Can Aspen be used for a BRB tub enclosure?

I'm trying to set up a 16 qt tub for my future baby BRB but i'm having some problems with the humidity. I first used cypress mulch with belly heat. i drilled tons of holes but after finishing the set up, I woke up the next morning and i found everything wet. So the humidity is too high to put the little one in. So my question to you is, If I cover majority of the holes, use aspen bedding instead of cypress in the tub and used a larger water bowl, do you think that'll work to reach the humidity at the level it should be for a BRB baby?

I wouldn't. It doesn't handle high humidity very well which BRBs need. Cypress is my choice or bed a beast.

I'd understand in a tank but in a tub? i have several balls in aspen and they need a humidity range from 50-60. Thats with drilling tons of holes. If i didn't drill as much in the tub, it wouldn't reach around 70-80??

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Originally Posted by thefnshow66

I'd understand in a tank but in a tub? i have several balls in aspen and they need a humidity range from 50-60. Thats with drilling tons of holes. If i didn't drill as much in the tub, it wouldn't reach around 70-80??

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I don't think the size of the tub matters. I don't really like Aspen for BRBs. You want super high humidity for a BRB.

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Originally Posted by jglass38

I don't think the size of the tub matters. I don't really like Aspen for BRBs. You want super high humidity for a BRB.

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well i had cypress mulch at first but when i woke up this morning. The hides and all the walls were full of condensation. That seemed beyond high for them. What would you recommend I do with a solo tub for a baby BRB?

Check out the NERD care sheet. http://www.newenglandreptile.com/CareBRB.html

They have spelled it all out there. I would use Cypress, any coconut husk bedding or Bed a Beast and make sure you have holes in both side of the tub. They need high humidity (even higher as babies than as adults).

If your enclosure is wet when you wake up in the morning, it means that the air has gotten too cool at night to hold all the moisture in the air. You need a way to keep the air in the enclosure warm so the water does not condense on your surfaces.

Sorry for a 2nd post, for whatever reason it won't let me edit my other one.

The reason you have water on the inside of your enclosure is the same reason that there is water on the grass at in the morning after a cool summer night.

Warm air holds more moisture than cool air, so when the air temp drops at night, the air can no longer hold the amount of moisture that is in it and the water condenses on any cool surface close by.

Since you are finding water dropplets on the inside of your enclosure in the morning, that means that your ambient temp is dropping too much at night and the air cannot hold all the moisture thats in it. You need to find a way to keep your ambient temp in the mid 80s at night.

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Originally Posted by knott00

Sorry for a 2nd post, for whatever reason it won't let me edit my other one.

The reason you have water on the inside of your enclosure is the same reason that there is water on the grass at in the morning after a cool summer night.

Warm air holds more moisture than cool air, so when the air temp drops at night, the air can no longer hold the amount of moisture that is in it and the water condenses on any cool surface close by.

Since you are finding water dropplets on the inside of your enclosure in the morning, that means that your ambient temp is dropping too much at night and the air cannot hold all the moisture thats in it. You need to find a way to keep your ambient temp in the mid 80s at night.

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thanks for the detailed reply. Well being summer time here in california, i know how to fix that problem. All i need to do is just close my window, my room is already in the low to mid 80's all day. But when i still measure the humidity in the tub without any condensation, it's still says HI (it's one of those acu-rite thermometer/humidity) Even if i drill more holes in the tub with the cypress mulch inside of it. The humidity is still high. Thats why i ask about the aspen.

Aspen does not hold quite as much moisture as the cypress, so you can try changing the bedding. Although, I would first try newspaper and see what that does to your humidity.

I tried aspen for a while and didn't have any problems humidity wise, but I had a problem with mold. Aspen is not good with the humidity requirements of a baby BRB.

Aspen has a bad tendency to mold really easy. Stick with paper products or cypress mulch for higher humidity enclosures. BRB's need cool temps with high humidity.

so everybody pretty much agrees that aspen molds too easily and doesn't retain enough humidity. I don't want to use Cypress because it holds it to well. Is there a substrate that is in the middle between this two types? I was thinking of getting New Zealand Sphagnum Moss that Zoo Med sells. What do you guys think?