Dry moss in cool side hide

[jack jones]

My buddy just now explored his cool side hide after being home for a week and a half. While I have moss in the warm side, which I dampen each day as it dries, I hadn't put any moss in the cool side since he's holed up on the warm side since I got him. So all things considered, should I put some dry moss in his cool side hide to tighten up the space? Or should I leave it be and assume part of the attraction is that it is less crowded?

[O'Mathghamhna]

Sometimes a snake will seek areas of the enclosure that are more or less humid based on their needs. So for example, if you have damp sphagnum moss on one side and nothing/dry on the other side and the snake needs moisture, he will curl up with the damp sphagnum. However! Ball pythons are known to sacrifice comfort/heat/humidity for a good hide, so I like to put moist sphagnum on both side of the tank for balanced humidity, and to give my babies a chance to stay humid no matter what side of the tank they are on. If you have a hide on only one side, your buddy may stay there because he feels safest, even if he's dry/dehydrated/cool.

[jack jones]

To clarify I do have two hides. One on the warm side over the UTH (with damp moss inside) and one on the cool side, which is empty. Was wondering about whether dry moss should go in the cool hide because I wasn't sure damp moss would be good in it since there is nothing to dry it out.

[O'Mathghamhna]

Ahh... Well I like to stick damp sphagnum in both hides, but it just depends on the needs of your snake and the overall humidity in the tank. If it starts to dip I would go ahead and put the damp stuff in the cool hide. Also keep in mind that if you have damp sphagnum in a hide with your snake, your overall humidity on the hygrometer may read lower than the humidity in the hide that your snake is getting. I also find that the more damp sphagnum I put in the tank, the longer I retain overall humidity, which means less misting.