Temporary Humidity Solution?

I have great temps but awful humidity in my Exo Terra enclosure. So much so, that I've ordered an AP T10 setup. It'll be another 7-8 weeks til I get it so I need to try and manually work on the humidity til the new setup gets here.

Im using Ultratherm UTH heater and CHE.

i have TWO water bowls..a small one and a medium sized one. Both always have water. There is not enough space in the tank for a bigger bowl. I have a bowl of sphagnum moss and also have moss all around the tank also and just daily. I'm using eco earth as my substrate. I have a screen top but have almost all of it tightly wrapped and taped with aluminum foil. The only exposed area is the area where the CHE lamp sits. I use a lutron dimmer for the CHE. My temps are constantly at 90 / 80 degrees.

My humidity stays at about 38%. After listing it'll go up to 47-48 for about 30 min then start dropping.

its winter and I'm guessing my home air is just dry as hell. The last shed wasn't horrible but did have several pieces of shed and then lingering pieces for a couple weeks. Tank is even drier now so it could be worse. It's been about 5.5 weeks since his last shed and he eats like a champ so it probably about time to shed again. He is currently 325g.

What can I do just to get through the next 8 weeks til I get the the new setup??

help!


thanks in advance...

TNK

More daily Misting and maybe get a humidifier for the room that the snake is in. I have to run a room humidifier during the winter for my snakes because my heaters dry the place out. Hope you get it figured out!

Thanks a bunch...just put a decent size humidifier behind his tank. Should I do anything with the foil covering or leave it be?

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/jiZPzyU.jpg

Get sphagnum moss, put it in bowls on each end of the tank and keep it moist. It's a temp fix but should hold you over until you get that T10

^^^^This
It worked for me when I ran out of substrate and had to use newspaper, making my humitity super low! I put the moss in small bowls and misted it along with tank sides and it worked until the store was open(They are closed for weekends and on Monday)

I already have my moss all over the tank and I keep it misted daily and it does not help… Maybe goes up about 10% then goes right back down… I've got one big bowl right behind the water and then have it spread out in other areas there's just not a lot of room in the tank for other bowls

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/UsGJDrl.jpg

That dosent really look like spagnum moss to me, maybe I'm wrong though?

What are you using to read this humidity and where is the probe or device placed in relation to the bottom of the tank? Seems odd if you have the top covered like you do and the CHE regulated down that it would lower so rapidly. What is the room humidity and how long has the humidifier been running?

I am using the Acurrite thermometer… It's it's in the back right.


No one has asked about my thermometer probe that's a good question… But I set it up just like the serpent merchant advised in the beginning so it is on the hot side on the glass UNDER the substrate which is eco-earth and has never been moved. Basically the third pick below... snake stays on the cool side so the probes on the hot side under the substrate which is under the log hide.


https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/lrPm5Z3.jpg



https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/RuVonZ1.jpg


Probe is under substarte under log ahead sitting on glass:

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...om/g60Z8OK.jpg

I think you just are going to have to deal with these readings until you find a better solution. You have that acurite on what I am going to assume is the driest part of the tank on the bottom of it and on what looks like relatively dry substrate. Humidity can fluctuate by large amounts form one side to the other in these glass tanks so what might read 40% on one side could be 60% on the side with the damp moss.


I personally would not just have the moss out like that but in two open containers on opposite ends of the enclosure and the containers damp with the moss wet. This way the snake does not live on damp substrate but the moss will improve humid conditions. You still might have to mist the enclosure daily or every other day and the levels might not be where you want them but you might get them above 50%

This is also the reason why I believe that in many parts of North America, glass tanks are just a pain in the butt.

Thanks SDA. I can't wait for my T10 from AP! I just emailed bob from PP and I think I'm going to have him upgrade the 60W RHP he recommended to the 80W. Someone in another thread said they have same setup and similar house conditions so they went with the 80w. It's only about $15 more I'll do the same.

The only thing about the AP cage is trying to figure out how I'm going to get him out. I feed him every 6 days, then wait a min. 48 hrs before handling. I take him out from above by taking the screen off then slowly lifting his hide and just picking him up..... and there has never been a problem. He spends most of his time in the pyramid hid with his head sticking out. Anytime I open the front he comes to attention almost lifting off the ground tracking my movements. I've only fed him from the front so maybe he's expecting food. For the record he has never hissed, or struck but I've never tried to take him out going straight at him. The T10 is a tad higher tank but not having reach in ability from the top is slightly concerning. Once he is out of the tank he is very relaxed and explorative.


When you say put moss in a container, do you mean like a small plastic cup or something? Seems like if I do I'll be putting less moss in the tank but I definitely get what your saying about not having the moss freely laying about.

It's not that bad. I have the equivalent in size form RBI and there is plenty of room to reach in. If you are hesitant you can always get a snake hook to help direct the head of the snake away from you.

Run a humidifier on high in the room. Buy a evaporating humidifier model. If the room air is arid, it will suck all the moisture out of the tank air.