Question :)

[AmandaJ]

Re: humidity I've got a plexiglass cover on top of my screen, and a damp towel under that in addition to the two moss hides. It's working better, i.e. not drying out so quickly, since I moved to a lower wattage bulb in the heat lamp (whew). I also insulated the tank with black foam core on 3 sides yesterday. It was slow at work so I just went in the back -- I work for an architecture firm and we've got all kinds of crazy foam core scraps tossed around -- broke out the box cutter, and went to town with the measurements I'd taken Tuesday evening. I've got it held on with a wide strip of black elastic that I sewed into a GIANT rubber band. It looks pretty good -- I'll get pictures

All that said and my general glassy craftiness aside, the regular misting thing will just get really old, really quickly outside of the security issues (and nose rubbing -- I can't have his nose get messed up, poor baby). I sent my husband the link to the Pro-Line enclosures, and tonight when I'm feeding most of the slithery herd he and I will discuss a permanent location for the Young Sir and his eventual ginormous enclosure. I just need to find the right words to explain to him that sooner is better than later, and that we need to prioritize this in terms of spending.

If he mentions the expense in light of a couple pair of new shoes I might have sort-of kind-of recently acquired he may have to move to the couch for a night or two.

I wonder if a smaller footprint with a shelf is an option? I haven't seen it mentioned much outside of the ConstrictorsNW pages to be honest, and it's more random curiosity than anything. I'll donate whatever floor space is required to make sure he's well-housed; admittedly, if I can get away with a smaller footprint then that would be great, but if I'm not going to make a large snake live in a tiny space. That's just unkind and irresponsible.

@Kali -- thanks! He's a cute little guy, from what little I'm allowed to see of him. At least his coils are adorable?

@Yar -- thank you for looking that up! I'm off to check it out to see if there are any more tweaks I can make to keep him comfortable in his current digs

[AmandaJ]

Update: Here's his tank as it's currently outfitted. The small snake in question is camped out in the hide (and not the humid hide for once!) on the warm side of the tank.



Note that the giant snake hook in front of the tank is for when the boy is a bit larger I have a smaller one for use at his current size. Also, the Starbucks coffee stirrer is temporary -- anyone with words enough to explain to my husband "Small snakey have GIANT muscles!!" in terms that he'll hear rather than thinking I'm just over-worried, please share them with me -- I'm all ears

[Gio]

Update: Here's his tank as it's currently outfitted. The small snake in question is camped out in the hide (and not the humid hide for once!) on the warm side of the tank.



Note that the giant snake hook in front of the tank is for when the boy is a bit larger I have a smaller one for use at his current size. Also, the Starbucks coffee stirrer is temporary -- anyone with words enough to explain to my husband "Small snakey have GIANT muscles!!" in terms that he'll hear rather than thinking I'm just over-worried, please share them with me -- I'm all ears

I think your tank is so small the light is totally frying your humidity. If you use cypress for a substrate or coconut that might help. The setup itself looks good, but in Florida if you are having humidity problems its gotta be that light.

I have my son's Royal in a 40 gallon so the light is 18" above the floor with a big water bowl on the cool side. The towel covers half the tank and its under the Reflectix. You just need a cypress mulch.

But really get the plastic tank you'll love, love it!!

[hypnotixdmp]

The good news is you are in Florida so you'll be ahead of the game with humidity and temps during the summer months. I wish there was a way to edit these posts after the fact. I misspelled things terribly on previous post.

IM IN FLORIDA AND ITS GREAT!!!! lol

[AmandaJ]

I think your tank is so small the light is totally frying your humidity. If you use cypress for a substrate or coconut that might help. The setup itself looks good, but in Florida if you are having humidity problems its gotta be that light.

I have my son's Royal in a 40 gallon so the light is 18" above the floor with a big water bowl on the cool side. The towel covers half the tank and its under the Reflectix. You just need a cypress mulch.

But really get the plastic tank you'll love, love it!!

We'll be getting a plastic enclosure for sure. I love the ConstrictorsNW stuff from what I'm seeing, and frankly I'm just not spending the next quarter century misting this little dude which is what keeping him in an aquarium would take!

Plus, he's not a fish.

That said, I have a thought for a stopgap while we put aside the rest of the funds for the ProLine: I've got a 40 gallon breeder screen top (freebie from a friend) that's empty. I wonder if that would help with his humidity, just having more volume? My big concern with that is that he's such a baby (3 months old max -- about 3/4" diameter from what I can remember/what he's permitting me to see ) I don't want him to feel all stressed out with the larger container. I know I can clutter it up with things, and am just concerned that it would still be too overwhelming for him.

Also, because I overthink, do I need to get fake plants from an animal-oriented shop, or is it okay to just hit up the local craft store and pick up something cute?

Balancing the space issue with the environmental issue... ack! My brain hurts.

Add to this the horrific wound I suffered last night when my female BP tagged me (all two miniscule drops of blood worth -- I clumsily got between her and her food, genius that I am) and I swear I'm headed for a nervous breakdown

[bcr229]

I would ditch the light as it's overpowering that small tank. Rotate the hide on the humid side 90 degrees and push it toward the back of the tank (assuming your UTH goes back that far), and move the water dish to the right so it sits on the UTH as well. Leave just enough room so the boa can sneak in and out of the hide. Those ceramic water containers are awesome, once they warm up they radiate heat nicely and keep the water warm. Just keep an eye on the water level as it will evaporate very quickly, which is what you want to keep the humidity up.

You can either cover the top completely with a larger piece of plexiglass and drill a few air holes for ventilation, or a cheaper option is to cover it with Glad Press & Seal and leave a corner open on each side since you know this is a temporary enclosure anyway.

I would hold off on the 40 breeder until your little guy is bigger. I have two older BOA's in 40 breeders set up as I described above with cypress mulch as substrate, and have no problems retaining humidity even in the winter.

[Gio]

I have found some of the pictures of my 40 gal. in this thread.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...question/page2

It's worth a read. You should have no problem if you use it until the plastic cage comes.

I use a 75 watt infrared bulb and its hook to a Herpstat II as is the UTH.

[WifeOfSlasher]

You could get a dimmer for the light and a temp gun to dial in the temp from the light. That will help with humidity while maintaining temps.