Humidity levels

I have a roughly 7 month old female ball . I had her in a basic setup until recently now that i have more money and have been able to buy her better things. I just got her some cypress mulch for substrate, a new log hide, and finally got a humidity and temperate guage. The only things that really need improvement now is a larger water dish (which I'm getting from my mom soon) and an actual reptile heating pad for under her tank (im currently using a regular heating pad that's for human use, but its keeping her tank at a good 85 degrees when i have a thin layer of fabric over the top of her tank to hold the heat in ) the problem I'm having is i can't get her humidty to stay high enough , i mist her tank down daily with a water bottle and when first misted and a bit after its perfect, but by the time i go to check her the next day its too low , what can i do to fix this?

I took an old three ring binder (plastic) and cut it in half, covered it with duct tape, and duct taped it to the cool side of the tank cover. I put some duct tape on the warm side to cover the gap between the light and the edge of the lid.

Some people have made entire covers of duct tape. Whatever you use, make sure it can handle warm temps from your light. An old plastic cutting board might work. A piece of ceramic floor tile would be great. A piece of plexi glass etc. Just make sure there is ventilation.

See my having fabric over it seems to be working half decent , ive been keeping a close eye since i sprayed her tank down and so far its went down some but is still at 60% and its been about 12 hours , so if it's been like this constantly shes probably had about 12 hours each of good and low humidity every day give or take a bit . So i mean that can't be horrible right ?

A temporary fix could simply be to mist twice a day, until you find a proper solution. I mean, misting takes like 10 seconds...

If it's still 60% after 12 hours then you don't have a humidity problem. That good humidity:)

I think the prioritization of equipment is required here. Mulch substrate,not required you can use paper towel. Special hide. Not required, I use left over food containers. Special water bowl. Not required. Go to the dollar store.

What is required is that you lose the human heating pad. Those things are not reliable. I fell asleep on one and burnt the crap out of myself. You need a reptile mat or heat tape. THese things should be regulated, preferably with a thermostat. The way you are set up now it is not a matter of if there is going to be an accident, it is a matter of when.

I'm somewhat having the same issue, Although I believe in my case that it's due to the lamps I have for heating and living in a dryer state. After bad luck with getting a UTH to work, I switched to just using two CHE lamps which I know dries out the enclosure quicker. Right now I'm misting the cage several times a day, letting the substrate dry out in between which only takes a few hours, and I've been wetting down a pillowcase to place over the top of the screen. Which has been keeping the humidity in, and also helping with heat; So maybe you could try doing that? I may invest in a misting system that I can turn on and off myself.

60% after 12 hours is good.

I have a ball python at work and I could mist him down five times a day and the humidity still plummets because the air in the building is ungodly dry. I keep sphagnum moss in with him and dampen it as it needs be. That helped a LOT. It was a pain to have to continually stop, check, spray, stop, check, spray (even though it only took a few seconds). I felt like I was tethered to the humidity gauge. The moss helped so much and it keeps the humidity constant even on the weekends. In the winter I add cypress mulch and that helps even more.

My other pythons are at home and their humidity levels are constant with a daily misting.

You will find a balance that is comfortable for you :) 60% after 12 hours is really good!

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Originally Posted by Ashleighsmommy

See my having fabric over it seems to be working half decent , ive been keeping a close eye since i sprayed her tank down and so far its went down some but is still at 60% and its been about 12 hours , so if it's been like this constantly shes probably had about 12 hours each of good and low humidity every day give or take a bit . So i mean that can't be horrible right ?

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Originally Posted by JodanOrNoDan

What is required is that you lose the human heating pad. Those things are not reliable. I fell asleep on one and burnt the crap out of myself. You need a reptile mat or heat tape. THese things should be regulated, preferably with a thermostat. The way you are set up now it is not a matter of if there is going to be an accident, it is a matter of when.

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Listen to this ^^^^ I'm sure your temp is 85 ambient, you need to check the temp under the substrate on the glass over the hearing pad and I guarantee it is well over 100 which will burn your snake and it must be no higher than 94 under the substrate. You need a temp gun or digital thermometer with probe to take your temps correctly. Human body temp is 98.6 so the human heating pad heats at over 98.6 so us as human can feel the heat from them. Uth don't heat the air and neither do human heat pads, they heat the surface above them, if they increase your air temp by a significant amount that means they are running way to hot. You need to unplug it and use a night bulb or che to keep your cage at proper temps or around the mid 80s until you get the proper equipment. You need a reptile uth, a thermostat to regulate the amount of heat the uth gives off, and a reliable ir temp gun or a reliable digital thermometer with probe like the acurite 00891. If you do not stop using the human heat pad your snake is going to get burned eventually, they are also not made to run 24/7 and is an extreme fire hazard.

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Okay i know the heating pad isnt proper , thats not what i came here for . I am working with what i have at the moment trying to make it better , i cant put a heat bulb on her at the moment as my roommate has a kitten that would get on top of her tank which i dont trust , so where shes set up thats not a possibility but there's also no space for a light. As for the person saying the substrate and hide werent necessary, they were because she was having no luck shedding due to low humidty and nothing to properly rub up on so i got her mulch i knew held humidty well and a hide that had tecture on it . Im a soon to be mother and I'm working with what money i have to make her happy , a proper heating pad was my next step i was just waiting to be able to get one oi can actually afford because the ones at the pet shop near me are over priced compared to the ones ive seen elsewhere. Again i didnt come here for criticism on my heating supply i came here for help on her humidity levels

Just that your heating issue (even if it is not the intended topic of this thread) is far more serious than the humidity issues! You cannot expect people to just gloss over that just because it wasn't the original question. Some stuck shed due to temporary humidity issues can be fixed. A badly injured or possibly dead snake due to using the wrong and unregulated heat sources is less fixable.

I understand that you are on a budget, and that money doesn't come by easy, but when it comes to heating one really shouldn't mess about --- for the sake and safety of your snake!

As has been advised before, please unplug the UTH and use a CHE or similar to heat the tank until you get proper equipment (or get proper equipment right away if in any way possible. That means, a reptile UTH *and* a thermostat). You can use some rabbit fence (I'm not sure what it's called, that wire fence stuff used for rabbit enclosures and the like) and wire to make the bulb kitten proof.

Also, please be aware that temperature gauges, especially the pet store ones, are known to be inaccurate! You can get an IR temperature gun for like 15 bucks which makes it very easy to accurately check the temperature beneath the substrate (which is where you should measure temp). An acurite thermometer with a probe also seems to be a popular choice, which you can get at Wal-Mart for cheap i think (excuse me, I'm european, I'm not 100% sure on that last part)

We're not your enemy and we don't try to publically shame you or anything, this is no witch hunt, we just don't want for your snake to risk getting hurt, thats all! (Google ball python belly burn if you aren't convinced yet...)

Best of luck! :)

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I understand everyone is just trying to help , i appreciate that . I just feel sone were rude about it . Also id like to add the heating pad has a thick foam layer between it and the tank and ive felt the glass under her substrate and it hardly feels warm to my touch , its just keeping the tank warm enough when covered other than that its not keeping everything super hot

Oh also the bulb isnt what im concerned about when it comes to the kitten its the tank lid , the lid lays on the lipbof the tank and has pieces on all 4 corners that slide under the lip , so whereas i know it cant be pushed up by my snake i fear it falling in on the kittens weight (ive had times i was putting it back on and if it isnt balanced correctly before the locks are in place itll try and fall in , i haven't noticed it having that problem once the locks are on but id rather not take the chance)

No one is trying to do anything but give you good advice. Think of it as going to the DR and them telling you you shouldn't smoke even though you went in for a cold. I am not out to win a popularity contest, only to give good advice even if it is not wanted. I and many others here have a room full of snakes. We know what we are doing but we all started out knowing nothing and we either learned from others or learned the hard way. BTW, your heat issues can affect your humidity. I would also suggest as a grandfather and a father of four that your financial focus should be on your new blessing, not a snake.

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Originally Posted by Ashleighsmommy

I understand everyone is just trying to help , i appreciate that . I just feel sone were rude about it . Also id like to add the heating pad has a thick foam layer between it and the tank and ive felt the glass under her substrate and it hardly feels warm to my touch , its just keeping the tank warm enough when covered other than that its not keeping everything super hot

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No one was trying to be rude, just looking out for the best interest of the snake. As far as a light on top, I have cats and I have dome on top of my Leopard geckos tank for a day light and basking bulbs in domes on my custom built beardie cages and what I do to make sure the cats can't knock them over is drill holes near the edge of the dome and take metal wire and secure them to top of screen. If the glass under the substrate feels warm even a little bit it means it is over 98.6 bc that is what human body temp is, my uth are set at 90-92 and I can feel absolutely no heat coming from them bc they are cooler than my body temp. Again this is just advice to help you avoid a hurt snake and a expensive vet bill.

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I know my focus should be on the baby, hints why ive had to slowly make the snakes living conditions better and better, because I've had to worry about my baby , but i cant completely drop all interest in my pet either

Please please please remember that if it feels warm to the touch its more than likely going to be hot enough to burn your snake.
Good Luck and congratulations on your soon to be new born :)

Okay guys if anyone is still watching this thread i need to come back to it , i removed the human heating pad until we could get her a reptile one (again where we have to set her tank up atm we cant use a light) but its been under her tank for about an hr now and it seems her temp isnt getting any higher ,maybe even slightly lower . Any idea why that would be ? The uth mat is definitely working , it sits about a half an inch below the bottom glass of her tank , and i dont see any way the heat could be escaping except up into the tank , so im really confused

Glad to hear you now have a UTH - next question everyone is going to ask - is it being controlled by a thermostat or dimmer? These regular heat mats bought from pet stores can exceed temps of 105+ so it is very crucial to regulate the heat in some way.

UTH is used for belly heat not ambient temps,either keep that room warmer to achieve a good temp or try to put the tank somewhere that you can put a CHE over top to achieve proper ambient temps. Plus an hour is a very short amount of time to judge a heat source...wait a day and see where it's at but do not leave that thing on unless you have a thermostat.

How is your humidity been holding up? We used to use damp towels/clothes when we had the grated lid, it worked wonders but was just annoying having to soak the clothes every other day.

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Originally Posted by Snoopyslim

Glad to hear you now have a UTH - next question everyone is going to ask - is it being controlled by a thermostat or dimmer? These regular heat mats bought from pet stores can exceed temps of 105+ so it is very crucial to regulate the heat in some way.

UTH is used for belly heat not ambient temps,either keep that room warmer to achieve a good temp or try to put the tank somewhere that you can put a CHE over top to achieve proper ambient temps. Plus an hour is a very short amount of time to judge a heat source...wait a day and see where it's at but do not leave that thing on unless you have a thermostat.

How is your humidity been holding up? We used to use damp towels/clothes when we had the grated lid, it worked wonders but was just annoying having to soak the clothes every other day.

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Humidity is holding up perfectly now , especially since my fiance was able to get her a larger water dish (which she loves , the second she noticed it she stuck her head in and started drinking lol) but no , i havent been able to find a thermostat sadly , ive been looking but havent seen one anywhere near me, and have no way to order offline . But its now been hours and still nothing , in fact her temp is lower than before when i had no heat source?? Im really confused

Also since i dont want to risk her getting burned id like to add ive been checking the temp of the glass and its also not directly under her hide which is where she prefers to stay, at this time im just trying to get it to help with ambient temp until we can set her up where we can get her a light

Ok. Bunch a questions:
What are you now using to measure the temp? What temperatures are you reading and where (please provide both the highs and lows)? How big is your UTH in comparison to the tank? Also, just to make sure, what are you using to measure humidity and what does it read?

Highly recommended thermostats are the herpstats (expensive, US and Canada exclusive), but also recommended are the cheaper inkbird and jumpstart, depending on local availability. Try amazon for the latter two!

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Originally Posted by Morjean

Ok. Bunch a questions:
What are you now using to measure the temp? What temperatures are you reading and where (please provide both the highs and lows)? How big is your UTH in comparison to the tank? Also, just to make sure, what are you using to measure humidity and what does it read?

Highly recommended thermostats are the herpstats (expensive, US and Canada exclusive), but also recommended are the cheaper inkbird and jumpstart, depending on local availability. Try amazon for the latter two!

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Okay so, im usingan analog temp/humidity guage , which i know people say can be pretty inaccurate but its seemed so far so good . Also im running a bit of a test at the moment , i have the heating mat on ths side of the tank (basically in a place where she wont go especially as shes been staying in her hide , plus im watching to be sure she doesn't go and touch it so im sure she won't be burnt) and the temp gauge basically directly on it to see what it says when the uth is touching the glass directly , i guess in a way to see if i placed it a quarter inch or so away if it would stay cool yet warm enough for her. As of right now its still under 90 . Uth is i believe 6x11 in , compared to a 10 gallon tank , so it would cover less than half when under , id say 1/4 or 1/3 at the most . When i had the guage in the center of the tank before running my test temp was about 75 and humidity was about 65

Im basically working on upgrades as quickly as i can with money limits but also trying not to put her health at risk of course . I do feel bad though because our iguana has had perfect humidity and heat since we got him monday and her heat has stayed slightly lower than id like

Again, top priority is a thermostat, so I would still recommend unplugging for now! once you have a thermostat, proceed.

You definitely Will want to get a different thermometer, those gauges aren't worth their money. Cheapest way is to get a temp gun, which are like 15 bucks and let you measure spots everywhere.
You will need to measure the temperature beneath the substrate and on top of the glass, very important! Also, when installing the UTH it's supposed to be beneath the glass, outside of the enclosure, but it has to have a centimetre or so of air between the UTH and glass (physics stuff, else heat will build up dangerously high even with a thermostat, i don't know the English term for it).


There's a graphic floating around here which demonstrates how an UTH and thermostat is to be installed, maybe someone is kind enough to post it? I'm on mobile and cant do so.

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Someone already posted it . Im working on getting there its hard when my fiance is the only one making money and we're trying to save to get a car and into our own place , plus with a baby due in less than 3 weeks (which is why i triwd to talk him out of the iguana for now , but he did get a good deal on it and he wanted it so badly there was no talking him out of it lol) as of right now its unplugged , as i dont wanna keep it running while im not awake to monitor it , also i moved the guage to the opposite side of the tank where her hide sita just to see what its like over there and see if just for right now i can keep it on the side during the day while i can monitor it and itll help a little (btw its not taped down completely flat it has some space for air circulation) i do have another question while people are viewing though , any clue why it would seem she doesnt really wanna rub her sheds off ? Lately shes been having an issue and ive been making sure her humidity is high to rule that factor out, but it seems like she just wants to sit in one place and not do anything about getting it off , though shell let me wet her and my hands down and lightly pet her which helps

An inkbird itc-308 thermostat is only $39 on amazon. You have the choice of spending that or way more in vet bills. Analog thermometer will not work to take the temp of a uth. You need a digital temp gun or digital thermometer with probe. Acurite 00891 from amazon for $12, so between that and the inkbird itc-308 is would only be $51 with free shipping on amazon. You must unplug uth until you get a thermostat. There's no point in trying to justify not using one bc nothing is going to convince anyone that you can run a heat device unregulated.

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Pretty sure i understand that considering you're like the 10th person to say it. As i said im doing what i can for now while trying to keep her healthy and safe . If you knew anything about my current position in life youd understand a bit more

I don't want to be the guy to say this but I will. Maybe you should be looking at living within your means. Specially with a baby on the way your money situation is only going to get worse and it will be the animals that will suffer.
If you have to chose between treating your animals or feeding your child the animals will obviously go untreated and will die or have to be re-homed.
I know it's advice your looking for but without the means (finances) to follow through with the necessary advice and items you need then there is no point seeking the advice.
Just My opinion and I apologise if what I have said offends anyone.
Good Luck.

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Originally Posted by Scottywelsh

I don't want to be the guy to say this but I will. Maybe you should be looking at living within your means. Specially with a baby on the way your money situation is only going to get worse and it will be the animals that will suffer.
If you have to chose between treating your animals or feeding your child the animals will obviously go untreated and will die or have to be re-homed.
I know it's advice your looking for but without the means (finances) to follow through with the necessary advice and items you need then there is no point seeking the advice.
Just My opinion and I apologise if what I have said offends anyone.
Good Luck.

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Honestly, I have to second this. If money sits too tight to spend 50 bucks on the welfare and health of a pet, then one should reconsider whether this is the right time to have said pet.

The reason why we keep emphasising that you NEED these things is not because we don't know it hasn't already been said five times, or that we don't understand that you are on a budget, but because it is ABSOLUTELY mandatory.
I'm not trying to offend you, or downplay your life situation, but if you don't have those 50$ on life-saving instruments then, with all due respect, you might want to look into rehoming until you have the spare money and time. For the best sake of the animal, we are after all talking about the life of a living creature ...

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http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...2140c38fbf.jpg
Btw this is the setup pic I was talking about earlier! Please note that there has to be roughly 1cm of air between the UTH and the bottom of the enclosure.

Courtesy of and all credit to PitOnTheProwl!

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I'm so mad . I just typed so much and my phone decided to close it out -_- basically as i was saying i know you guys are trying to give advice but some of you can be nicer . Also im going to be able to provide for both my animals and my child , as i said before you all dont know my situation but me and my fiance are transitioning from a really hard place right now so things are slowly getting better and were doing everything we can for both our animals and our child , its gonna be a lot easier when he gets hired on to his new job as well . Weve already done a lot for the animals and the baby compared to what we could have done before, for example theres no way in hell he could have properly cared for an iguana before now because all of his money was being taken . Please dont just assume things about my life , im in a transitioning stage but trust me all of mine will be taken care of