Keeping Humidity Levels Up in a Snake Room

[starmom]

ya that thing looks serious! so i guess i have to choose between moving down south or using a humidifier...

thanks guys!

Either way, ya can't lose!!

[JoshJP7]

I use a humidifier for my snake room and it works awesome... It was like 100$ and works wonders. I have it set at like 54ish and it keeps my humidity between 60-65 in my tubs and 55-60 in my custom build cages... Overall Ive had perfect sheds everytime and Ive never misted.

[daniel1983]

Why are you concerned with the humidity of the room?Unless your snakes are free room in the room, the room conditions really mean little.What matters are the conditions inside the enclosure.

In nature, there is never a constant humidity or temperature. Wide ranges of conditions exist. The ideal for a captive reptile is to provide the same wide range of conditions.

For example...

Even though outside humidity is at 30% and the temperature is 95 deg., I can flip over a rock to find condensation(higher humidity) and a cooler tempature . This is one of the reasons why you find alot of animals when 'flipping' things in the wild. Objects layed on the ground outside provide a great range of TEMPERATURE and HUMIDITY. The reptiles know how to find the conditions that they need.

Now take this approach to enclosures.

In my enclosures, I provide 4 "zones". Warm/dry, Warm/damp, Cool/dry, Cool/damp. My animals have the choice to get in the conditions that they desire. I do not make them have a certain temperature by raising the room temp or room humidity. If a reptile needs humidity, it goes into a humid area within the enclosure. If it doesn't need the humidity, it does not go. Pretty simple.

For snakes, this array of conditions is easily provided with the addition of humid hides to the enclosures. Simple solution for the lack of available higher humidity that does not create an overall damp environment that can lead to mold and other nasties that can harm your animals.

[kojack8389]

I keep Kojack's water bowl in his cage almost directly under the heating lamp and have the top covered with tin foil. I have two air holes the tin foil but I cover them with towels, it keeps the humidity perfect between 65-75 %. Before I thought of that I kept a moist towel on top of one of the logs with the heat lamp above that. Pretty amateur I guess you could say but it worked

[West Coast Jungle]

I live in practically desert conditions and humidity can be a problem. I used to run a humidifier continually but if left unchecked it can get too humid and i ran into a mold problem.

Now I run a humidifier controled by a humidistat made by Ranco.
http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/in...2=259&cid3=-99

I figuered I use one in my greenhouse connected to a misting system why not use one in the snake room connected to a humidifier. Well it works perfectly and I have never seen a RI or bad shed since. I also realized in the winter when the forced air heating kicked in the snake room would get blasted with hot dry air and my humidity would drop dramatically and thats when a bad shed or RI would follow(not cold temps). I wondered why only a snake at the very top of rack would have problems and that was because they were closest to the air vents and got the most hot dry air.

I keep the room at about 45-50% humidity its been smooth sailing since. I also closed the heater vents and control the room with a t-stat and a oil filled heater.

Some may think the humidistat is pricey but it is alot cheaper then a vet visit.

For those who live in humid areas it is not a problem, maybe just in winter depending on what kind of heating system you have.

[Tosha_Mc]

I keep Kojack's water bowl in his cage almost directly under the heating lamp and have the top covered with tin foil.

You don't want to do that -- first off the evaporation from the water bowl directly into the heat lamp can short out the lamp and cause an electrical fire. Second - warming the water invites harmful bacteria into your snakes environment/drinking water. Get rid of the heat lamp and use a UTH with a covered top and you'll retain your heat and moisture.

[littleindiangirl]

I live in practically desert conditions and humidity can be a problem. I used to run a humidifier continually but if left unchecked it can get too humid and i ran into a mold problem.

Now I run a humidifier controled by a humidistat made by Ranco.
http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/in...2=259&cid3=-99

I figuered I use one in my greenhouse connected to a misting system why not use one in the snake room connected to a humidifier. Well it works perfectly and I have never seen a RI or bad shed since. I also realized in the winter when the forced air heating kicked in the snake room would get blasted with hot dry air and my humidity would drop dramatically and thats when a bad shed or RI would follow(not cold temps). I wondered why only a snake at the very top of rack would have problems and that was because they were closest to the air vents and got the most hot dry air.

I keep the room at about 45-50% humidity its been smooth sailing since. I also closed the heater vents and control the room with a t-stat and a oil filled heater.

Some may think the humidistat is pricey but it is alot cheaper then a vet visit.

For those who live in humid areas it is not a problem, maybe just in winter depending on what kind of heating system you have.

Thats just about exactly as we do it, except the humidifier has its own hygrometer control.

[kojack8389]

You don't want to do that -- first off the evaporation from the water bowl directly into the heat lamp can short out the lamp and cause an electrical fire. Second - warming the water invites harmful bacteria into your snakes environment/drinking water. Get rid of the heat lamp and use a UTH with a covered top and you'll retain your heat and moisture.

Really?? What is a UTH? Thanks for letting me know

[SnakieMom]

UTH is short for Under Tank Heater. Usually a sticky heat pad that affixes to the bottom of your tank/tub, providing belly heat.
Best used when you can allow some space under the enclosure
for airflow. (to prevent heat surges, and possibly a serious hot spot, or even a small fire) Also best used with some sort of thermostat, again, to prevent hot spots, and most importantly,
burning your snakie.

[bigballs]

Either way, ya can't lose!!

you got that right!