Newbie beyond frustrated with heat/humidity problems

[CobraCatcher]

Hello all, found this forum due to our young BP having problems with her shed.

A little back story:
We bought her back in Christmas for our 13 year old son who loves anything that slithers, creeps, and crawls.

We bought this 'all in one' kit http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...AvailInUS%2FNo
and set it up according to the included directions.
We kept the humidity as close to 40% as we could, usually it averaged closer to 30 to 35%. The temps under the hot side hide were 88-95 when I used my temp gun. The ambient temp in the tank is 76+/- when the day light heat lamp was on, and it would drop down to 68-70 at night when the light was off.
She has never had a problem with eating, very content to be held, and all around just a great experience.

Then her shed arrived......

We let her do her thing during the shed. We didn't try feeding her, left her alone, and picked out the pieces as we found them in her tank.
However, she had started to show heavy wrinkling and had seemed to stopped shedding, but we could still see pieces hanging off of her snout and body. At this point we hit the 'net for help....

The first search result that came up was this forum.

We found that our humidity level is no where near what it should be for a shed.
We also found that our temps are not where they need to be.

We felt that we should address the temp issue first and then adjust the humidity to suit.

Thanks to the Serpent Merchant's thread on tank set-up, we are currently in the process of correcting our tank. Only missing the thermostat for the UTH, but it's been ordered and should be here Monday.

Several problems have come up so far.

When we use a 100watt infrared heat bulb, the tank temp stays around 81, but the humidity drops down to 29%. We have tried the wet towel on the top, misting the Aspen bedding (not sure how much is too much), wet moss in a tupperware bowl, all to no avail. The highest we could get last night is 45%, so we thought let it be, we'll start on it first thing this morning.

We woke up to a burned out heat bulb (didn't last 12 hours), tank temp down to 69 and humidity at 70%. The under hide temp is still 88+/-. We put in the white day heat bulb that came with the kit, the temp has reached 77, and the humidity is down to 47%. The last thing we want right now is a RI.

Sorry for the long post , but I wanted to get out as much info as I could.

Now to the questions.....

1) How can we increase the humidity and maintain a healthy level (40 to 60%) when using an infrared heat lamp?
2) Since it's almost impossible to hit 40%, how do we get it to 70% for a shed?
3) Since she has had no problems with the way the tank was before for almost 3 months, other than low humidity, should we even worry about any of this, and just go back to what seemed to work before and just soak her when she sheds?

UGHHHHH!!!!!

I'm sure I'll have plenty of other questions as I get this sorted out.

[Phantomtip]

Ok I used glass tanks for years. I use coco husk substrate because it holds humidity bettee. Bulbs suck the moisture out as fast as heat dries a skillet. Its that fast. You can cover 2/3rds of the top with foil just make suure both ends are uncovered and it isn't close to the heat lamp. You can cover the sides back and part of the front with blankets to try and insulate them, or get the cork board and put them in for insulation. Also if you're using a Tupper ware bowl for a hide wet down the moss well, wring it out them place inside the hide. The extra moisture will evaporate while using the lamp. Also do you have a digital thermo/hygrometer with a probe? Don't use the analog ones because they're notorious for being wrong and you could be frying your snake. You can soak your snake in warm water about half way of its body with a towel in the container your using. The towel is so it has something to rest its head on and to rub on. Then take a damp warm towel and let it slither through. Or try the damp pillowcase trick. Both work. I've tried both and prefer soaking. Do you have a water bowl in the enclosure?

[Chavo]

You shouldn't have to soak in the first place...I would ditch the lamp completely and trust in your UTH when you get that thermostat. What else do you have in the tank, and what kind of gauge are you using for temperature and humidity? Good luck!

[CobraCatcher]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, we have 2 probed thermometers and a stick on digital hydrometer. One of the therms and the hydrometer came with the kit. One therm is under the bedding under the hide, the other is hanging half way down on the cool side of the tank. The hydrometer is on the middle of the back wall of the tank.
We are going to get one of the 'all in one' probed digital Accurite's today.

Is there any other way to heat the ambient air in the tank that won't dry it out so fast?

[CobraCatcher]

Here's a pic to what we have:



The cover is currently off of the Tupperware container that has the moss in it, this pic was all that I had at the moment.

[carbn8]

I was having the temp problem as well, Not so much humidity. My set up is almost identical to yours. After doing some searches and asking some questions (on this site of course). I decided to move my girl to a tub, with UTH for a heat source on both ends. Hopefully ill have it all setup Monday.

Also, I found, insulating the out side of the tank helps a lot. I just waded a blanket in between the tank and the wall. I used what was hanging out to wrap the ends. I also added some cluter. I guess it absorbs and holds the heat. Again seemed to work.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

[bigt0006]

Here's a pic to what we have:



The cover is currently off of the Tupperware container that has the moss in it, this pic was all that I had at the moment.

How big is the ball python? That hide to the left looks way bigger then the one on the rite. The hide should only be big enough for him to fit in so that he feels secure

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

[Tragic Image]

I was thinking maybe the substrate looks a little thick.

im keeping mine down to about 1/2 - 3/4 inch. Especially over my UTH.

[CloudtheBoa]

As said earlier in the thread, coco husk (EcoEarth) is a life saver. It really is. Even with a bulb, you should be able to maintain humidity. I use my bedding as the sole source of humidity. I wet it enough to dark it, but not enough that it becomes cold and really dark. The heat will evaporate the moisture from the bedding as it warms. Then, you just mix in more water when the humidity gets ~10% below where it should be (that's the range I use at least, and haven't had a problem).

Also, the tub is a great thing. It will only cost a fraction of the tank set up. You can get a tub the same size as that tank (maybe shorter), for $15-20, and you'll only need to make small changes to it to secure it and allow air flow. Plastic is a much better insulator than glass (which almost 0), so your temps should naturally rise. Hope this helps.

[CobraCatcher]

Thanks everybody. What a process this is.

I was thinking maybe the substrate looks a little thick.

im keeping mine down to about 1/2 - 3/4 inch. Especially over my UTH.

I put in what the kit directions recommended, about 1.5 to 2" of bedding. Now that I know how dangerous the UTH can be to a snake, I'm glad we did that. Under the hot side hide, it's compressed down to about an 1". The temp gun is giving me readings ranging from 85 to 92 degrees on the compressed bedding surface. When the thermostat arrives, I will be thinning that area down to half to 3/4".

As said earlier in the thread, coco husk (EcoEarth) is a life saver. It really is. Even with a bulb, you should be able to maintain humidity. I use my bedding as the sole source of humidity. I wet it enough to dark it, but not enough that it becomes cold and really dark. The heat will evaporate the moisture from the bedding as it warms. Then, you just mix in more water when the humidity gets ~10% below where it should be (that's the range I use at least, and haven't had a problem).

Also, the tub is a great thing. It will only cost a fraction of the tank set up. You can get a tub the same size as that tank (maybe shorter), for $15-20, and you'll only need to make small changes to it to secure it and allow air flow. Plastic is a much better insulator than glass (which almost 0), so your temps should naturally rise. Hope this helps.

We are trying a different location for the heat lamp, over to the left side of the tank, and over the cool hide, we're hoping that it won't dry out the center so fast. The Pet store was all out of 100 watt infrared heat bulbs, so we could only grab a 75 watt one. I doubt that it will provide the needed amount of heat, but we're hoping....
I'm going to try the Eco Earth after her shed is over, that way we don't have to worry about pieces of scales laying around in the fresh bedding. That also allows me time to try out a couple of other ideas with our existing set up.
What are the chances of over wetting the Eco Earth and causing scale/belly problems to the snake?

My son would really like to make the tank work, as he likes the looks of the tank, and allows him to watch her as she moves about. But, I won't rule out a tub if I run out of ideas.