I'm finally about to make use of my rack, and I have some last minute husbandry questions.

1. Do I need to provide a hide in the rack tubs, or no? I'm using sterilite 41qt's, the measurements are about 35"L by 16"W by 6"H

2. How much substrate should be used? I have about an inch of loosely packed (read: dumped and spread) zoomed shaved aspen. More, less, or fine?

3. How often should I mist to maintain humidity? I have 3 small holes on the front and back of the tubs with 2 on each side. I'm a stickler about my humidity levels since I've had problems with sheds in the past.

4. I picked up some nice heavy ceramic water bowls at the dollar store. Does it matter that they're patterned? They're big enough for an adult to comfortably coil around, they were quite the deal, and I find them charming. This is a silly question, but I really want to be sure I do this right.

With the current set up and a very fresh mist, The ambient temperature in the tubs is around 80, the hot spot is 90, and the humidity is hovering around 80-90% though I just misted the bedding about 15 minutes ago and I'm expecting it to drop some.

This last part is kind of unrelated, but how long do I wait to feed a new snake again? I'm getting a new snake tomorrow with the day after being feeding day though I'm not planning on offering him anything for another week at least, but I've had my new baby since Thursday and I don't remember exactly how long I should wait. I'm leaving on business tomorrow so my husband will be taking care of my snakes, but I'd really prefer to get some food in the little one before I go.