Question about humidity

[shinyjay42]

I've recently purchased my first ball python. I'm keeping her in a 20 gallon glass tank with aspen bedding. I've read that BPs prefer humidity above 50%. I've managed to get mine up to 40 but it doesn't ever get much higher. Any tips on increasing humidity?

[DJ_Bizarre]

if you have a screen top, take a damp towel and cover some of the screen.

[kc261]

Is it one of the ones with a screen top? If so, you will want to close off most of it, because otherwise too much heat & humidity escapes. One good method is to put a few layers of aluminum foil and then tape it in place. Just make sure the tape is on the outside of the enclosure and can't be reached by the snake.

If you have already done that, then here are a few other ideas:
- water bowl with larger surface area
- move the water bowl to the warm end of the enclosure

You can always mist the tank as a temporary fix, but most people find it has to be done at least a couple times a day, and that can get to be a hassle after a while.

If all else fails, or as a temporary measure until you get things tweaked, you can add a humid hide, which allows the snake to go into a high humidity area when it wants to. Lots of people like to use these when their snake is in shed, even if they have good humidity, just to be sure the snake has a good shed.

[shinyjay42]

I've been misting the tank a couple times a day and I've already covered the screen in foil as well. I'll try a humid hide. Thanks for the advice

[shinyjay42]

A thought: So far I've been using shredded aspen as bedding. Would cypress mulch increase my humidity at all?

[Aes_Sidhe]

I had the same problem when i was living in Florida (can You imagine??) and my Ball like higher humidity... i can't get perfect shed in H less that 70%!!!!
This was the steps.setup was 20g tank with screen zoo-med heat pat on one side and red bulb on the other ....
I switch bedding from aspen to reptibark...I put large surface water dish... I think that was XL exo-terra and i go to my neighborhood glass store and order cover from Plexiglas covering around 60% of screen,
That was like magic... Humidity bump to 65-70% little misting before shedding, regular feeding And i had great healthy ball python....

hope that helps