Help increasing humidity?

[graceanne03]

Hello all my BP is in a sterilite tub, and I use ecoearth substrate. I usually get really good humidity from the ecoearth. The problem is, the heat from my UTH doesnt always come through the substrate enough, and I don’t want to increase the heat too much because he digs it up and I don’t want him to get burned being directly on it. Thus, I’ve been using a paper towel on the hot side, so the heat easily comes through and he doesn’t dig under it and get burned. Ever since I started using the paper towel, I’ve had trouble keeping my humidity up. I guess the paper towel absorbs the moisture. But he’s got a very pink belly and showing signs of pre-shed. I know I need to get the humidity up so he has a happy shed. Advice?

[Luvyna]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I am wondering if you know what your enclosure's ambient (air) temperature is because that is also important to monitor and can affect the temperature of the substrate.

There is no need to worry about the belly heat temperature on top of the substrate because your BP will burrow down for more warmth if he needs it. As long as your hot spot temperature on the floor of the enclosure, under all the substrate, is between 86-92F, it's all good. I would suggest switching back to Eco Earth as that is a good choice for a substrate and great for humidity.

If you've decided to keep your BP on towels, which is also a workable substrate, you can try keeping humidity up by adding a bigger water bowl, or more water bowls, and by misting the enclosure regularly. It also helps to add some damp sphagnum moss under your BP's hides when they are in shed, or create a humidity box (tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS8gZXXK7S4) for your snake to choose to use himself as needed. Overall using Eco Earth would probably be less work though so I'd recommend that.

Good luck and I hope your BP's shed goes well!

[RedRabbit]

Welcome! I actually use Sterilite tubs and paper towel substrate for both of my BPs, so I may be able to offer some tips if you decide to stick with the paper towel.

The main contributor to decreasing humidity is air exchange with the outside environment, so if you have a lot of air holes drilled into the lid and/or sides of your tub, you can cover some of them up to hold in more humidity. You can cover these with tape, BUT just make sure the tape is only on the outside of the enclosure, such that there is no way your snake can come in contact with the adhesive surface.

Like Luvyna suggested, a bigger water bowl and more frequent misting can help. I personally like to have a couple of aquarium-style plastic plants in the tub for decoration/clutter, and what I do is to saturate just those plants with water (either by spraying them heavily, or running water over them in the sink) and place them in the tub. The plants then act as mini humidifiers as the water slowly evaporates off them and dissipates around the tub. Ever since I started doing that, I actually am more likely to have the humidity go too HIGH rather than too low, so I often will only saturate one of the plants per enclosure, and that does the trick.

[graceanne03]

Thanks for the advice!! My ambient temp is 75 (is that high enough?). I decided to ditch the paper towel but still wasn’t getting the humidity up, so I safely taped up a few of the ventilation holes, added a small water dish on the warm side, and misted the tub. Now my humidity is 76%. Woo!!! (Is that too high, even during the shedding process?)

[RedRabbit]

Thanks for the advice!! My ambient temp is 75 (is that high enough?). I decided to ditch the paper towel but still wasn’t getting the humidity up, so I safely taped up a few of the ventilation holes, added a small water dish on the warm side, and misted the tub. Now my humidity is 76%. Woo!!! (Is that too high, even during the shedding process?)

You're very welcome! You'll probably want your ambient temp closer to 78-80 F, if possible. It's good to hear that you were able to boost up the humidity, though! For target humidity, I believe the general recommendation is 55-60% when not shedding, and 70-75% during the shedding process. However, I will say that from my personal experience, both of my BPs were still struggling with their sheds a bit when I was staying within these ranges. I currently maintain humidity at around 75% when not shedding, and go up to 80-85% during shedding. They've had perfect sheds ever since, and no issues with respiratory infections or scale rot. I think the key to avoiding these complications is that you want things humid, but not WET. If there's a lot of fogging/condensation on the sides of the tub, that's too much. If there's a really soggy patch on the substrate, clean it up and don't let your snake sit in it. But if things look pretty normal, and it doesn't feel like a mini sauna when you open up the tub lid, then you're probably okay.