Humidity and Feeding help

Hello,

So I have had Dexter for 3 weeks now and I have feed twice since I got him.
A small rat on 05.03 and another today, on 05.18. Both times I fed, I thawed the rat in the same room so he could smell it ahead of time.
The first time I didn't even get the rat all the way into his enclosure before he took it (very dramatically too) and I left him alone for 72 hours.
I just fed an hour ago and it took about 35 minutes of me doing the "zombie dance", the only reason I didn't stop is because he was out of his hide and interested but just not striking. He FINALLY took it but I wouldn't call it a "strike".
Is this normal behavior??

Also, he has not pooped? He's peed and I've found 2 clumps of urates while spot cleaning but no poop. Is this normal?

And the last thing, I've asked for advice on humidity before and I need more help on that.
I've covered 3 out of the 4 panels of the top of the exo Terra tank and I spray about 5/6 times a day with a spray bottle. I also switched his corner soaking bowl to the hot side and the small bowl to the cool side. It's at about 30% so I don't know what to do.
After I spray it gets to like 45% but only for about an hour.
I will add a humidity hide as soon as I receive the box/hide from Amazon.

If I really need to I am open to changing him to a tub enclosure but he's solely a "pet" ball python and wouldn't know how to go about that, especially bc I am using an under the tank heater and ceramic heat lamp (no light) so I hope I don't need to do this!

Thanks in advance!

**Note that in this picture the small bowl and foliage are out for cleaning and I am waiting for his second hide, he just ate so I'm not gonna bother him for better pictures**https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d30f9925bb.jpg

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Hello,

So I have had Dexter for 3 weeks now and I have feed twice since I got him.

A small rat on 05.03 and another today, on 05.18. Both times I fed, I thawed the rat in the same room so he could smell it ahead of time.

The first time I didn't even get the rat all the way into his enclosure before he took it (very dramatically too) and I left him alone for 72 hours.

I just fed an hour ago and it took about 35 minutes of me doing the "zombie dance", the only reason I didn't stop is because he was out of his hide and interested but just not striking. He FINALLY took it but I wouldn't call it a "strike".

Is this normal behavior??

Also, he has not pooped? He's peed and I've found 2 clumps of urates while spot cleaning but no poop. Is this normal?

And the last thing, I've asked for advice on humidity before and I need more help on that.

I've covered 3 out of the 4 panels of the top of the exo Terra tank and I spray about 5/6 times a day with a spray bottle. I also switched his corner soaking bowl to the hot side and the small bowl to the cool side. It's at about 30% so I don't know what to do.

After I spray it gets to like 45% but only for about an hour.

I will add a humidity hide as soon as I receive the box/hide from Amazon.

If I really need to I am open to changing him to a tub enclosure but he's solely a "pet" ball python and wouldn't know how to go about that, especially bc I am using an under the tank heater and ceramic heat lamp (no light) so I hope I don't need to do this!

Thanks in advance!


**I did post this under ball python husbandry as well but I am also putting it in here bc I lumped so many things into one post!**

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I would swap the substrate out for cypress mulch, which can be damp without molding so it will hold humidity better under the regular hide boxes. It is expensive though.

Alternatively you could put damp spaghnum moss under his regular hides to help bump up the humidity under them.

Unfortunately those enclosures just don't hold humidity well due to the open screen top and vents under the doors.

At least for the humidity I ended up using moss(store bought, very inexpensive) covering a quarter of her tank and the rest aspen. This along with a large water bowl and misting twice a day keeps our tank at 55%-60%. Her last shed she curled up in the moss and shed quicker then usual.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcr229

I would swap the substrate out for cypress mulch, which can be damp without molding so it will hold humidity better under the regular hide boxes. It is expensive though.

Alternatively you could put damp spaghnum moss under his regular hides to help bump up the humidity under them.

Unfortunately those enclosures just don't hold humidity well due to the open screen top and vents under the doors.

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I think my local pet store sells cypress mulch so I will definitely make the switch! Is that something I should/am able to mix with coco fiber? I've noticed me BP likes to try to burrow but he can't with the reptibark he's currently on.

And yes I do have spaghum moss in pretty much every corner and I did mix some into the bark, it just dries so quickly with the CHE. I will definitely use more tho and as soon as his bigger hide comes I'll set it up as a hide box.

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Posts have been merged

Make sure you hygrometer is working accurately. I kept struggling some months back and came to find out it was a bad hygrometer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by honey.bee.

I think my local pet store sells cypress mulch so I will definitely make the switch! Is that something I should/am able to mix with coco fiber? I've noticed me BP likes to try to burrow but he can't with the reptibark he's currently on.

And yes I do have spaghum moss in pretty much every corner and I did mix some into the bark, it just dries so quickly with the CHE. I will definitely use more tho and as soon as his bigger hide comes I'll set it up as a hide box.

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Yes you can mix cypress mulch and coco fiber, that's actually a very common substrate mix for snakes like BRB's and sunbeam snakes that require really humidity.

I've used ReptiBark and don't like it as it's very dusty and it does seem to dry out quickly.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ballpythonsrock2

Make sure you hygrometer is working accurately. I kept struggling some months back and came to find out it was a bad hygrometer.

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Could be, i feel like it does seem accurate but it does take a while to get an accurate reading. I might as well get a better quality one!

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I've been using glass for almost 20 years with success. There are plenty of tricks to boost humidity. Some have already been mentioned, but I'll echo them based on my experience.

Adding Coco coir substrate will go a long way. I use a blend of Eco Earth and Reptibark. It holds humidity well, spot cleans easily and looks naturalistic.

You've got plenty of room for a second water bowl too. Adding a second water bowl will definitely boost your humidity.

Lastly, I wrap my glass enclosures in 1/2" foam board insulation. I cover the top, back and sides. This helps immensely with heat and humidity control. It reduces air flow while still allowing plenty of oxygen to get in. It also holds heat in. This allows the heating equipment to run more efficiently. Less artificial heat = less evaporation = better humidity.
This also helps to lower my electric bill since equipment is functioning more efficiently.

Coconut husk is better than cypress imo. It’s softer and can’t result in splinters. Ball pythons don’t need extremely high humidity although 30% is really low. I’d check your humidity gage as almost all homes/apartments are going to be over 30%.... Sounds like he ate quickly at first because he was stressed and the strike was defensive in nature. I’d let him completely settle in before feeding. Also, if you have a “reptile room” a humidifier might be worth the $30 investment. Even if he’s in your living room or bedroom higher humidity is better for us as well. I get nosebleeds if the humidity in my place gets too low [emoji2371] Humid hides are another great option as well.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

I've been using glass for almost 20 years with success. There are plenty of tricks to boost humidity. Some have already been mentioned, but I'll echo them based on my experience.

Adding Coco coir substrate will go a long way. I use a blend of Eco Earth and Reptibark. It holds humidity well, spot cleans easily and looks naturalistic.

You've got plenty of room for a second water bowl too. Adding a second water bowl will definitely boost your humidity.

Lastly, I wrap my glass enclosures in 1/2" foam board insulation. I cover the top, back and sides. This helps immensely with heat and humidity control. It reduces air flow while still allowing plenty of oxygen to get in. It also holds heat in. This allows the heating equipment to run more efficiently. Less artificial heat = less evaporation = better humidity.
This also helps to lower my electric bill since equipment is functioning more efficiently.

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I went with 3/4 in. which they sell at Home Depot, bundled up in plastic and it's pretty inexpensive. The depth was perfect, just had to cut the lengths on some pieces for my 40 gal. I also put it underneath since I don't use a uth. (My hides which are black plastic serve as uth's it seems. Gosh they get warm,very warm. I have to keep an eye on them with my temp gun. And set my thermostat's with them in mind as well as the ambient.)

I love the Styrofoam . Agree with all you just said about the heat, electric use and humidity. The pieces I put on top I wrapped up with saran wrap. Wrapped tightly around and taped. I put 3350 silver 3M tape on the edges which touches the heat light domes to keep the saran wrap safer from the heat of the domes ( they don't get hot enough to melt but I figure better safe than sorry.)

When i first cut the pieces I had also used the 3M tape to go around the sides of the Styrofoam. To keep pieces of Styrofoam from getting everywhere and then I used the tape to hold the styrofoam in place against the glass. (But there might be a better tape to use out there. I have to keep pushing the tape down to stick to the Styrofoam pieces.) But it does stick to the edges of the Styrofoam great for some reason.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ballpythonsrock2

I went with 3/4 in. which they sell at Home Depot, bundled up in plastic and it's pretty inexpensive. The depth was perfect, just had to cut the lengths on some pieces for my 40 gal. I also put it underneath since I don't use a uth. (My hides which are black plastic serve as uth's it seems. Gosh they get warm,very warm. I have to keep an eye on them with my temp gun. And set my thermostat's with them in mind as well as the ambient.)

I love the Styrofoam . Agree with all you just said about the heat, electric use and humidity. The pieces I put on top I wrapped up with saran wrap. Wrapped tightly around and taped. I put 3350 silver 3M tape on the edges which touches the heat light domes to keep the saran wrap safer from the heat of the domes ( they don't get hot enough to melt but I figure better safe than sorry.)

When i first cut the pieces I had also used the 3M tape to go around the sides of the Styrofoam. To keep pieces of Styrofoam from getting everywhere and then I used the tape to hold the styrofoam in place against the glass. (But there might be a better tape to use out there. I have to keep pushing the tape down to stick to the Styrofoam pieces.) But it does stick to the edges of the Styrofoam great for some reason.

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Sounds great!!! :gj:

Thanks for all the help! I have got a new probe for my hydrometer and even tho it wasn't ideal it was actually at 50%! And with his new humidity hide and added water I'm hoping it will get to where it needs to be. If I need to I will insulate :)

I do have one last question tho, he still hasn't pooped?
I have found multiple little urate clumps while I spot clean and refill water but no poop and no actual pee the way he did the day I got him. Any ideas why or is it just bc his humidity wasn't ideal?
He's eating small f/t rats every other week. Should I up to medium? (He's 3 ft, 10 years old, don't know his weight)

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by honey.bee.

Thanks for all the help! I have got a new probe for my hydrometer and even tho it wasn't ideal it was actually at 50%! And with his new humidity hide and added water I'm hoping it will get to where it needs to be. If I need to I will insulate :)

I do have one last question tho, he still hasn't pooped?
I have found multiple little urate clumps while I spot clean and refill water but no poop and no actual pee the way he did the day I got him. Any ideas why or is it just bc his humidity wasn't ideal?
He's eating small f/t rats every other week. Should I up to medium? (He's 3 ft, 10 years old, don't know his weight)

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No, no need to go past smalls (50-89 gram) rats for a male.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ballpythonsrock2

No, no need to go past smalls (50-89 gram) rats for a male.

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I ended up weighing him and he's a big boy at around 1000 grams. However not sure the exact weight bc he's wasn't cooperating too much.
If he's not pooping does that mean he's using 100% of what he's eating, and is that good??

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by honey.bee.

I ended up weighing him and he's a big boy at around 1000 grams. However not sure the exact weight bc he's wasn't cooperating too much.
If he's not pooping does that mean he's using 100% of what he's eating, and is that good??

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I've got a 1400g and a 1000g male and both eat approx 60g rats every 2 weeks and they're just fine on that size.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by honey.bee.

I ended up weighing him and he's a big boy at around 1000 grams. However not sure the exact weight bc he's wasn't cooperating too much.
If he's not pooping does that mean he's using 100% of what he's eating, and is that good??

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You can feed him larger (nothing with more girth than the snake) and feed him less frequently. Either method works and there’s no “right” way. Pick whatever works best for you and your animal:)


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