Humidity

[tiny_tiger60978]

Hey...I had a glass tank with the same problems (as far a humidity). First off, heat lamps will dry out your tank, so that should be first to go. Second, ball pythons need a UTH (under tank heater) because their bellys need to be around 85'F to help them digest. Heat rocks will burn them, esp if not put on a thermostat because they will come in direct contact with the (really) hot "rock". I put my UTH under one side of my cage and have a couple inches of Aspen Snake Bedding on top. Measure the temp on top of the bedding. (Also, be careful with a UTH because if your snake burrows under your bedding, the glass at the bottom of your tank CAN be too hot and burn them. Again, counteract this with a thermostat.)

As far as humidity : like I said above, loose the heat lamp. Ball Pythons like belly heat MUCH better. You can do a couple of other things as well...get a different substrate that holds moisture better WITHOUT MOLDING. (Aspen Snake Bedding is notorious for growing mold quickly if not kept in check. I'm sure other ppl on this site can reccomend a good substrate for this.) You can keep misting, but like you said it doesn't really stay humid for a long period of time. If you have a mesh screen top on your tank, put something like foil over 3/4 of it. (Heat and moisture will escape from the top of the tank, that's why when ppl have too high humidity, they put more holes in the top.) I will say that I made the switch to plastic tubs instead of tanks and have never had another humidity problem, so you might consider that as well. (You can get a plastic storage tub at walmart and burn air holes in it.) You could also try to put a soaked sea sponge in the tank. This will still need to be dampened every now and then, but lasts longer than misting.

For your Crowded tank problem I will say this : I only have hides, a water dish, and ONE tree branch in my tubs. I put the branch (approx 2-3 in. thick) in there in case they want to climb, but really, my girl never has. (I also use the sea sponge trick when she sheds to bump the humidity from 60-70% to +80%.)She's way more interested in sleeping all the time in a hide than going out and "playing" with stuff in her tank. If your bp really likes to climb or something, I'd say leave something in there (though maybe not as much). If they aren't really interested in all the stuff, take it out. Or you could take care of 2 problems at once - Get a big tub. More room for all the decorations, no more (or at least fewer) humidity problems.

Good luck, and I hope this helps (even if it is kinda long winded...)