Raising Humidity

Gah... it's that drryyyyyy time of year again in Mass and Not only has she started her winter fasting, Eleanor is wheezing. I had to treat her for a mild RI last winter and don't want to go through the trauma of giving her shots again (she was fine, I was squeamish!) Last year I tried putting a moist towel over the screen cover to raise the humidity, it worked a little but not incredibly well. I'm going to add a UTH in addition to her heat lamp... that is if I can find my spare UTH... Anybody have tricks to raise tank humidity? She's in one of those 40 breeders with a sliding top. Thanks

Humid hides.

I find that if you put an UTH under the water dish it helps, many people do cover 75% of their screen top with tin foil or said things.
We just accually have a humidifier running, You can buy them cheap, I think ours was only about 20$ But our reptile room / house is always hot and humid with all the enclosures set up.
thanks
RUSTY
PS the winters can be hard in New England

If there is any way you can get a peice of pegboard for the lid and lose the screen top, it would help the humidity alot. I did that and I'm in AZ (DRY DRY DRY), and I've been maintaining a steady 67%-72% humidity. I also help it out by light mists once or twice a day on the sides of the glass-not the bottom of the tank. Oh yeah, and when they are in shed, I put a tupperware bowl in their cages and fill it half way with water and put a paper towel in the water. They dig it. :D

Hope this helped. ;)

Ick, tanks. You should cover the top with saran wrap or something and use some heat pads. Just make sure the room is pretty warm or else this does nothing to heat the air. My toads are in a sauna because of that saran wrap I used.

Got 156.00 spare? Buy a precision. I mist that baby once and it's a freaking sauna for 2 whole days.

BallKingdom is gonna hate me for this, but a Rubbermaid/Sterilite is great for maintaining humidity and temps. Rack systems are IT! Maybe you could put her in a sterilite just for the winter???

I love rack systems. BallKingdom doesn't like racks?? Someone needs to set him straight *cough* Randy *cough* LOL j/k... Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. I LOVE RACK SYSTEMS!!! They are wonderful for keeping in humidity IMO.

I don't see the problem with racks when they are roomy. The ones I see constantly are barely 3 inches tall, teeny tiny, and little to no light gets through. Not all are this way, I'm sure yours aren't. But a good 50% are.

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I dug through my pile of retired gecko transport containers/humid hids and made her a humid hide from a sterilite container I didn't know I had. I'd rather not keep her in a rubbermaid mainly because it's a MAJOR pain in my ass to move the 40 gallon, I hate that thing. I had to lug it up two flights of stairs to get it to my room from the basement and I don't have room to keep it around if she's going to be using a rubbermaid. But maybe I'll go for the saran wrap idea... as of right now I definately don't have the money to buy a nice cage, I'm waiting a couple years 'til after college to invest in some nice display cages. Luckily for me my bedroom gets to be between 80 and 90 if I keep the door closed (weird heating upstairs, it blows out heat even in the middle of summer). If I had the room I'd go with the rubbermaid idea... agh, I hate having too much furniture for a small bedroom!! This is the first time I've had a dresser in like three years and that took up alot of space, lol. Anyway, thanks again everybody! I'll keep you all updated!

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Not all are this way, I'm sure yours aren't.

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Mine are. The tubs are 3" high, and 12" x 8" for the adults, and 1/2 that for the juveniles. NOT! :twisted:
Standard tubs are 6" deep, and at least 16" x 23". The ones I keep my adults in are 41 quarts, 36" x 17" x 6".
Jennifer, I've been trying to bring him to "the Dark Side" for a while now. He just doesn't appreciate simplicity! :mrgreen:

LOL! OH, that makes sense. It's all coming together now! :P haha lol!

Oh yeah, and my adult bp's are in a 50 quart rubbermaid (about 16"deep x 35"L x 13"W looks about right) and my baby bp's are in 32 quart rubbermaids (about 6"deep x 15"L x 24"w) heh.. Just about. :D I say their spoiled. lol.. PLUS that whole thing they say, which, whether it be true or not, it makes sense; that bp's can easily get stressed in a cage that is too big (say, a hatchling in a 65 gal tank). Who knows..

Bout the RI.... I too get the same problem. In new england the temps drop like mad and it happens so fast you don't notice, so your snake gets inadequete heat, usually at night. And since they always like to sleep in the coldest area:), they develop it. Man, it sucks, not much we can do except be really strict with our husbandry.

Good luck in Canada! Where you movin to?

I increase humidity in my tank (50 gallon breeder w/ sliding screen top) by covering top (not all, but most of it) with duct tape. I also use a Tropic-Aire Humidifier & Air Exchanger w/ an air pump. No misting neccessary.

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And since they always like to sleep in the coldest area:), they develop it.

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Monty was doing this every since I got him until about 4 day's ago. I was going to go get him a new 2nd hide because he grew out of the original one that came with him. I havent been able to make it to the pet store to get one so I improvised and took a small box and made a hide out of it and put it on the warm side. Now he spends most of his time inside of it. Now I dont know if I want to go ahead and buy another hide to keep the good looks of the decor, or let him keep the box which he seems to love. Suggestions?

I can appreciatte a bunch of 50 gallon rubbermaids stacked up! Those are big and roomy! I wanna convert em to those anyway. My anoles would love those, ad so would the bp's.

Thanks again, everybody, for all the advice! I've gotta get my butt in gear and get something done today... seeing as I can't find my spare heat mat (maybe I never had a spare one...) and all I can find is a heat lamp, I'm just gonna have to go out and get her another bulb. Unfortunately I'm snowed in... looked outside this morning and my Lincoln was nothing but a big pile of snow, and there is absolutely no trace of my sister's old Cabriolet. The snow was level with the truck bed on the Toyota (granted it is a small truck, but it's still a pile of snow!)

BallKingdom - I'll be movin' to Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia next year and I'm thinkin' I'll just keep my balls in rubbermaids for the two years I'm there because I really, really don't want to lug tanks the 400 miles up there... plus it might be hard to sneak a 40 gallon past the landlord, lol. I've already got one up there at our summer house so I've just gotta bring one up.

Anyway, time to really get my arse into high gear. If I wanna move to Canada, I've gotta finish my art portfolio and apply :| I've been blowing off painting aaaaaalllllllll weekend...

*tears hair out* I hate snow!!!!!!

That's right Tigergenesis, I also have thetropic-aire humidifier. That al you need to mantain a good humidity in the tank without having to mist it every time. That is what i most like about it. :P

I too procrastinate real bad. I seriously do everythind half assed at the exact last second, every time. Sometimes I wonder if it will get done in time, and it always does. I'm a sucessful procrastinator, it has never screwed me over.

I still need to work alot on the site, but I'll need to stop procrastinating. I'm a perfectionist too.....they clash too much.

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Originally Posted by Ironhead

I havent been able to make it to the pet store to get one so I improvised and took a small box and made a hide out of it and put it on the warm side. Now he spends most of his time inside of it. Now I dont know if I want to go ahead and buy another hide to keep the good looks of the decor, or let him keep the box which he seems to love. Suggestions?

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I have started providing two identical hides for them to choose from. That way there is no "better hide" choice, just better temperature.

Ahhh procrastination... I'm good at it. I still have good grades in school even though I do most of my assignments last minute. Unfortunately, half-assedness doesn't do me any good when it comes to making an art portfolio, lol. Aaaaand I'm a perfectionist too--they definately dont make good bedfellows!

i dont think Monty would mind the box,as long as he feels safe in it.Ive used boxes before too,and i know i felt safe in em.j/k
I think the store bought hides are more for astetics for a pretty setup.Dont think the snakes care what their hiding place looks like.

oops think i missed page 2,guess thats why the message seems kinda out of place :s

HELLO, NEW MEMBER:)
JUST IN READING WHAT SOME HAVE WROTE ON THE TOPS OF CAGES, WOULD I, (MY SNAKES) BENEFIT FROM REPLACING OR COVER THE MESH/NET MATERIAL?
I HAVE MY TWO BP'S IN A 36"X18"X18" WITH A FULL SLIDE OUT NET TOP, AND MY RED TAIL IS IN A CAGE OF THE SAME SIZE BUT THE TOP IS HALF GLASS HALF MESH.

It helps you to keep the humidity in your tank and also to keep the air temp. stable. Do you have a hygrometer to messure your two snakes enclousure, remember that they need the humidity level up. For example the two bp's need at least a 60% of humidity in theyr cages all the time without counting sheding period because at that that it should go up to at least 75%.
Hope this help you a little :)
Jesús

i do not have a gauge for the humidity, but i have two temp gauges for each tank, one on one side at the top and the other place oposite side and at the botom., wasnt ever informed of the humid levels for snakes, til now, thanks Jesus

Don't worry I'm happy to help!!! :wink:
Jesús

hummidity is a key factor in husbandry
you should get a hydrometer and get the proper hummidity for your snake
if its too high or too low it can cause serious health problems

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Originally Posted by CROWLEY

HELLO, NEW MEMBER:)
JUST IN READING WHAT SOME HAVE WROTE ON THE TOPS OF CAGES, WOULD I, (MY SNAKES) BENEFIT FROM REPLACING OR COVER THE MESH/NET MATERIAL?
I HAVE MY TWO BP'S IN A 36"X18"X18" WITH A FULL SLIDE OUT NET TOP, AND MY RED TAIL IS IN A CAGE OF THE SAME SIZE BUT THE TOP IS HALF GLASS HALF MESH.

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Well, if you're using a bulb and a heat pad, duct tape works pretty well. I applied it to the top and bottom of screen so there was no "sticky side", put the dome lamp on top where I wanted it to be, drew a circle slightly larger than the lamp, and used a razor blade to cut out the circle.
Of course this works best if your screen is metal and not some kind of material you might cut through with the blade....duh!
Anyway, the humidity level still will seesaw on me, it's just considerably easier to regulate and fluctuates much slower. Get a hygrometer and experiment..................
Good luck