Keeping humidity up? Help!

[Pixall]

Ok, so as some of you may know, I recently "rescued" a VERY skinny royal from the local Petco. She has taken two live mice of slowly increasing sizes(first an 18 day then a 25 day). They were feeding her one fuzzy a week at the shop, so I am trying to slowly bring her up to a reasonable size.

Anyway, she refused her last feed and then yesterday shed. In pieces. Oy. She has a large water dish(that would go dry in about three days if I let it!), repti-bark substrate that I dampen every few days, and a tank lid that the screen is about 75% covered to keep humidity in.

The humidity problem is only in the living room, though. When I had my corn in my office, she never had anything but a perfect shed, but when I brought her out into the living room, she shed in pieces. I could use some advice here, pronto-like!

[gambit_BP]

i was having alot of humidity problems myself for a wile with my BP. the heat in the winter would just kill it and the heat lamp would make it worst. so i actually bought a "Zoo Med Reptile Fogger Terrarium Humidifier", and a "Zoo Med HygroTherm Humidity and Temperature Controller". dude this is prob the best investment ive made for my snake. not only does it regulate my heat lamp but also the humidity in the tank. i work all day and really don't have time to keep watching it. now my snake sheds in 1 swoop and i dont have to worry if its humid enough for him. hope this helps...

[SquamishSerpents]

I find Repti-bark to be a terrible substrate for ball pythons. It's too dusty, and leaves little black chunks everywhere that I always get tricked into thinking is mites. Not to mention, it cannot possibly be very comfortable for them. Try switching to aspen (probably the best choice) or Eco-Earth.

Also, make sure you're using belly heat with a good thermostat, and NO heat bulbs or ceramic heat emitters.

The ideal suggestion would be to put your ball in a tub instead of a tank, as they're too difficult to maintain the proper conditions. In a tank, something is usually sacrificed, be it the proper heat, or the proper humidity.

If you don't want to use a tub, try an even bigger water bowl, and maybe put a tiny bit of the water bowl overtop of your under tank heater.

[SquamishSerpents]

Also I'd be very weary of mist + heat bulbs, because if any sort of moisture whatsoever gets on the bulb, it will burst into tiny shards. Not to mention too much mist will cloud up your tank with mineral deposits, and increase your chances of mold.

[Slim]

The ideal suggestion would be to put your ball in a tub instead of a tank, as they're too difficult to maintain the proper conditions. In a tank, something is usually sacrificed, be it the proper heat, or the proper humidity.

This.

[satomi325]

Try moving the water dish over to the 'hot side'. That will help.
You can also try making a humid hide to help with future sheds.

What are you using to cover the screen lid? You can try a damp towel.

[kitedemon]

Bigger water bowl and deeper substrate on the cool side (eco earth IMO) the deeper cool side substrate can be wet under the surface generating a large water reserve to slowly release. Tubs are ok at holding humidity but the big issue is heating them with out heating the room they are kept in. Hot side temps are easy but cool side and ambient air temps with tubs are hard, there are few options and the solution for 90% of tub users is to keep them in a room that is, or, is close to 80ºF. If you are able to do this they are a decent option if you cannot, they are a poor option.

[Slim]

Hot side temps are easy but cool side and ambient air temps with tubs are hard, there are few options and the solution for 90% of tub users is to keep them in a room that is, or, is close to 80ºF. If you are able to do this they are a decent option if you cannot, they are a poor option.

Really? I've never had a problem keeping proper ambient temps with tubs in a room temp of 74ish degrees.

I think 90% is a bit overstated...

Also, if you can't maintain ambient temps in the smaller air pocket of a tub...how can you expect to do it in a glass tank? Help me follow that logic.

[SquamishSerpents]

Really? I've never had a problem keeping proper ambient temps with tubs in a room temp of 74ish degrees.

I think 90% is a bit overstated...

Also, if you can't maintain ambient temps in the smaller air pocket of a tub...how can you expect to do it in a glass tank? Help me follow that logic.

I CERTAINLY do not keep my bedroom (aka snake room) at 80 degrees, and we have no problem with ambient temperature either!