i'm at my wits end...humidity is not staying constant (sorry its long)

[mommanessy247]

i know i've got another post going but i really wanted to start a new one cuz this is another seperate issue.
lemme just start by saying that the day before we brought my baby girl home (sunday) i had the humidity going inside her terrarium. granted its going unchecked at the moment because my stupid self forgot all about the accu-rite i needed to get...
come monday i misted throughout the day to keep the humidity going and misted 1 last time before the trip to go pick her up. we arrived back home at 2 am tuesday morning to my horror at finding everything all out of whack, temps were down, humidity was gone...so i misted the mulch again, fixed some of it to where it actually lets the heat through...
so since then the temps have stabilized as best as they're going to i guess and i've been misting the mulch, checking it every few hours to see if its drying out to where i need to mist it again.but...
the humidity is fluctuating like crazy - it's going from somewhat humid to not at all the next time i come in to check it no more then 3 hours later. there is a little bit of screen on the top of the terrarium but i've got that completely covered with aluminum foil.
but what the he** is going on?!
i'm seriously getting upset here cuz i'm really worried that the snake will get sick if the humidity keeps fluctuating like this. i've thought about using a humidifier in the room but we've never used one before and i dont know how they work exactly or if i'd need to constantly run it to keep the humidity at a constant level inside the snake's cage...
i know i really do need the accu-rite so i can know what the humidity is but there's just no way we can get one at the moment so i'm stuck with misting and hoping for the best.
MAN i feel so stupid now. kicking myself in the arse is not going to help the situation, i know but...
thank you all for being so patient with my numerous posts in the last few days.
i promise i will settle down when these issues are resolved.

[Maverick67]

what part of the country are you in? During the winter humidity is hard to control. When it gets cold out all the humidity drops out of the air and that sucks the humidity out of any snake tank as well. I found if you mist with warm water and cover the top with a hot wet/ damp towel it helps quite a bit. Also mist the terrarium then stir the substrate and mist again repeat this so its moist all the was through the substrate rather than just on the surface. Just have to try to stay on top of it this time of year.

[mommanessy247]

i'm in south carolina.
i am actually already doing that moistening the mulch and mixing it up. my bf says "your not supposed to mist it that much."
i just told him as long as its not soaking wet then it's ok.
i was about to ask...if i get a humidifier, which is looking like i might need to, do i get the cool mist one or the warm mist? i'm reading the reviews and trying to get an idea on how they work cuz like i said we've never used one before.

[Maverick67]

I don't think it maters if you get the cool or warm mist ones i have both in my apartment. personally i like the warm mist ones better they use less water and work more effectively.

[mommanessy247]

okee dokee. thx

[mommanessy247]

where in the room do i set up a humidifier? right next to the terrarium or...?

[Maverick67]

As long as you set it up near the terrarium it should be fine. The humidifier won't add humidity to the tank it will add it to the room and keep the humidity in the tank from dropping compleatly out. You will still need to mist and keep tabs on it.

[mommanessy247]

oh...i thought it would help with the humidity inside the terrarium...hm well then buying a humidifier is pointless if it wont do anything for the terrarium, lol.

[frenchy]

U can buy the humidife for the cage too they seel them specifectly for it

[ballpythonluvr]

You can defintiely try the damp towel on top of the terrarium. I have used this trick myself before for when the snakes are in shed and I have had great success.