Tips for dry weather?

[EarthlyMaiden]

So, it would seem as though my dear Steve Rogers is starting to shed. (Eye caps are gone, but he's refusing food, acting a little skittish, especially considering how friendly he usually is, and his scales seem duller.)
Unfortunately for him, this winter has been ridiculously dry...and let's face it, this building isn't much better.
It's dry enough that I'm starting to get nosebleeds, and I know that poor Steve is uncomfortable.
I'm already running a humidifier and providing him with extra fresh water.
I'm living in a building with other people, and while most of my neighbors have been perfectly fine with him, I can't imagine anyone would enjoy me taking him into the bathroom to soak. I imagine that it would be extremely awkward for all parties involved, and it's probably against building rules anyway.
Anyone else living in a particularly dry climate? Any tips on combating the cold, dry winter air?

[Annarose15]

What is his cage humidity? This isn't something you should guess at.

How do you have him set up (screen tank top, tub, etc.)?

What do you mean that his eye caps are gone? Just that his eyes aren't blue anymore? You shouldn't soak a snake that is going into shed, it will actually create a bad shed where there otherwise might not have been one.

I use a room humidifier to keep the room ~30+%, but then rely on misting to achieve the rest of the needed humidity.

[Zuma22]

I'm combating the dry weather as well and it is definitely a struggle to keep the humidity comfortable for them. My normal male gets dents in his eyes with the low humidity, so I'm constantly spraying the moss in his tank to give him some moist areas. If he has the dents in his eyes, I'll soak him in warm water for a couple minutes just to promote hydration. You can also cover his tank with a moist towel as well. Just some ideas.

But, beware of spraying his enclosure too much, as you don't want ot overdo it and make him sick!

[LLLReptile]

I live in a dry area as well, and have had to cope with it for several species of reptiles. Ball pythons are relatively easy!

Add coconut to the bedding, and then get a jug of water - or at least a big glass - and dump the whole thing into the tank. My 36" long tubs usually take about 1/2 gallon of water when I add fresh water (about once every week or two). If you have a screen top, your tank is likely to lose humidity much faster than my tubs do, so you may find that the substrate dries out in a matter of days. If that's the case, just add more water.

It is a common thing I've seen among local keepers that they will spray the cage diligently, but not add extra water to the substrate. Since the substrate is starting out dry, it'll just absorb the water and then there's no excess to evaporate into the cage, so the humidity doesn't stay up. Your substrate should feel damp to the touch, not soggy and dripping with water, but definitely have the feel of moisture to it. I let the cage dry out almost completely before adding water again to make sure it's not too damp in there all the time, and I have perfect sheds and snakes with beautiful scales all over the place now. Took me a solid couple months to figure out a system that worked; with 20 snakes, some of them sensitive to being handled, I didn't want to have to soak them all every time they needed to shed.

You can also dunk the moss in a bucket of water so that it is completely soaked, then put it underneath a hide to create a humid hide. Putting a towel over the top of the tank after adding water to the cage also helps keep humidity on. Lastly, fill up a cup with boiling hot water, and then just set it in the cage while the towel is over the top - the steam will help fog up the cage and increase humidity. For obvious reasons, watch the boiling hot water so that the snake doesn't touch the cup or otherwise burn itself while the steam is fogging up your cage.

I find that just plain adding moisture to the substrate helps immensely, though.

-Jen

[Raven01]

You can also dunk the moss in a bucket of water so that it is completely soaked, then put it underneath a hide to create a humid hide. Putting a towel over the top of the tank after adding water to the cage also helps keep humidity on. Lastly, fill up a cup with boiling hot water, and then just set it in the cage while the towel is over the top - the steam will help fog up the cage and increase humidity. For obvious reasons, watch the boiling hot water so that the snake doesn't touch the cup or otherwise burn itself while the steam is fogging up your cage.

Do NOT do this.
Another BP,net use has found an ultra cheap ultrasonic humidifier.
After I bought the Zoomed one of course. But that got me looking around.

For Canadian BP owners
http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/in...c74/R-I3838812

For American BP owners.
http://www.cvs.com/shop/product-deta...r?skuId=737138


$30-$35 to completely eliminate the burn risk boiling water carries is money well spent and not much money at that.

[martin82531]

Do NOT do this.
Another BP,net use has found an ultra cheap ultrasonic humidifier.
After I bought the Zoomed one of course. But that got me looking around.

For Canadian BP owners
http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/in...c74/R-I3838812

For American BP owners.
http://www.cvs.com/shop/product-deta...r?skuId=737138


$30-$35 to completely eliminate the burn risk boiling water carries is money well spent and not much money at that.

Why do you say do not do this? With my glass setups, during shed, I put very damp moss underneath the warm hide and never had an issue.

Edit: posted too quick. I would not recommend putting boiling hot water inside the enclosure.

Edit x2: I'm really having a hard time comprehending the boiling water thing. Lets say you do it, watch the snake, snake goes for the water, you intervene, and in the hysteria, you both get burnt. It's not like water is going to stay boiling for a long period of time to have any benefit. Just a dumb idea all the way around.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

[anwhit]

Do NOT do this.
Another BP,net use has found an ultra cheap ultrasonic humidifier.
After I bought the Zoomed one of course. But that got me looking around.

For Canadian BP owners
http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/in...c74/R-I3838812

For American BP owners.
http://www.cvs.com/shop/product-deta...r?skuId=737138


$30-$35 to completely eliminate the burn risk boiling water carries is money well spent and not much money at that.

So, I was the person who suggested the CVS one, and yes, it works wonders, but that doesn't mean you can't do the other things suggested.

I was BIG on moss before I found the humidifier but my girl hates EVERYTHING having to do with water. (If I put damp moss in one of her hides, she would refuse to go near it). She was fine with little bits of moss around the tank until she got a piece of it stuck in her nostril, then she just- well, you get the point.

Different things work for different people.

[LLLReptile]

A hot cup of water will put off steam, which helps fog up the cage. If this is being done during the day, such as in the morning, the snake is usually asleep and is very unlikely to come out and put its face in a cup of hot water. I used to do this when I kept chinese water dragons, before I got ultrasonic foggers - it's basically just a faster version of putting a waterbowl on a heat pad. Water dragons are not the brightest of lizards and they didn't have any issues with a cup of hot water in the cage for 5 minutes to fog it up. I would hope most folks have enough common sense to manage not to burn themselves or the snake when doing this - and if it's an issue for you, then don't do it. Just suggesting something that used to work for me.

-Jen

[EarthlyMaiden]

Thanks all of you for your advice. Had to get him a new humidity reader, but it turns out his enclosure is actually less dry than I thought. A little bit under the right level, but it would seem he's much more comfortable than I! It actually makes sense, his vivarium is smaller than the room, it's easier to regulate temperature and such in there.
(And I've heard of snakes soaking before a shed or if the enclosure isn't humid enough...but seeing as Steve never soaks in his water dish, I suppose I might have jumped the gun a little.)
Anyway, after fussing around with heat and moving things around, the temperature gradient is back to normal and the humidity is at a decent level.

I offered him a smaller meal than he usually eats yesterday and he gladly accepted it, so it seems I'm in his good favor again. Phew!
That herp has me on a string. I'm like a nervous new mother.

[anwhit]

Thanks all of you for your advice. Had to get him a new humidity reader, but it turns out his enclosure is actually less dry than I thought. A little bit under the right level, but it would seem he's much more comfortable than I! It actually makes sense, his vivarium is smaller than the room, it's easier to regulate temperature and such in there.
(And I've heard of snakes soaking before a shed or if the enclosure isn't humid enough...but seeing as Steve never soaks in his water dish, I suppose I might have jumped the gun a little.)
Anyway, after fussing around with heat and moving things around, the temperature gradient is back to normal and the humidity is at a decent level.

I offered him a smaller meal than he usually eats yesterday and he gladly accepted it, so it seems I'm in his good favor again. Phew!
That herp has me on a string. I'm like a nervous new mother.

Haha, I know the feeling. I'm glad you got everything back on track, though!

But yeah, once I got a new humidity reader I was shocked to find out just how off the gauge was.