Getting the Humidity Up

I need to somehow really get the humidity up in the kids' tanks. I know glass is a bad habitat for humidity, but I need suggestions for how to get it up. I've misted, I've draped blankets over their tanks, I've pretty well tried everything that's not expensive (no cash...Not really.)

I found this and was wondering if it would be a good idea as well as any others.

http://www.bigappleherp.com/Reptile_...er_295300.html

This was my reply to another similar post.

1)You could try and bring up the humidity of the room by using some kind of commercial humidifier.

2)Provide a humid hide made out of small rubbermaid container and damp sphagnum moss.

3)If you are using a CHE, you could place it directly above the tank over the water bowl. This is providing you have the top covered off and a section cut off for the CHE. Also it would be advisable to control the element with a proportional thermostat.

4)Mist the tank several times a day.

The following is from a post by member monkeywrench.

Also, you could try putting a wider water bowl in his tank. Wider bowl=more surface area=more evaporation.

If you are using a UTH, put a second water bowl on the hot side so that the UTH will raise the water's temp, again, more evaporation.

You could also build a tank humidifier as outlined in the DIY section of this site.

Or, if you'd like to "beautify" your tank some, get one of those Exo-terra waterfalls and put it in the tank. I used one of those for quite a while in a 20 long, kept the humidity right at 60%.

I'm using aspen now. Is there a better, more efficient substrate to use while attempting to humidify the tanks...

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Originally Posted by Melicious

I'm using aspen now. Is there a better, more efficient substrate to use while attempting to humidify the tanks...

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Cypress mulch holds humidity better than aspen without mildewing, although I'd recommend drying it out completely by baking it to kill any bugs that might come with it...I did this recently; spread it out on a cookie sheet and baked it at 250, turning it every 15-20 minutes until I could feel it was mostly dry and definitely hot (kill ze bugs!).

P.S.
Feel free to have a look at the guide to setting up a glass viv my fiance Rick work (i.e., "Captain Overkill"); link is in my sig. =)

cover about 90% of the top with plastic/tape,etc. this will lessen evaporation. use a bigger water bowl. what are you using for heat? light bulbs and ceramic heat emitters really dry out the air. under tank heaters and flexwatt works great for heating.



vaughn

IM not sure if this will help, but it worked for me and I have a 60 gallon tank for my male BP. As I dont use any over head lights and have only the UTH to heat the tank I simpley got a large water dish and placed it so that half the bowl was on the UTH. Made my humidity jump from 40% if I was lucky to 65% over night. And when the shed was starting I will mist and the humidity climbs to 82% and holds there until the shed is done. I then leave the top open for a bit after he sheds and allow some of the humidity to escape and return to normal. I only open the tank when I can completely supervise the snake so I dont end up with a missing BP.

I hope it helps you,

Regards,
Beauty the BP

DO NOT USE THE HUMIDIMAT!!!!!https://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/icons/icon13.gif i got that and tried that out. it creates bacteria and if your snake decides to burrow under it like mine did, they will get to much moisture and get RI. my snake started to get RI but i noticed it in time and pulled the humidimat out and the RI is now gone. also, the first time i used it it broke open and my mom had to sew it shut.

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Originally Posted by gmmuscle91

DO NOT USE THE HUMIDIMAT!!!!!https://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/icons/icon13.gif i got that and tried that out. it creates bacteria and if your snake decides to burrow under it like mine did, they will get to much moisture and get RI. my snake started to get RI but i noticed it in time and pulled the humidimat out and the RI is now gone. also, the first time i used it it broke open and my mom had to sew it shut.

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what is a humidimat?

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Originally Posted by 4Khan

what is a humidimat?

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http://www.bigappleherp.com/Reptile...ser_295300.html
check out this link that was origanally posted by Melicious

On one of my tanks (20gal) I use an overhead basking light and a screen top, had a rough time getting my humidity right, what I finally did was went to a local home improvment store and bought a piece of plexeglassthat will cover the top. I set my water bowl on part of the UTH to create humidity, if the humidity is too high then I move the plexeglass more off the screen, humidity too low then I move theplexeglass to cover the screen, during times of shed I take a towel wet it and ring it out, put it on top of the tank all the way to the basking light and then put the plexeglass on the towel. It works great! Hope this helps!

I use the Humidimat. How do you know it causes bacteria????
I haven't had any problems as of yet nor has it busted.
They hardly boost the humidity up in my cage, maybe only about 5-7%
But enough that it keeps it in the low 50's.

I wonder how burrowing under could cause a R/I. the ones I have have a vinly back on it so none of the gel/moisture gets thru the bottom.
What type of set up did you use them in ?

Everyone talks about mats and sponges causing bacteria but I think misting substrate would have the same affect. Bacteria/mold grows where there is moisture, heck I have even seen it grow on steel that had just a tad of dust/bit o' mud on it in the building trade.

When I had Ozzy in a 20L I had duct tape the screen top w/ just a hole about 1/2" larger than the light on top which was on the cold side and the on the warm side I had UTH. Then I got a TropicAire which worked great keep humidity at a steady 55% and Ozzy always had a great prefect 1 pc shed.

I tried using a Humidimat to boost the humidity in my BP's tank. It essentially didn't do anything. He's in a glass tank, so it might work better in a different environment. I ended up resorting to misting for humidity, and I use repti-bark as a substrate as it helps to retain the humidity.

Something that occurred to me recently about humidity, especially in those struggling glass cages...


If you're doing everything right...you have the lid covered, little-to-no overhead lighting, a moisture-friendly substrate, waterbowl over the heat source....and you still have to mist frequently....ask yourself this: How often am I opening up the cage? If the ambient humidity in the room is low, then every time you open the cage to "play" with your snake, you are letting all the moisture out. Try keeping it down to once a day opening...quick mist when you put the lid back on, and then don't open it again that day unless absolutely necessary. See what happens...

Just something I haven't heard mentioned before.

After much freaking out I got their humidity up quite a bit. OPhelia's is at 53% and rising slowly and Ody's is at 61%. Obviously I'll continue to monitor them as I always have. O_O

I thought Justin was going to kill me last night. I was a frantic, crazy lunatic. I guess if you love these guys this much, you'd get a little crazy at times...

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Originally Posted by JLC

If you're doing everything right...you have the lid covered, little-to-no overhead lighting, a moisture-friendly substrate, waterbowl over the heat source....and you still have to mist frequently....ask yourself this: How often am I opening up the cage? If the ambient humidity in the room is low, then every time you open the cage to "play" with your snake, you are letting all the moisture out. Try keeping it down to once a day opening...quick mist when you put the lid back on, and then don't open it again that day unless absolutely necessary. See what happens...

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Good point Judy. When we take out one of our girls, the other person changes the water, "tosses the cells" (remove everything else in the cage to check for poopy/pee) and then replaces everything and closes the cage back up. Then when we're ready to return Miss Thing back to her cage, the other person opens it for the holder.

All in all, the viv isn't open very long. Granted there are two of us, which helps. =)

I rarely open their tanks up because I think to myself exactly that. I don't want to let the humidity out.

It's actually up to perfectly normal now. Ophelia's is about 61% and Ody's is at 59%. Obviously I'll up it when it gets time for shedding.

-Deep breath.- At least, throughout this entire ordeal, Justin didn't kill me. I was a nutcase. They seriously are like my very own kids. I bathe them, I clean up after them, I feed them, I hug them before they go to bed (some times) and I over-worry myself.

Ok, so Elizabeth is my first snake. She's been with me for only just over a week, and I've been so busy making sure the temp is right that I haven't even bothered with humidity yet. I'm moving her into a 12x24 glass viv tomorrow, using a UTH and a CHE, so could you guys lend me some tips on what I need to do to atleast get it so that she isn't dryer than a kid on accutane (acne geeks like me will understand)? Please keep in mind that as always I'm very tight on cash. I appreciate so much!


P.S.-I've never seen her take a dip in the water bowl; does that mean anything?

if i was going to do a setup on a tight budget here goes, go get a sterilite tub 32qt size. it is roughly 17x22x6inches high.(7 bucks)@target. get a uth to cover 1/3 to 1/2 bottom, wire it to a dimmer switch from lowes/homedepot(6 bucks) get a digital thermometer like an accurite to check temps and set your dimmer up(10 bucks) walmart/target. use newspaper for substrate, plastic bowls for hides and water bowl. use binder clips or rubber bands to secure lid. i don't see how it could be cheaper than this. poke 1/4 inch holes down the 2 long sides and see how the humidity does, too humid more holes, too dry cover some holes.



vaughn

Brilliant! use a dimmer switch to plug your UTH into!!!! why didn't i think of that. I was sitting here trying to figure out a thermostat and caluculate all of the costs to bring down the temperature of my UTH... Just lower the amperage to the UTH and vwaaalaaa. I can play around with the settings untill i find an amperage that provides roughly the right heat levels!

That may have just made my night... lol

With our heater on 24/7 this time of year, I go ahead and use a Vick's standard humidifier in a central location...it helps ALL of us!

get rid of the tank and get a rubbermaid tub....problem solved. :cool: