Humidity disagreements & BP activity

[EthanMG]

Hey everyone, yes, another post from me. I know lol I do post a lot, not sure if it’s looked down upon in the forum or considered spamming or anything, just let me know.
Anyways, ever since I got my ball python (4 weeks ago) when I watch him at night he spends a lot of time in/at/drinking from his water.

To start it off, I still don’t know what the correct humidity is. Everyone says something different. Some say 50-60%, or 45-55%, or 55-65, or 65-75%, and some say up in the in low 80s and mid 70s as long as it’s not damp. This is such a broad range I don’t know what is right. Also is it snake to snake? Do some prefer higher, because mine is showing signs (I’ll get to later) that he maybe does prefer higher. If that’s true, that sucks because I have a screen lid and even with it covered it still will drop 40% in 2 days.

I usually keep my humidity at 60-70 on side without water dish and it’s usually at 70-80 on side with water bowl. Even with this high humidity he STILL hangs out at his water.

I then added a pretty big bowl (bigger than his hides) full of wet sphagnum moss on his side without his water dish to raise and hopefully maintain the humidity in the whole enclosure. And guess what, it did NOTHING doesn’t change anything. Still drops just as fast. Idk why. I mean it may be helping very slightly. If anything, it keeps the humidity on the cool side around 50-55 for a little longer than usual. But it still drops down to that point from when I spray just as fast. I’ve seen others who use moss for rainbow boas, etc. and it keeps humidity in 80s for two weeks! If someone has used or has experience with spagnum moss and can help me with this, thatd be great. Now though, my snake seems to be glad I added the spagnum moss because he now just sits in the bowl sometimes. He especially does this when I let my humidity get down to 50-60% (which is literally what most ppl recommend lol).

My Main questions/need help with: any help with spagnum moss, correct humidity for ball pythons, are the signs from my snake telling me he requires more humidity than most ball pythons

Thanks


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[Claire&snek]

Hi! This is a great question because so many people have their humidity off and if not fixed can cause lots of problems. I keep my ball python cages around 50 at minimum, 70 at most and when shedding, about 80. If the enclosure is to wet it can cause scale rot and a possible RI. I use eco earth which keeps humidity great and is also great for ball pythons, mine love it! I've tried to switch some to other substrates and they won't switch. Some people use papertowles but it is hard to keep humidity well with papertowels. Misting once in the morning and once at night will help too but definitely don't over mist or the cage will get too wet! Good luck and hope this helps!

[Claire&snek]

Also, I read this over again and was wondering...you said you have had him for four weeks and no matter how correct the humidity is he always sits in his water bowl? Is it possible he has stuck shed or mites? Check for both of those things, that is usually why a snake spends so much time in a water bowl when you have correct humility.

[EthanMG]

Also, I read this over again and was wondering...you said you have had him for four weeks and no matter how correct the humidity is he always sits in his water bowl? Is it possible he has stuck shed or mites? Check for both of those things, that is usually why a snake spends so much time in a water bowl when you have correct humility.

Yes, thanks for your help. I know he doesn’t have stuck shed or mites. I know for sure no stuck shed, but not 100% sure about mites because I could be just not seeing them because I am new to owning snakes and have never seen one in person with mites. I added two pictures, not sure if you’d be able to tell from that or not. I think maybe in the future when he’s bigger I’ll get an even larger bowl and put it in the middle of the enclosure. Do you think certain individual snakes prefer more or less humidity than others?



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[Claire&snek]

I know different kinds of snakes require different humidity levels but I don't think different individual ball pythons require different humidity levels. All ball pythons need a certain range but some ball pythons are more sensitive to developing problems because of incorrect temperature than others. Maybe it's just the picture but are your ball python's eyes blue? Typically that means they are about to shed unless the morph was born with blue eyes like a blue eyed lucy.

Mites will look like tiny black or red dots typically first noticed around the eye or corners of the mouth and heat pits. If you run your hand along the whole snake's body and look at you hand you might see one or two on your hand if they are on the body of the snake.

[EthanMG]

I know different kinds of snakes require different humidity levels but I don't think different individual ball pythons require different humidity levels. All ball pythons need a certain range but some ball pythons are more sensitive to developing problems because of incorrect temperature than others. Maybe it's just the picture but are your ball python's eyes blue? Typically that means they are about to shed unless the morph was born with blue eyes like a blue eyed lucy.

Mites will look like tiny black or red dots typically first noticed around the eye or corners of the mouth and heat pits. If you run your hand along the whole snake's body and look at you hand you might see one or two on your hand if they are on the body of the snake.

Yeah, that’s just the color of his eyes. That picture was from about a week ago and he hasn’t shed yet. When I handled him I did rub across to check for mites and didn’t see any on my hand. Also don’t see any in the pictures. Do you think it’s maybe just his personality to hang around his water and moss. It’s not 24/7 he still explores around and climbs, but after exploring for like 2 minutes he’ll chill slithering around/in/by his water for 5 minutes then go to exploring for short period of time then go bss as I to water for longer and just repeat that cycle all night. Thanks for clarifying the correct humidity. I use Forrest floor and reptibark right now.


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[Snagrio]

Here is a couple visuals for what snake mites look like.

[EL-Ziggy]

I'll chime in with a slightly different pov. I think most humidity "requirements" are bunk. Granted, I live in a fairly humid region of the country so I can understand if those in dryer climates have to make some fairly simple modifications (good substrate/humid hides). My ambient humidity ranges from 30-70% depending on the season. I might mist an enclosure if I see a snake prepping to shed or if I just want to 'make it rain' but that's a pretty rare occurrence. Most times I just leave things as they are and don't concern myself at all with humidity (I check my temps constantly though). I believe that as long as our snakes are properly hydrated then ambient humidity is just fine for most species and they get the majority of their hydration through their food and fresh water. I have 5 different species and 11 snakes total. Some say boas and pythons need higher humidity but I disagree. None of my snakes have ever had an RI and I've only had two bad sheds in 3 decades of snake keeping. In the first case my carpet python was coming off of a winter fast and hadn't eaten in 5 months. I do believe he was dehydrated even though his humidity was well within parameters. After the bad shed and a couple of meals he's been shedding perfectly ever since. In the other instance my albino bull was in shed, and had cleared up, but I handled him for some reason and his shed came off in pieces.

I do think that some animals prefer to soak more than others though. I have one carpet, one boa, and one bullsnake that each like to soak on occasion. Maybe your BP just enjoys being in the water. As long as you're sure he doesn't have mites and his cage isn't too hot I wouldn't be worried at all.

[EthanMG]

Here is a couple visuals for what snake mites look like.

Ok thanks. Good pictures, very clear to see. I don’t think mine has mites. I don’t see them plus he came from a smaller breeder who really puts in a lot of effort in making sure his snakes are quality and ready to ship. He only has about 20 snakes right now (small for a breeder) which means he can give each snake its proper care and attention easily. He has his wife and kids helping him and they always socialize and take care of them. I know because of their YouTube and Instagram. Their YouTube is Embers ball pythons. Just thought I’d give them a shoutout


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[EthanMG]

I'll chime in with a slightly different pov. I think most humidity "requirements" are bunk. Granted, I live in a fairly humid region of the country so I can understand if those in dryer climates have to make some fairly simple modifications (good substrate/humid hides). My ambient humidity ranges from 30-70% depending on the season. I might mist an enclosure if I see a snake prepping to shed or if I just want to 'make it rain' but that's a pretty rare occurrence. Most times I just leave things as they are and don't concern myself at all with humidity (I check my temps constantly though). I believe that as long as our snakes are properly hydrated then ambient humidity is just fine for most species and they get the majority of their hydration through their food and fresh water. I have 5 different species and 11 snakes total. Some say boas and pythons need higher humidity but I disagree. None of my snakes have ever had an RI and I've only had two bad sheds in 3 decades of snake keeping. In the first case my carpet python was coming off of a winter fast and hadn't eaten in 5 months. I do believe he was dehydrated even though his humidity was well within parameters. After the bad shed and a couple of meals he's been shedding perfectly ever since. In the other instance my albino bull was in shed, and had cleared up, but I handled him for some reason and his shed came off in pieces.

I do think that some animals prefer to soak more than others though. I have one carpet, one boa, and one bullsnake that each like to soak on occasion. Maybe your BP just enjoys being in the water. As long as you're sure he doesn't have mites and his cage isn't too hot I wouldn't be worried at all.

Ok thanks so much. Your opinion makes sense. I have heard from other people too saying that beginners stress too much about their humidity. I guess where it’s at now is fine, I just wanted to make sure because of his behaviors. Next time I take him out, I’ll examine extra close to make sure he doesn’t have mites


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