humidity issue

[tom112089]

hello. I am sure there is something on this site about humidity, but i wanted to post a question with my exact setup numbers. I have the exoterra low 24X18X12 enclosure. i use cypress mulch for bedding and i have a large water bowl and hide. i covered and taped plastic to 3 of the 4 screens on the top and had a ceramic heat emitter. the temperature was great always between 75 and 85 depending of the room temp. the problem was the humidity would never get above 50% when i sprayed the enclosure and would gradually drop to 30% within a few hours. so i added some new zealand sphagnum moss, covered the 4th screen, cut a few small holes in the plastic, and replaced the heat emitter with a heat wire under some of the tank.
now for my main question. the humidity has been between 75 and 80 for the past few hours since i redid the enclosure. i have a couple holes in the top and only taped half of the vent on the front but the sides are still fogging up and my hydrometer right now reads 84 so i just opened the doors to release some of the humidity. i don't want her to get sick. is this going to be a problem? i know the humidity will lower over a few days but i just want to know if shell be ok till then.

thanks
tom

[The Serpent Merchant]

75% - 85% humidity won't harm your snake as long as there enough air flow into/out of the cage. The parts of Africa that BP's come from stays in that range most of the year.

Is 85 degrees the hottest part of the cage? because if so that is too cold.

[tom112089]

yes. its hard to keep it up in the winter. the problem is if i use a heat emitter, i cant cover the top and vice versa. the wire is a 25 watt one should i get the next size up? what is best to use to keep in humidity and keep heat up

[The Serpent Merchant]

How cold is the room that the cage is in?

You really need to have one side of the cage be 88-92 degrees and the other side be 78-82 degrees. Proper temperatures are more important than humidity

Check out this thread for info on all of the different types of cage heating:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers

[tom112089]

its low 70s in my room. it seems if i go back to the heat emitter the temp will be right but humidity will be under 50%. if i stay with the heat wire humidity is high but the temp is too low. i need to be somewhere in the middle.

[Artemille]

I use a larger exo-terra with all of the top but a 6x6" square open where my 60w ceramic heat emitter is right above it. I also use a UTH at the same time. The humidity directly under the CHE will be much lower, but the humidity in the hides and right at snake level stays high enough.