Newbie ball python owner, HELP!

[MowgliPups]

I recently got my first ball python! A juvenile pinstripe! I name him Mowgli and I love him so much :D

I need help with keeping the humidity up! I have 2 water bowls in his tank; a large one and a smaller one under the CHE, and foil tape covering the screen at the top of the tank. The humidity goes down sorta quick though!! I can’t keep it up.
humidity is 80ish when I first spray it, and then can drop down to 40 if left alone (I spray the tank when it gets to low 60s high 50s)

To fix this I’ve been misting his bedding (Coconut fiber) And some of the fake plants around his tank while he’s sleeping, so he doesn’t come in contact with the water majority of the time.

Any tips on keeping humidity up? It’s about to get REALLY dry here (I live in Canada, and it’s very dry in the winter). Should I get a humidifier for his cage?

side note; he shed here for the first time a few days ago and it came off in one piece! So I’ve been doing good with humidity even though I struggle with it.


also, under his mouth, right below where his tongue comes out, his “Lip” scale is a little brown coloured. Is this normal? I’ve seen his mouth when he yawns, and its pink and healthy looking.

Btw if anyone needs to know for the humidity thingy, he lives in a 20 gallon, 2 hides (one cold one warm) has a heat mat and CHE attached to thermostats. 28 Celsius on warm side, 32 Celsius in warm hide, 26 Celsius on cool side. Foil tape on top, insulation on the sides.

[bcr229]

Fish tanks are notoriously difficult to keep humid, and overhead heat sources will dry them out further. Since your ball python will outgrow it eventually anyway, start shopping around for a proper reptile enclosure.

In the meantime you can create a humid hide by putting spaghnum moss or coco fiber into a plastic food storage container big enough for your ball python to crawl into. Just cut an access hole in the lid.

[andeal]

What you can do is:
-Buy a large plastic "tupperware" bowl, or something similar. I got mine at the dollar store.
-Using an electric heat knife (or something else), cut a whole in the lid a bit larger than the width of your snake. If you're using just a regular knife or something sharp, be sure to file down the edges, so they don't cut the snake.
-Buy terrarium moss from your local pet store. Stick some in the bowl, dampen it up with water, and leave it in the terrarium.

This is a nice way to make a cheap "humidity chamber" for your snake. If it's feeling too dry, it'll make its way in there.

But agreeing with the other guy, for ball pythons:
-Plastic is better than glass.
-Heat pads, or even better, Radient Heat Panels are better than bulbs
- Plastic tops are better than screens.

I'd check out Animal Plastics. The biggest downside for their terrariums is the EXTREMELY long order processing time. They make a good product, and are always overbooked. It might be worth putting in an order ~6 months before you think you might upgrade. 20 gallons is plenty for a new snake, but you'll want bigger once it starts reaching adulthood. They'll also install a ProMist RHP for you, which I'd recommend. They're great at keeping temps right and humidity in.