Humidity issues and how you deal with it?

[Aedryan Methyus]

Winter time is brutal when it comes to controlling humidity and especially this year in my area! Myself, I control the humidity level in my whole snake room with a huge humidifier, which runs 24/7. The humidifier I use is rated for 3,800 square feet and I am only using it to control the humidity in my snake room, which is only 8' x 11'. In order for it to keep my humidity between 50% and 60% the heater vent in my snake room HAS to be closed or i'm lucky if the humidity will even stay above 30%! So, I have no choice, but to keep the vent closed and heat the room with a (up to) 1,500 watt space heater 24/7 as well. So, to effectively control the heat and humidity in the room i'm basically running about 1,600 watts 24/7. I really don't even want to know how much that makes my electric bill! That doesn't even include however many additional watts that all of the heat tape and thermostats are using 24/7. But, my point is, it is ultimately the heater vents in your house that causes excessive dryness during the winter months, not the humidity level outside so much...

In your case, if you only have two snakes, it wouldn't be very feasible to do what i'm doing. Personally, I won't use substrate for numerous reasons. I use newspaper... But, you basically have to use substrate if you aren't able to dedicate an entire room to your snakes and control the ambient temps and humidity of a whole room. Personally, I would probably choose Sphagnum Moss if I had to use substrate. If you are using fish aquariums with screen tops, the first thing I would recommend is either buying each snake an appropriate size pvc enclosure if you want to display them or move them into appropriate size plastic tubs with locking lids and drill some ventilation holes in the front and sides of the tubs. You are fighting a losing battle with aquariums. Also, I would stop using heat lamps and switch to heat tape/heat mats (with thermostats). Heat lamps are not only going to cause more dryness in the enclosures, but also dry the animal's skin out. The ambient moisture in the enclosure is what is most important, not how much moisture is directly on the snakes. Prolonged exposure to dampness will eventually lead to other issues, like scale rot. Something that would probably help you a lot is simply keeping a soak and wet towel on top of your snake's hides in addition to using large water dishes.

I noticed now that you said you are acquiring/building new enclosures already. That's awesome! I would definitely recommend using PVC if you can afford it. Otherwise, melamine is fine. It's just ungodly heavy and not the greatest stuff to work with. I would build the enclosure 4' x 2' x 18" and if that's too large for your snake's current sizes, you can just sit their tubs (or aquariums) inside of the enclosures until they are up to size.

I hope this helps...

[SaltLife422]

Honestly if you use sphagnum moss you'll be fine. I have a mesh top and that doesn't effect the humidity when I use the moss


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[Sauzo]

I need some advice for my humidity for my boa and ball python. They both have 50 watt infrared heat lamps and the hot spots are at 90 and cool end around 80 F. My humidity gauges always indicate around 20 percent humidity which is why I use spray bottles daily to bring it up but it dries up really quick. They have screen tops so sometimes I try putting something over part of the top to keep moisture in but it doesn't really work like that. How do you guys keep your humidity ideal without having to be like me and constantly watch and adjust?

Switch to PVC cages. It will make your life much easier and more pleasant for the snake.

But your first problem is a heat lamp. Those dry the air. Better of going for heat tape and if you need ambient temp, a small CHE above the warm side.

Imo 90F hot spot is pretty hot. I keep all my snakes with hot spots around 86F or so. Their ambient/cool temps are the room temp which anywhere from 77-80F depending if its night or day. Pretty much all my snakes sit on the cool side 90% of the time.

I would start by changing your heating method and putting in a large water bowl for more surface area as well as cover 3/4 the top of the screen with plexi or even tin foil. The key is to control the air flow in the cage. Too much and you will never keep up with humidity. Too little and you will have a swamp in a tank lol.