Humidity problems

[Bee]

I'm a first-time reptile owner. My family and I have been trying to set up a terrarium in anticipation for our ball python, who we'll buy three days after the tank's conditions have stabilized. There's been a problem with the lack of humidity, though. I live in an arid area in Colorado, and we've been unable to get the humidity to remain above 40% without constant spritzing. Are there any good fixes for this? Thank you.

Some more information: The tank is a 30x12x12. Everything included was one of those Zilla starter kits, plus an extra branch and such. Thanks again.

[gibleis]

You using a heat lamp? Screen top? I added another water bowl and covered half the screen top with aluminum foil to fix my humidity problems when I was using the tank.

Keep playing and experimenting and you will be a pro at how slight changes affect your tank in no time.

Welcome and good luck

[Homegrownscales]

You could try putting a Peice of plexiglas over the empty screen. Or tinfoiling the empty screen. A simple folded towel works as well. What are you using to heat the tank? Also I'm not sure how to figure out how many gallons the tank is but it sounds a bit bigger than you need. A baby might need something way more secure or you could have additional issues with a stressed new ball because of the size. There are some things you can do to add security. So you might want to 1. Get a smaller tank no bigger than a 20 gallon. Or 2, cover the 3 sides with contact or construction paper to add security. Add a ton of decoration or even crumpled newspaper, and add more hides.


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

[Bee]

@Gibleis- I'm using both a heating lamp (50w night black heat; providing a temperature of around 88F) and a screen top. And thank you for the ideas. I'm going to have to play around with some.

@Homegrownscales- Thank you for the suggestions; I'll mess around with those as well. I'm using a 50w night black bulb in a 20 gallon tank. Covering up the sides sounds like a good idea, too. Gotta make sure our new addition to the family is comfortable.

[psychoduck]

I live in the Chihuahuan desert of west texas and humidity has always been hell for me to keep up with. I finally made some headway by using "forest floor" substrate, and mixing in some spagnum moss clumps. I spritz daily, but about once a week, I'll grab a big chunk of the moss and put it in a bowl of water to soak for a few mins, then break it up somewhat and mix it back in. Humidity stays between 40-60% this way. Also, those overhead heat bulbs really do sap the humidity right out of the substrate. I turn mine down as low as I possibly can and check the humidity every morning to see if she needs to be sprayed.

I keep my bp in my office, in a darkish corner. She seems to be happy now that she doesn't have much light in her cage at all. Also, my cats have learned they aren't allowed in my office, which really helps her stress level

[Homegrownscales]

Lamps suck your humidity right up. It would be easier to use a heat pad on a thermostat. That way the heat and humidity start from the bottom and rise to the top. Also another great reason to use the uth balls love and need the belly heat so the enclosure works better with them and the way they work. Props on doing your research!


Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

[kitedemon]

Lamps don't help much with humidity and UTH (under tank heaters) are easier to manage generally speaking you will need some sort of control with the UTh a rheostat at the least and a thermostat would likely be a better choice.

Humidity is second place to heat it can be fixed easily with a humid hide. A either a regular hide lined with something the hold moisture or a enclosed box with an opening in the top corner lined with moss. The thing to remember is inside each hide is a micro environment. You have three to deal with, the home environment or the conditions that exists in your home or at least the room where the snake is housed. The environment in the tank generally and then the environments inside the hides. Each may be different.

You can control the room and there by control the tank (lots of larger scale keepers do this, the have a snake room that is heater to 80ºF and 60% humidity) This is silly for a single snake. You could however increase the humidity in the room where the snake is with a humidifier.

Or as many will suggest restrict the air flow and allow the snakes exhaling water vapour to generate higher humidity. This however has been linked to respiratory issues so be careful doing the restricted air flow.

You can use a larger water surface area (large low bowl) to increase humidity or a substrate the holds more (I like coco coir aka eco earth) Or a humid hide also combinations of all of the options. There is no easy answer my set up that works perfectly for me if we moved it to you it would be out of whack as your house and mine will not be the same. Ideas take some time to experiment with it is as you are doing best to experiment without the snake being in the mix!

[Bee]

I want to thank everybody for your help. We solved our humidity problem with some soaked moss. A daily spritz helps, too. We're probably going to be switching the tank's heat source to a heating pad instead of the bulb. The heating pad takes away the worry of a burnt-out bulb and insufficient belly heat.

Thank you all.

[kitedemon]

Belly heat for digestion is a myth. It is body core temps, how they get it doesn't matter. I thought I'd just point that out, it is quite a common one. Humidity and poor sheds is an annoyance low heat is life threatening, something to remember, heat then humidity. How and what is immaterial as long as you have the correct temps and humidity how is up to you. It sounds like you have that sorted anyway.
best of luck

[Eric Doane]

I switched to echo earth from zoo med, and my humidity stays good for a couple days before I have to mist. Be sure to post pics when you get your new baby.