Ambient temperature and humidity?!

[Bweiser18]

I just got an Ivory Ball Python this weekend from the Reptile Exp. He’s doing excellent so far! Doesn’t seemed stress but I’ve let him be. He’s comes out around 10 at night every night to either explore or possibly he’s hungry. Going to try and offer him food tonight. Anyways I have him in the basement in a 40 Gallon tank with a screen top. I’ve put insulation on all sides on the outside of the tank except the front which is the opening. I’m having to run 2-3 heat emitters just to even keep the tanks ambient temps higher. I have a heat mat which is set on a controller for 90F. I have all 3 heat emitters controlled with a thermostat as well. The left side is set to 82F ambient. The middle is set to 84F ambient. The right side of the tank is set to 81F. I’ve placed the Thermometer close to the bottom of the tank to get the correct readings where the snake is. Since heat rises and can give a false reading. So technically on the “Cool Side” I have it set for 81F. It’s kind of fluctuating from 79F to 80F. My concern is.. is 79F ambient temperature too cool? I’m having a hard time trying to get it past 80F. All of my Heat emitters are raised on a Zoo Med Lamp stand. I didn’t want to have my snake get burnt on the mesh top. My second question is I’m having to lay damp towels on the top of the mesh to boost up my humidity. Which isn’t a problem because if I did it every morning it keeps the humidity up pretty good all day. I have 3 bigger water dishes in his tank as well trying to boost up my humidity. One on the left side, the middle, and right side of his tank. I’ve covered the mesh top as much as I can trying to trap the heat and humidity inside the terrarium as much as possible. So my humidity ranges from 45-50% without the damp rags on top. With the damp rags I’m looking at 60-77% humidity depending on how many rags and what spots I put them at. When I saw it climb to 77% I started taking some rags off to lower it. So my question is.. with the damp rags am I getting a false humidity reading? Is it reading the rags themselves or inside the enclosure? I have the hygrometer probe placed towards the bottom of the terrarium as well. Just trying to get a reading of where the snake really is. Not like all the way up at the top of the terrarium. How would I know what the humidity reading is inside the hide box the snake sits in for most of his time.. should I get a humidity box for my snake?

[Bweiser18]

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[aurum]

Congrats on the new snake! Your temperatures sound fine to me, a cool side ambient of 78-80 is generally accepted for ball pythons. Plus most snakes are not going desiccate if their set ups are one degree off . For humidity, I'm not sure what you mean by false reading? Is your hygrometer touching the rags? If not it should just be measuring the air around the sensor. If you are still worried about humidity, it doesn't hurt to offer a humid hide as well, a lot of snakes like them. Also in the future it might be easier to maintain all these parameters if you invest in a PVC enclosure. I know you've already put all this effort into making the glass enclosure work, but it really is so much more of a pain, especially at that size tank.
One last thing, please try to format your posts so they are easier to read. The block of text can turn some people off, and information is more easily missed when it's presented like that.

[Bweiser18]

Thank you for the information! If I got a humidity box. How would I know if it’s “too humid”? From what I’ve researched too high humidity could be just as bad as too low.

[ProdigyPythons]

Hello Bweiser18, I'm new, as well!

It's great to hear that you've put so much effort into caring for your Ivory ball! A humid-hide may simply contain some damp sphagnum moss and substrate, misted once or twice each day. As long as the moss and substrate are not soaking wet, rotting, or otherwise soiled; it shouldn't be too humid. I would recommend going bio-active! Bio-active enclosures (given its set up correctly) make controlling for temps/humidity easier. There are numerous other benefits, as well.
Congratulations on your new friend! Good luck to you two.