Humidity issue

hey y'all, i have a question about humidity:

my bf and i got our snake last week and he was a bit dehydrated because the breeder sent it to us during a shed. for our snake we have a halogen "day" lamp...it provides heat but its mostly for the light because the room he is in is somewhat dark. Next to the day lamp is a heat lamp ...for heat and then we also have a heat pad to keep the setup warm enough. the tank is a 10g aquarium with a wire top. our main problem is keeping the humidity up. Because he is more dehydrated than he should be, we try to keep the humidity between 50 and 60%, which means we're misting the cage 3 to 4 times a day. at the top of the tank, between the two lights we have a piece of aluminum foil to try to keep in the humidity. we have also tried to keep a pice of saran wrap, but it did not stick.

Is there anything that we could do to keep the humidity in and at a more or less constant %???

thanks

A humidity of 50-60% is ideal for BPs 24/7. During shed it can be bumped up to 70% to help out the process.
As for your situation, heat lamps eat up humidity like crazy and they really aren't necessary. BPs absorb heat through their bellies so heat lamps don't do them much good. Also, irregular cycles of light can stress them out as they are nocturnal animals. Ditching the lamps would definitely bump up your humidity.
I also have a screen tank and have found that placing damp hand towels over the screen top bumps humidity up by 5-10%. Be sure to leave some space for ventilation though.

Out of curiosity, how are you measuring your temperatures? Two heat lamps + a UTH seems like way too much heat to me, especially in a 10 gal tank.

I agree, I think the lamps and uth are overkill....I'd go with just the uth and ditch the lamps. I've tried the towels on top of the screen before and from my experience they dry up quick and smell bad which means bacteria is more than likely growing. I, along with many others, feel that covering at least 3/4 of the top with either plastic or foil will solve a lot of humidity problems. Also you can mist the tank periodically as needed.

Your combo of tank, screen top and lights are zapping your humidity.
By the way, and for clarification, BP's absorb heat over head as well as under (that's why radiant heat panels work well...). I would be careful about the towel idea as this creates a bacterial playground as well as not really putting a lot of humidity into the cage and taking it back out of the cage as the towel is drying.

I would be inclined to get a proper sized UTH and a thermostat to control it.
I would plexiglass or nearly completely foil over the screen.
I would insulate the sides and back of the tank.
I would put a bowl of sphagnum moss in the tank to help with humidity.
I would use aspen substrate.

I keep my cages and tubs at 55% humidity and the snakes always shed completely; I don't bump the humidity during shed.

Make sure you give your snake fresh drinking water daily to help with the dehydration issue. I remember the picture of your snake with the lateral folds of skin.... How is the little guy?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by starmom

By the way, and for clarification, BP's absorb heat over head as well as under (that's why radiant heat panels work well...).

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Interesting, I've been told by snake gurus on a different forum that the dorsal scales of BP's don't absorb heat! This makes sense given that they are nocturnal. Having scales to readily absorb sun light energy would be useless. Am I wrong to think this or is there something else I'm missing?

Sorry to change topics a bit.

-Dennis

Disclaimer: You ought to call or email Rich at Reptile Basics for a full explanation! :)

As I understand how they work, it's by infra red heat and so the objects are heated more than the air; like the sunshine! It heats through the muscles of the snakes and so is wonderful for them. I would not be able to hazard a guess as to why someone would say that the dorsal scales could not absorb heat... but I do know that my ball pythons and my Bci's would chuckle over their saying so ;)

All I understand is that people form opinions based on what they have always done, or what has always worked, and sometimes those opinions act as blinders to trying out new or different methodologies. In fact, the older I get, the more I understand the less I know and so my having an opinion is best left to areas of extreme expertise--- have I mentioned 'the less I know' part?!?! :D

Anyway, biases, opinions, patterns~ they all put blinders on learning. Perhaps this was what happened at the other forum... :)

EDIT>>> Ooops, forgot to mention that you are talking about two different variables: nocturnal and dorsal scales. Beware tying together items that might not belong tied!!

And just a quick note - you said the saran wrap didn't stick - try getting the glad press and seal and pressing that over the top. That is what I do with my tank (I have a 20l with a wire top) and it works wonders to keep the humidity up!

Hey everyone i am LaFilleClochettes's bf. The UTH is a zoomed and its recoomened for a 10-20g tank. My appartment is very very very cold even with the heat on, I'm must be part eskimo. Our "insulation" is poster board and it has seemed to help. Also i must have had a major brain malfunction becuase i realized that the waterbowl was on the oppostie end from the UTH:angered::angered: with a simple switcharoo of the tank decor and the water bowl over the UTH the humidity stays constant at 49%. We measure pistachio's heat with a Flukers digital thermometer about 4ish inches from the substrate, we also have another Exo-terra hydrometer, and a seperate Zilla thermometer that is in his cool hide.I think i will move this over the UTH to see what temp that is at. I have coverred 2/3 of the screen top with a couple layers of foil that has helped alot.

Pistachio is doing better but he is still a little dehydrated but i provide fresh water daily and moniter his paramaters a ton. I look up prob every 30-1hr when im doing HW or browsing the internet to make sure he is happy.

Thanks for all the help guys..this site ROCKS!!!

Hi,

Glad your geting it sorted. :gj:

Did the wrinkles running along his body fade any yet?

What are the temps inside his hides now? I have to admit I am not super vigilant with the amibients but knowing the temps where the lil guy lies or could burrow down to is a must.

The acurite from walmart with the probe is hand for that as the probe is small enough to put in his hides without annoying him too much. :)


dr del

The wrinkles on his body have faded alot but they still have a way to go, they are about from half way. Should i just keep doing what im doing and keep the humidity where its at and keep replacing the water?

The Acurite sounds like a good idea i can go to walmart soon. The temps where he usally hangs out are 90-93 on the warm side and 79-82 on the cool side.

Hi,

Temps are sounding good. :gj:

I would double check what they are on the glass at the hot end under the substrate just to make certain he wouldn't get hurt if he burrowed down ( if it does turn out to be too hot the simple solution is to use less substrate so the heater doesn't have to work as hard to get the in hide temps spot on :) ).

If the wrinkles haven't gone away yet I would actually think about soaking him again for 30 minutes or so - remember to keep the water temp around 84-86f so it isn't too hot for the lil guy.

As long as the water is only half way up his body it shouldn't do him any harm and might help re-hydrate him a little bit more.

Unless anyone else has some other ideas to try first?


dr del

We have a ZooMed Cage carpet underneath the repti bark becuase i was afraid of him burrowing down underneath and touching the hot side but i will move the spare thermometer that we have and get a acurtie..the flukers digital one is ok but its just reading ambient air temps.

thanks for all the help Dr. Del