Humidity and Face Rubbing

[Dori]

Hello,

My fiancé and I recently adopted our 9 month old ball from a family nearby about 2 weeks ago. We don’t know much beyond their teenager bought the snake from a specialty reptile shop and they needed it to go to a good home. This kid apparently purchased it without getting permission and caused quite a stir in his household. We’d been planning on purchasing a python or boa so volunteered to take him despite having planned to get a younger one initially. We adore him and because I work from home, I enjoy having the company for late nights. Watching him climb and slither around is a real treat.

I have done extensive research on owning and caring for pythons for years. Also I’ve read a lot quite frequently in the last few months, for obvious reasons. I’ve done everything I can to create an ideal environment for Jolly (named after Jolly Roger, since his favorite hide is a skull and we love pirates) but am having significant issues with maintaining stable humidity. I come from Florida so I am used to humid air, but here it’s very dry.

Luckily I am around to mist the tank frequently but it isn’t a permanent solution. What happens when we go on vacation for Thanksgiving? I find myself having to spray 2-3 times a day just to keep it between 50-60. We don’t have a tank with a glass top, just the screen. I’ve heard towels help? Is there a specific terrarium we should save up for? Anything I can do in the mean time?

Right now I use aspen bedding because I’ve heard it’s a good, clean and safe substrate for balls. I’ve also heard it doesn’t hold humidity as well as other products. He has a large water bowl, since he's almost two feet now and I hoped it'd help with the humidity. Any thoughts? It's quite the process. To sleep I have to mist the tank, only cover half the top, leave one bulb on and set an alarm to get up and do it again.

As a side note, he has been yawning frequently and rubbing his head on the glass of his tank or décor. Is he feeling out his new environment? I worry he’s pressing too hard or something might be bothering him. I’ve checked for mites, but he’s never showed signs. And he ate without issues two days ago. He yawns so much, I’ve never seen any discoloration. We’ll be taking him to the vet soon, sooner if we see any problems but otherwise he seems like a happy, content snake. Hides most of the day, comes out to explore and climb at night. He’s such a cutie. We just want to give him the best we can. I am still astounded with how intuitive he seems to be.

Sincerely,

Dori

[Vanthios]

I'm fairly new to the whole BP husbandry too, but I've found that the aluminum foil taped (no tape in the tank, ever) to the top of the screen works really well. I have a 40 gallon breeder tank which is fairly large, and that stays at about 55% humidity with just three-fifths of the screen covered; not to mention I have a 100 watt IR bulb on most of the day which, if you don't know, reduces humidity rather significantly.

If you're using a lamp for your basking area, try moving the water dish a little closer to the basking area to evaporate some of the water. The tank lightly mists itself at that point.

As for substrate, I use Kritter Krumble's fine coconut husk, which is absolutely the best. I love it, my snake loves it, and I've found that it holds humidity decently.

As for the yawning, I notice my own BP yawning every now and then. I've seen BPs do a lot of mouth opening when they get some substrate in there. Do you feed in the vivarium or in a separate container? If in a separate container, is it bare?

As for the head rubbing, when is this occurring? In afternoons my BP gets all adventurous and does circles in his vivarium, riding up along the glass with his head.

[Dori]

I hadn't thought about foil, that would certainly make it easier. The lamps we have are not heating lamps, but do give off enough heat to keep one side of the tank between 80-85˚ F. The other usually sits around 75-80˚. I have a UTH being delivered because I thought it'd be the best option for heating so long as it's consistently monitored but I also considered the lightless ceramic bulbs since it will get really cold here in the winter. Better to have both and only need one one than the other way around. He likes to climb and acrobat his way to the top of the tank and I wouldn't want him to burn his nose. I do have the water bowl under the lamp regardless.


We fed him in another enclosure. There was nothing in there aside from the newspaper on the bottom specifically to avoid him getting any bedding in his mouth and to not associate things lowering into his tank as food. We waited a few hours and very gently put him back in his terrarium. Tonight would have been 48 hours so I will take him out and check his mouth, see if anything is in there bothering him.

As for when he rubs, if he's awake, he's doing it every few minutes. After I switch to night, he comes out and starts doing his face rubbing rounds. A lot at first, and then he does it sporadically until he coils back up around 4 am.

[Vanthios]

Sounds like you're on the right track. The UTH should work out fine if you purchased one properly sized for your enclosure. Make sure you purchase a thermostat. Please, please, please get a thermostat (look at Hydrofarm's one, shoot for Herpstat thermostats) The ceramic bulb is a good idea, I actually need to pick one up for myself. I'm not a shill to any brand in the reptile industry, but my Fluker 8-inch clamp lamp is pretty decent, especially compared to the WalMart one I had before. I'd get a ceramic bulb, a clamp lamp, and angle the heat towards wherever your UTH is at to assist in creating a warm atmosphere for your snake.

I also feed my BP in a separate container, but I wait like 10 minutes after he gets it down to put him back in his vivarium. I'm probably doing it wrong, but I haven't had any regurgitation yet, so I guess it's all okay.

I don't really understand the rubbing. Do you see any stuck shed or translucent eyecaps (shed over the eyes)? As of right now my BP has a small patch of stuck shed that I can't get off for the life of me. I tried soaking, wet rag rubbing, and even ZooMed's Shed Aid. I sometimes see him rub the spot against his Habba Hut. Examine his head for any wounds or bad scales. If everything looks normal, I really don't know.




The stuck shed is on the other side, just after his head. It's noticably white.

[Zincubus]

Hello,

My fiancé and I recently adopted our 9 month old ball from a family nearby about 2 weeks ago. We don’t know much beyond their teenager bought the snake from a specialty reptile shop and they needed it to go to a good home. This kid apparently purchased it without getting permission and caused quite a stir in his household. We’d been planning on purchasing a python or boa so volunteered to take him despite having planned to get a younger one initially. We adore him and because I work from home, I enjoy having the company for late nights. Watching him climb and slither around is a real treat.

I have done extensive research on owning and caring for pythons for years. Also I’ve read a lot quite frequently in the last few months, for obvious reasons. I’ve done everything I can to create an ideal environment for Jolly (named after Jolly Roger, since his favorite hide is a skull and we love pirates) but am having significant issues with maintaining stable humidity. I come from Florida so I am used to humid air, but here it’s very dry.

Luckily I am around to mist the tank frequently but it isn’t a permanent solution. What happens when we go on vacation for Thanksgiving? I find myself having to spray 2-3 times a day just to keep it between 50-60. We don’t have a tank with a glass top, just the screen. I’ve heard towels help? Is there a specific terrarium we should save up for? Anything I can do in the mean time?

Right now I use aspen bedding because I’ve heard it’s a good, clean and safe substrate for balls. I’ve also heard it doesn’t hold humidity as well as other products. He has a large water bowl, since he's almost two feet now and I hoped it'd help with the humidity. Any thoughts? It's quite the process. To sleep I have to mist the tank, only cover half the top, leave one bulb on and set an alarm to get up and do it again.

As a side note, he has been yawning frequently and rubbing his head on the glass of his tank or décor. Is he feeling out his new environment? I worry he’s pressing too hard or something might be bothering him. I’ve checked for mites, but he’s never showed signs. And he ate without issues two days ago. He yawns so much, I’ve never seen any discoloration. We’ll be taking him to the vet soon, sooner if we see any problems but otherwise he seems like a happy, content snake. Hides most of the day, comes out to explore and climb at night. He’s such a cutie. We just want to give him the best we can. I am still astounded with how intuitive he seems to be.

Sincerely,

Dori

Whenever mine have rubbed their heads it was just their way of starting to loosen the skin around their mouth then the skin is dragged over branches or rough textures ..

[Dori]

He just came out so I took a quick pic. I don't see anything out of the ordinary. His snout seems a little shiny but not in a stuck skin kind of way. He shed with his last "owner" a few days before we got him and it was obvious from the pieces in the original bedding and spots on his body that it was not a good shed. We thought to try helping with warm water, but since he's still acclimating to his new home believed it was better to just let them come off with the next shed.