I need help with humidity control!

[Tisiphone]

Hello!

I'm in a bit of trouble with my humidity! I'm a brand new keeper and I've done a quite of research to help fix my problem, but, the solutions are everything I've tried before. I've had this problem for about 2 weeks now and I'm struggling to find a solution, especially with his shed coming very soon! I also live in a dry area and summers get 100+ degrees F!

For some reason, my humidity will not raise above 40-50%, and my research has told me that it is essential to have my humidity to be from 50-60% and raise the humidity to 60-70% when shedding. I'm very nervous with this, as I've had Charlie since May and his first(and only) shed with me was a partially stuck shed. It was nothing too bad and he got it off himself. I noticed his pink belly, and I'm slightly nervous for this as I will be going out of town in two days for a week.

So far I've tried spraying down his tank every so often with water(I use a clean spray bottle), I've sealed off the top of the enclosure(I read that this would partially help and reduce the amount of humidity that escapes along with keeping heat in), putting terrarium moss, and moving his water over the heat mat. And I'm hesitant on buying a humidifier, because I read that ball pythons are not too happy with an excessive amount of water in their tanks and also because of the price range.

Any help would be appreciated and would help me out very much! Thank you in advance! <3

[Zincubus]

Hi ... fear not you will be fine ..

After many years I’ve settled on a foolproof method of getting a perfect shed each time ..

I spray their vivs whenever I'm doing water changes and whenever I think about it BUT when mine go into shed I spray the viv EVERY day then as soon as their eyes clear and they get their colour back I start spraying a few times each day ... You'll probably find the messy , rolled up lump of skin UNDER his hide afterwards ) .

Note they get their colour back and the eyes clear a few days BEFORE the skin actually comes off .



May I ask what substrate you’re using currently.. ?

I only use Orchid bark ( maybe called Reptibark over in the states)


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[Tisiphone]

Hi ... fear not you will be fine ..

After many years I’ve settled on a foolproof method of getting a perfect shed each time ..

I spray their vivs whenever I'm doing water changes and whenever I think about it BUT when mine go into shed I spray the viv EVERY day then as soon as their eyes clear and they get their colour back I start spraying a few times each day ... You'll probably find the messy , rolled up lump of skin UNDER his hide afterwards ) .

Note they get their colour back and the eyes clear a few days BEFORE the skin actually comes off .



May I ask what substrate you’re using currently.. ?

I only use Orchid bark ( maybe called Reptibark over in the states)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Thank you so much for replying!
I use Cypress Mulch, and I do complete substrate change every 4-6 weeks. I found this to bring the humidity up for a short amount of time. I'm very open to switching substrates if that's what you're recommending! Also, I regularly spray down my tank, I have an exo terra glass tank with the metal mesh wiring, which is covered/sealed right now. But I check on my hygrometer around every hour, or when I walk by and shows it to be much lower than wanted. (I'm on summer break atm). And I spray that and I soak the moss in water and set it on his hot hide.

[Craiga 01453]

One simple fix...add a second or a larger water bowl.

Also, are you using the dial-style analog thermometers/hygrometers?? If so, they're unfortunately junk and wildly inaccurate. They can be inaccurate by up to 15° or 15%

I live in MA where it's typically not too humid outside of summer months. I never have to spray any of my enclosures unless I need to bump humidity during a shed, and even then I don't usually need to.

[Tisiphone]

I'm using an infrared thermometer, by urceri. But it shows the humidity, im not sure if this is a problem! Thank you for the help! I will do my best to run out before I leave and grab myself a hygrometer, any suggestions on brands? Along with suggestions for a water bowl, I'm not sure of his gram weight, but the sellers did inform me he was around 3 months old when I got him.

[Craiga 01453]

Bingo! I'm using a digital meter... Thank you for the help! I will do my best to run out before I leave and grab myself a hygrometer, any suggestions on brands? Along with suggestions for a water bowl, I'm not sure of his gram weight, but the sellers did inform me he was around 3 months old when I got him.

I use Accurite brand Thermo/Hygro combos. Many of the members of this forum do as well.
I get them from Walmart or Amazon for about $10 each. I have 2 in each of my enclosures.

For water bowls, I actually use plastic dog food bowls from Walmart. Less then a dollar a piece.
They are square and hollow underneath so double as a hide.
As for more "conventional" water bowls I unfortunately can't offer any suggestions.

[Tisiphone]

Okay! I'll go and check those out! Thank you!

[Craiga 01453]

Okay! I'll go and check those out! Thank you!

You're very welcome. Happy to help.

I've been using glass tanks since I started out in this hobby almost 20 years ago. So if you run into any problems in the future I'd be happy to help.