About to shed...

[firefightergirl]

My girl is blue, we gave a slight humidity problem and I am not sure yow to fix this, we have a digital hydrometer to read humidity, it reads about 40-50% normally, when I notice she is about to shed I mist the tank 2 times a day and I goes up to about 70-80%, we have almost the entire top covered with aluminum foil, just enough space for the lamp.. She has aspen bedding.. She has a bed shed and it always comes off in pieces, she gets it all off but in pieces... I am planning on getting a big carvable easter egg from hobby lobby when my next check is in and putting some noss in it.. But is there something I am doing wrong? Can I change anything?

[Reinz]

The problem with the misting is that humidity pluments back to normal in one or two hours. Unless you got your gauge sensor or probe so wet that you are now worse off with false readings.

Couple of ways to go, just by experimenting with what works for your tank in your house/environment.

Long term or evolving process - change your substrate. Aspen works great for some but not for others. There's lots of back substrate threads. But cypress, Eco-earth /coconut bricks or loose, and Repti-bark, and or any combination are viable options. Even layering any of these two have been reported as good.

Easter Egg? Why? Just get the sphagnum moss and soak it well and place it in the hides. Be sure to check it every few days for drying out, especially in the warm hide.

Best

[lunasjy]

Sheds coming off in pieces may not be a terrible thing. I have two ball pythons that always shed in pieces, no matter what I do, but usually the entire shed comes off.

I use what I call a moist box. Get a small tote container with air holes on the lid. The container should be big enough for you snake but small enough to fit in her usual enclosure. Get paper towel and wet it. You do not want it dripping wet but more then damp. Put it on the bottom of the tote. I use a small hide log and put it in the center. It provides a hiding place and also a rough place a snake can scrape off the shed. When your snake goes from blue stage to clear stage (about two - three days before shedding) place your snake in the moist box with the lid and put the box on her heat pad inside her enclosure. Leave her there until she sheds. You can offer her food in the tote as well but do not remove her from it until she sheds.

[firefightergirl]

Easter egg cause they are cheap right now and it is something after she sheds we will leave it as another hide, we are changing bedding as soon as the aspen is gone.

[Sauzo]

Are you using a large water bowl? I too am using glass tanks(40 gallon breeders) for my baby sunglow and my pied girl and using aspen as well. I keep a steady 50% humidity and that's with just a large Zoo Med water bowl. If you cant get it up like that, just buy a Tupperware or any of the plastic bowls with tops at your grocery store. Then cut a "U" shaped hole in the side and put some moist moss in there and you wont have to worry about humidity. I wouldn't mist the aspen too much as aspen tends to like to mold if left wet, about the only downside I find to it personally.