Having husbandry trouble with new T8. Advice and help appreciated!

[littlemaxbigworld]

So I got my girl’s new T8 (with ProProducts heat panel) and set it up three weeks ago, however I’m still really struggling with humidity and temperature gradients. I thought an AP tank would be easier - and perhaps it is once it’s dialed in - but it’s a struggle. I’ll add photos at the end of the post.

Humidity on the hot side is usually around 30% and I’ve been misting regularly to keep it up higher. The cool side is around 45% or so. The substrate is Zillow Jungle Mix which starts off moist but dries pretty quickly and doesn’t help. It seems like coconut husk is better for humidity? Is that the case? What should I try? I’m also going to get sphagnum moss to add around the tank, too, but I feel like a change in substrate is also probably needed. She DID just go through an entire shed cycle and gave me the most perfect shed I have ever gotten from her, however. But part of that may also be that for the first like week or a little more the substrate was still keeping the humidity correct. It’s become a problem since it dried out.

Temperature on the hot side is great. Stays right around 90. I use my heat gun too to check inside the hides to make sure the temperature in there is adequate and it’s around 87-88. However, the heat doesn’t get retained enough to keep the cool side warm enough. It can get to 75-77 which is no good! It’s summer here and I’ve been having to keep my room AC off (it faces my bed, not her tank) to keep my room warm enough that her cool side can stay the right temperature. And let me tell you it is a sauna in here and I am dying. Oregon doesn’t have house or apartment AC like anywhere and when it’s 80 or above outside it can be brutal inside. It’s going to be 102 this weekend. Kill me.

Her thermostat is set to 90 and keeps her hot side perfect, but what can I do for her cool side? Especially with a T8? I don’t know what to do but there has to be something I can do to fix this. Please help! Otherwise she seems very secure and ‘happy’ in her new set up. Shed perfectly. Appetite and eating is on point (didn’t feed during shed cycle but just fed her since then). She hides all day and at night I catch her going to drink water and move around. She loves weaving her way through the plants like a ninja. Handling her hasn’t changed and she doesn’t show any signs of being more on edge or insecure since her tank change when I go to get her or I clean her water and such.

Thank you so much in advance!

[littlemaxbigworld]

- - - Updated - - -

[ckuhn003]

That's a nice looking setup you have there. I've only ever used certain types of cocoa bedding and never really had an issue with humidity except for maybe low 50s in the winter where I had to spray a little bit. Every other time, it's sitting around the 60-70 mark. I didn't see a water bowl in your enclosure (which I'm sure you have) but you might want to get something larger to help w/ humidity.

As for the temp gradient, did you consult w/ the Bob at Pro Products on the wattage needed? Your gradient doesn't sound too terrible but a couple more degrees on the cool side would be perfect.

[Caitlin]

The setup looks absolutely beautiful; I'm sure you are so pleased to have it!

In these larger enclosures it can take a little time to get things dialed in. I am not familiar with Jungle Mix. I like coconut husk substrate, such as ReptiChip, that you add water to - stir in the water gradually and mix it around until the water is absorbed. You want the substrate to feel just slightly damp, but you don't want to be able to squeeze water out of it, if that makes sense.

You could also mix damp sphagnum moss into the substrate or (one of my favorite strategies) just provide a couple of big containers of sphagnum, and/or pile sphagnum up in a couple of spots so that the snake can choose microhabitats with more or less moisture.

Others will hopefully speak up if they disagree with me, but I don't see a problem with a cool side gradient of 75-80F, especially since your warm side is maintaining stable temperatures. So hopefully you don't need to continue suffocating yourself for the sake of your BP!

[littlemaxbigworld]

That's a nice looking setup you have there. I've only ever used certain types of cocoa bedding and never really had an issue with humidity except for maybe low 50s in the winter where I had to spray a little bit. Every other time, it's sitting around the 60-70 mark. I didn't see a water bowl in your enclosure (which I'm sure you have) but you might want to get something larger to help w/ humidity.

As for the temp gradient, did you consult w/ the Bob at Pro Products on the wattage needed? Your gradient doesn't sound too terrible but a couple more degrees on the cool side would be perfect.

Thanks! Her water bowl is in there in the back left corner. I’d taken these pictures like right when I’d set it up and had the hanging plants accidentally covering it because I’d put them in last. So it’s there but yeah maybe I do need something bigger. I can try that!

Yeah I emailed back and forth and talked about how cold my room can get, what tank I’m getting, etc. but it still doesn’t seem to be enough. I feel like she needs a panel that covers more of the length of her tank by a few inches or something. Maybe I need to look into and learn about heat tape or something that can work with AP tanks to provide just a little more to her cool side. I’m not sure.

[littlemaxbigworld]

The setup looks absolutely beautiful; I'm sure you are so pleased to have it!

In these larger enclosures it can take a little time to get things dialed in. I am not familiar with Jungle Mix. I like coconut husk substrate, such as ReptiChip, that you add water to - stir in the water gradually and mix it around until the water is absorbed. You want the substrate to feel just slightly damp, but you don't want to be able to squeeze water out of it, if that makes sense.

You could also mix damp sphagnum moss into the substrate or (one of my favorite strategies) just provide a couple of big containers of sphagnum, and/or pile sphagnum up in a couple of spots so that the snake can choose microhabitats with more or less moisture.

Others will hopefully speak up if they disagree with me, but I don't see a problem with a cool side gradient of 75-80F, especially since your warm side is maintaining stable temperatures. So hopefully you don't need to continue suffocating yourself for the sake of your BP!

Thank you! It’s soooo much better than her exoterra. And not having heat lamps and red light and stuff is wonderful. Her home is so much more pleasant to look at. And now she can finally stretch out a bit too. She’s like three inches shy of four feet per her last shed the other day. She will be three in October so she’s still got some growing to do. It was time to get her out of the small glass tank.

Those are good ideas thanks! I can also look into a larger humid hide I suppose. She outgrew her last one by a lot. It was cute but not functional anymore lol. I’ll look into the coconut husk stuff and get some moss and see if that does the trick! And I’m hoping her cool side isn’t too cool. I’ve read that can be really bad for them and I don’t want to harm her. But she does at least have an identical hide on the hot side that she loves, and a different hide I just got and put in the middle if she wants some fancy middle-ground temperature which I’ve seen her do like once or twice. She’s got the real estate for living lavish now haha. Thanks for the help!

Gonna post a photo of her in her new tank exploring around!

[littlemaxbigworld]

Update: IMGUR and the gallery are giving me trouble right now so I’ll post the new photos later

[303_enfield]

The T8 is routed for heat tape if needed.

What is the temp in the middle of the T8?


Good luck!

[Mr. Misha]

I'm suspecting your RHP is too small. What size RHP panel are you running? For example I'm running a 80 watt Reptile Basics RHP in my T8 and it's set at 82F. My cool side never drops below 80 even at 60 degree temps. With that said, the panel takes half of the enclosure.

In regards to humidity, coconut husk should fix this problem. My humidity runs around 46% once it fully dries out. Even though I get perfect sheds most of the time, I still try to mist if I see one of the BPs is starting going into shed.

[wnateg]

That humidity is very surprising to me. Oregon isnt exactly a dry place and RHP's don't really eat humidity. I'm in Texas and my room humidity is 55%. Are you running any fans near the enclosure?