Let humidity drop to 10-20% and only bump it to 50-60% when about to shed (success)

I wanted to report on an anecdotal husbandry tip. I'm in Las Vegas and it's pretty dry all year, around 15-25%. I was trying to keep humidity between 50-60% for my ball pythons by misting a few days per week. I'm using reptichip (coconut) and it holds humidity quite well.

Recently however, I let humidity drop to 15-20% or as low as it will go, no misting at all, and I only raise it 2-3 before they shed. I've noticed no side effects whatsoever: they still eat and poop normally, skin is not dry and they have no problems shedding. The main benefit for me is a cleaner and more "sanitary" tub, because reptichip absorbs everything when they poop, so it doesn't smell and it's way easier to clean. On top of that I don't have to spend time misting or deal with excess humidity.

Has anyone tried this before? It's been about 4 months and all seem to be working fine.

A lot of people use humid hide for a bump in tanks, but I personally would not allow to let the humidity drop that low. It will effect them, at the very least eye denting and other health issues. I have mine set so they don’t get less the 50/55 percent. Then use a humid hide during the shed cycle.

Sorry but that is not a healthy idea. Ball pythons do not have the evolutionary development to handle such drought conditions. You may have not thought you noticed visually any negative effects but you are playing Russian roulette with your snakes. Thankfully you are in Las Vegas where there is a reduced occurrences of fungal, bacterial, viral, and parasitical vectors but that does not mean your snake is not in danger at that low humidity.

You should never let your enclosure fall to such conditions for any length of time as you risk repository distress and harm from severe dehydration. Ball pythons live in native habitats in burrows with high humidity and in captivity they do best at 50-80% humidity. 15-20% is putting them at risk.

Please for the love of your snake, stop letting such conditions stand.

That is a terrible idea and could probably be taken as neglect. Just because you don't physically see the negative affects does not mean they are not there. You may be able to keep a ball python alive like this but sooner or later problems are going to start popping up not to mention it is probably very uncomfortable for an animal that prefers high humidity to be kept in such dry conditions.

Fix your enclosure to keep higher humidity or continue to mist but do not subject your animals to conditions that are far from appropriate for them. If you can't meet their husbandry needs then you should not keep them.

Why chance it like that? Reptiles are notorious for hiding illnesses well, that could very well prove to be fatal in the long run. Why not get a humidifier to raise the humidity in the room instead?

"all seem to be working fine"

I wouldn't let mine drop that low. Where I live humidity is usually 20-40%. It's typically 40-70% in my racks, but I still have eye denting and shed issues from time to time, especially if I don't realize a snake is in shed and start misting right away. Even my rosys seem uncomfortable if humidity drops under 30%. I can't imagine how awful it must feel for a ball python.

You're playing a very risky game my friend and frankly, presenting this method as a "tip" can be pretty dangerous, not just to your snake but to new keepers.

You need to keep in mind this isn't about what's working "so far" but what subjecting your bp to unacceptably low humidity will do to its health long term. This is a recipe for disaster with a RI or serious dehydration just waiting to happen. When you treat husbandry as an experimental project for the sake of convenience you only jeopardize your snake's health. Please rethink this approach carefully and consider the words of warning others are providing you.

Is convenience really worth the extra vet bills in the end?

Watch what Brian Grundy has to say about humidity and let me know what you think

https://youtu.be/nP8RKNN0Wmo

Your 4 month project of attempting to make snake jerky has not been and will never be a good idea. I'm so glad doctors and airline pilots didn't learn their professions from YouTube.