Noob guy looking for some help.

[D_Lest]

Hey guys,

I am a fairly new BP parent and and need some advice. I have been poking around the site looking for some answers but can't quite find one that fits my situation. So, here is my dilemma...

I am having a terrible time regulating the humidity in my BP's aquarium. I end up having to spray the aquarium down every few minutes and the humidity drops within a matter of seconds it seems. I do not know if my set up is bad or if I am just doing something tragically wrong here.

My set-up consists of a 20 gallon long aquarium with mesh screen locking top. 2 lamps (one a basking light and one with an infrared bulb) and also an under tank heater. I am using aspen bedding and provided my BP with a large ceramic water bowl and one of those half a log hide gizmos. I have tried moistened sphargum moss and it helps a little but nothing substantial. The aquarium has a warm side and a cooler side, on the warm side I have the UTH and the basking light and kinda in the middle of the tank I place the infrared light at night time.

If you guys could tell me if this sounds appropriate for my BP to live happy and healthy or if there are some improvements that need to be made. I appreciate any and all help you can offer and apologize for the lengthy post, just want to be as descriptive as possible. Thanks!

-Daniel.

[mrmertz]

Just a real quick note here...

Ou guys are all in tanks. We live in AZ where the humidty most of the year stays in or near the single digits! Our tanks all run 60's and up - constantly.

Heat lamps absolutley kill humidity levels in no time flat. I made glass covers with plastic handles for the tops that help a good deal to hold humidity levels also.

The only guys that we don't worry too much about humidity levels are the "locals" - the Kings and Billy bullsnake. they are from this arid climate but when they go into shed we even boost their levels up some to help them out.

Hmmm...sound like a kinda funky blues band...Introducing "The Kings and Billy Bullsnake on drums"!

[llovelace]

Hi & welcome to BP.net

I would recommend reading the BP caresheets, you may find alot of your answers there.

Try covering 3/4 of the mesh lid with something. Your heat lamp is not recomended,(sucks the humidity from tank). Try 2 under tank heaters for the cool side & warm side.

[boasandballs]

If it were me, I would change the aspen to cypress. Cypress can be moist and not mold. Don't make it soggy just damp. Also if you can get away with just under tank heat that would also be better.
The heat lights will dry out the air. If you need the heat, use the lights. Cover some of the top of your screen with foil, this will help hold in the humidity and the heat.

[stevepoppers]

Well, at least your tank isn't unusually large. Note that basking lamps aren't the least bit necessary. Ball pythons (and most snakes apparently) are nocturnal and get no benefit from light but extra stress. Use the infrared one if you need the heat, but otherwise avoid them. A CHE raised both my temperature and humidity, but if you're already having problems, I doubt they will do you any good. I propose:

Remove the basking lamp.
Cover screen.
Remove the infrared lamp if humidity does not improve.
If need more heat, get some Flexwatt. It's dirt cheap and you should be using a thermostat anyway.
Read the caresheet.

If all else fails, consider a tub. You'll never see the snake out of it's hide anyway.

[D_Lest]

Thanks for all the great info guys, I really appreciate it.

[moravaguy]

whats your temps like?????

[snakesRkewl]

Humid hides work great for low humidity tanks

[Kaorte]

Also, the kind of hygrometer you are using will also affect your reading. If you use a digital hygrometer, those are pretty accurate while those round gauge hygrometers don't work at all.

[D_Lest]

Here is an update, tell me if this sounds better...

I got rid of the basking light and moved the infrared heat light to the hot side of the cage and right now it is sitting at 90 degrees on the dot. I also went out to the pet store and bought another UTH to put on the cool side which is at about 78 degrees right now. To address the humidity situation I got one of those gladware plastic container things and cut a hole in the side, put some moist spahrgum moss inside and made it the hide on the warm side of the cage. I also switched my substrate from aspen bedding to just regular newspaper and put a towel on top of part of the screen. The humidity is holding at 60 right now so I feel a little accomplished lol.

On a not so cool note, I woke up this morning to a wheezing/mouth breathing BP. After researching this awesome site and having read the info on respiratory problems I rushed to the vet. If anyone is in the northern Virginia/fairfax area, eastern exotic veterinary clinic is a darn good place to go, they were super helpful and very informative. Anyway, from what they told me the snake has pneumonia and gave me some steroid shots to give her every three days. They also told me that she is having problems shedding and to soak her every day for about 30 minutes and it is already working. The vet tech suggested that after I get her out of the water to kinda roll my thumb across the skin that is coming off to help her shed, has anyone ever tried this and is it a good idea?

Sorry for another ridiculously long post and thanks for all the replies...This has become my first resource for BP info. Thanks again!

-Daniel