To Mist or Not to Mist?

[Kesp]

Hi, all.

I have a question regarding humidity. I've checked some of the other threads but my question is a little bit more specific.

At the moment, the humidity in my snake tubs is about 65%-70%. I don't mist at all because I don't really need to. As long as I leave it, the humidity never seems to drop and has been maintaining this for about a week and a half now. I used a soldering iron to poke some holes into the tubs. I must just have the right amount of ventilation to keep the humidity at this level.

I've read in a lot of places that the substrate shouldn't ever really be wet for long periods of time anyway, but at the moment it's pretty dry.

My question is: is it better to have my enclosure as it is now (decent humidity/dry enclosure)? Or is it better to add more ventilation, let it drop further and do some misting every now and then?

I'm concerned that even though the humidity is there, the substrate is quite dry. I use a mixture of cypress mulch and chips. The warm side is between 87-98°F and the cool side is as low as 75°F. I do have my water dish on the cool side also.

Thank you,

[Kesp]

***CORRECTION***

The floor temps on the hot side are between 87°-91°F

[Homebody]

My question is: is it better to have my enclosure as it is now (decent humidity/dry enclosure)? Or is it better to add more ventilation, let it drop further and do some misting every now and then?

It is better to have your enclosure as it is now. I've always kept my snakes on newspaper and repticarpet, and I never mist. A large water bowl and restricted ventilation have always been enough to keep humidity where it should be. So, I never have to worry about scale rot, mold or fungus. Keep your substrate dry and you won't have to worry about them either.

[Kesp]

This is really reassuring, thank you!

[Bogertophis]

Misting is thought to stress some snakes, though they certainly do get rained on in the wild. The thing is, it's effect on humidity is VERY temporary- so the humidity is always going up-down-up-down...it's really not optimal. A humid hide with soaked sphagnum moss is much preferred by snakes. I rarely mist my snakes- if I see one about to shed, I may do it then- just to "help".

[KingPythons]

I was like dang… that’s hot lol. I’ve always kept it dry in the tub though, but humidity at or above 50% and under 73% at all times. You should be good where you’re at. No need to poke holes.

[Homebody]

Misting is thought to stress some snakes, though they certainly do get rained on in the wild. The thing is, it's effect on humidity is VERY temporary- so the humidity is always going up-down-up-down...it's really not optimal. A humid hide with soaked sphagnum moss is much preferred by snakes. I rarely mist my snakes- if I see one about to shed, I may do it then- just to "help".

Good point! My bp did have a humid hide.

[Kesp]

This is all sound advice, thanks guys.

[Kesp]

I was like dang… that’s hot lol.

I re-read it and thought the exact same hahaha

[Caitlin]

If I'm correct in reading that your warm side gets up to 98F, that temp is dangerously high for your snake unless you are talking about surface temps on a very limited basking area. If ambient temps get that high then please make some adjustments so that the highest temp doesn't go over about 90F.

There's nothing inherently bad about misting - just don't mist your snake directly (a few individuals seem to like this; most don't) and you don't want overtly wet substrate. When we talk about humidity for snakes, we're talking about moisture in the air around them, and sitting on wet substrate isn't what we're aiming for. You want the substrate to feel barely damp to the touch but not to drip water if you squeeze it; you're sort of looking for that feeling you get if you pick up a handful of earth on the forest floor.

As others have suggested, providing a humidity hide is a great option, as this allows the snake to choose whether and when they want to be in a 'micro climate' with higher humidity.