humidity???

[cvh6192]

Ok, so I am getting my first bp soon! Im going to be ordering a ghost ball python, and he is going to be my first snake. I am going out to buy all my supplies today, and my biggest fear is humidity!! I am going to be usibg a glass tank with the locking screen lid...which obviously wont hold in the humidity...soo my question to all of you is, how do you keep your humidity up?? Should i cover part of the screen, and if soo with what?? Or is a certain type of substrate better for humidity? I was going to go with aspen, but that doesnt seem like it would hold in alot of water..And last question(lol can you can telll im neeew to this?) I was going to get a 40 gallon tank for him and start him in that..but im noticing alot of you guys say bigger isnt always better for snalkes, so if i put in a buuunch of hides, plants etc, would be okk?

[Mike41793]

You can just put a towel over half the tank and that usually works fine buy you can play around with it and see how much you have to cover it up. I suggest an under tank heater, not a heat bulb bc they tend to dry out the tank more than uth's. I personally use repti bark and cypress mulch and ive never had a problem w/ humidity. But i know alot of people on here also use aspen with no problems. I wouldnt start out your snake in a 40 breeder just because thats really big, if you start out with a 20 gallon long and put a bunch of hides in it and stuff then that would be better imo. But its your call really. If you get the 40 and put your snake in it he could be perfectly fine but if you notice hes stressed out then you'll probably have to go out and buy a new tank to downgrade.

[keith88]

Well the easiest way to deal with humidity for us was to just put a damp towel on top of the cage covering a third of the tank and yes your going to have to mist. Also keep a uth on a thermostat for your heat as a high wattage bulb will suck your tank dry. We keep two water bowls in our tanks one on the hot side over the uth and one on the cool side. As far as tank size go 40 gallon is a huge tank for a hatchling but you can always pick up a ten gallon tank at walmart for I think around fifteen dollars. Aspen will hold more humidity then you think but we use a blend of aspen sphagum moss and coco husk for all of our tanks. Good luck and welcome to the addiction that is ball pythons lol

[VEXER19]

You guys said it all pretty much but as far as aspen goes I love it and have no problems with humidity. If you do get a big tank just remember to crowd that thing up with plants, vines, your 2 hides and as much as you can do to fill all the empty space until your bp gets bigger to make your bp feel secure throughout the tank and not feel exposed. Just think rain forest and don't stop till it looks like one...lol.

[xcrafter]

A lot of people say it's better to start them on 10-15g because you don't have to buy a ton of stuff to put inside, and your BP will feel secure. You can always clean and sell this later when it's upgrade time.
I use cypress mulch and a foil top from the caging forum section (a DIY sticky). If I use my UTH I find I get about 15%(sits at ~60%) more humidity then with my heat lamp(~45%). I use a 15g tank. Good luck with whatever you decide is best.

[cvh6192]

Ok thank you guys..alot!! It seems so much simpler now, and I think I'm going to just try the damp towel for a few days before I get him and make sure everything will be right before I get him and put him in there lol our I've seen alot of reptifoggers at the pet store, has anyone tried one, out would it be a waste of money and I would stock with the towel idea. I really want to be sure everything is perfect lol

[cvh6192]

Ohh! And one more question, so i have decided I am going to try out the 40 gallon, aand stock up on an excess of silk plants and hides, and make it sooo rainforesty, he wont even know hes in a tank hehe, and if it doesnt work out, I do have a 10 gallon lying around from when I had fish, so my question is what signs of stress should I be looking for to see if I need to downgrade? Not eating, and anything else? Im not 100% sure how to tell when he would be stressed, and what just settling into the new home would be lol, thanks again!