or seen of him. I like what he said. I was using back heat. But I just went to belly heat. Liked what he said there about that. And about heat guns. I have had problem sheds where the skin was too wet and broke apart. I think the skin being a little dry will come off better. IMO. I don't think he wants his humidity high no matter where he would live. And where his snakes are located in (his house or wherever they are) might have no bearing on the outside humidity. He said the only two time he tries to make it a little more humid is during shed and incubation. He say's, and I agree, that heat and high humidity can be a petri dish to bacteria and problems. I wonder if snake spray misting(ex. zilla tropical mist) while in blue eyed stage of shedding( not after that) is better.

I have not check humidity in individual enclosure in.............well actually I never have :rolleyes:

I measure the room humidity, I pay attention to the look of my enclosures and my snake sheds :gj:

Temperature is the only thing I check everyday with a temp gun getting random reading in different cages and that's when I use a hot spot which I do not most of the year.

I'm like Deb, I pay more attention to the snakes and how they are shedding and looking more than what the numbers say. Cause if my snake is looking dry buy they are a 50% Rh I know I need to bump up the humidity. So what does it matter what the number is if my snake looks dry or is shedding bad?

With our fogger system i built, once its set, that's that.

But ambient in my home sometimes drops to 15%. As a person who BY FAR prefers animals to people, keeping tabs on the levels is a must. Our planted bp viv has 4 temp reads and 2 humidity reads. Upper tank, subatrate, hot side, cold side.

If your set up nice like some of us are its not really needed. In our case overkill. But, always a but, think of all the potential things that can go wrong in a short time. I think those readings are very very important. We also have a cabinet with a few years of notebooks(records) to back check.


Say a uth shorts. You have analog dial gauges. We all know most folks out there have unchecked heat mats. A dead giveaway would be a dried out tank that MAY or MAY NOT read on the analog gauge. Then you have a problem.

This seems more like a personal preferance thing.

Im glad this didnt get ugly fast like i was expecting.

Up here in MN I don't have to worry about humidity in the summer, however in the winter my snakes start looking like flakey wrinkled sausages if I don't spritz them down from time to time.

I think the humidity issue is mainly a carry over from back in the day when everyone used tanks.

I doubt that Mr. Gundy uses any tanks. Now, with tubs and PVC types of enclosures gaining popularity we are starting to see the pendulum shift the other way. Especially since TOO MUCH humidy can be an issue with nontank enclosures.

I can definitely see from his perspective living in a humid area with nontanks that drier is better.


http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10...460ab6287d.jpg


http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10...0031e3b9b5.jpg

My room humidity right now is 40-50% and my tubs stay any from 65-80% and are completely dry.

I was told your humidity can never be too high as long as the enclosure is warm enough. A warm, 85% humidity enclosure will not cause an RI, but a cold 85% humidity enclosure will. Just what I was told, don't know if it's true.

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Originally Posted by Galaxygirl

I was told your humidity can never be too high as long as the enclosure is warm enough. A warm, 85% humidity enclosure will not cause an RI, but a cold 85% humidity enclosure will. Just what I was told, don't know if it's true.

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Not true. you can get mold, scale rot, RI ect. from prolonged exposure to high humidity with little to no air exchange.

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

Not true. you can get mold, scale rot, RI ect. from prolonged exposure to high humidity with little to no air exchange.

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What would you say is the most humid you can go safely? 70%? I should have asked the guy that said that about scale rot.

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Originally Posted by Galaxygirl

What would you say is the most humid you can go safely? 70%? I should have asked the guy that said that about scale rot.

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70% at 92 degrees for a short time ie a few day should be fine. But were this hurts is the ratio of RH:Tempature. So @70% rh and 90 degrees the air temp is actually feels like 106 degrees because of the evaporation factor. Don't ask why I know this just know My humidors are rock stable LOL

So @ between 30-50%rh and 90 degrees the air temp is between 90 and 96 degrees.

Now there is some air exchange and variables that go into that but for the most part keeping them @70% unless they are dehydrated or fighting an RI could cause problems..

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Originally Posted by Galaxygirl

What would you say is the most humid you can go safely? 70%? I should have asked the guy that said that about scale rot.

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To be honest I even had big breeders tell me as long as the actual enclosure is dry you don't really have to worry about humidity being to high. If you think about it Africa is 80-90% everyday. So again as long as everything is dry don't worry about humidity being too high!

I kind of agree with the as long as your tank is dry statement. Weather here changes all the time. Theres been time periods where outside/ambient humidity make my tank readings max out for humidity.

Theres also been mornings where our fog monster is off for a time period, and the tank developed its own "dew" i think is a close word.

No harm done anywhere along the line. Never any health issues.

A little fluxuation is good we think here. Day to day outside its never 100% consistent. Buts thats what most people try for. So in personal belief, mixing it up a little helps make for a hearty snake.

Simple matter of opinion again.

This is where i differ. We abandoned screen tops and chipped bedding long ago. A simple radiant side and a t5 maintains it all. Fully planted with bio soil mix.

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/...psaldxov9m.jpg

Sorry it was 2 posts, while modifying last one it cut me off and reset my page. Stupid phone.

I'm sure that the humidity he's mentioning has a lot to do with his location. I'm in the Mojave desert - outside humidity right now is 20%, indoor is 43%. My tubs are all between 55 and 62% just by keeping their water bowls full. I don't have problem sheds because as soon as I see anything that looks like they're getting ready to shed, I fold a damp paper towel behind their water bowl to give the humidity a little bump into the 70's. If I lived in a more humid environment, I'm sure it wouldn't be necessary. I do like the humidifier idea, I'll have to check into getting one.