im new to all of this i need help

[Lacey]

ok im new to having a pet snake. i am going to start from the beginning in hopes that someone will help me out. i bought a snake from a person that mistreated her. shes very malnourished. i took her from this home to make a better home for her. shes a very calm snake, never shown any aggression at all. they fed her once every 6 months and told me themselves that she just will not eat. since i have had her for the last month she has ate 5 times for me with no issue. even taking frozen/thawed from my hand.

so here is my story. i went to the pet store. i bought a 40 gallon breeder glass tank. aspen chips 2 hides red heat lamp a UTH with thermostat a thermeter/hydrometer bowl all the trimmings. i installed everyhting red light over the hide. hide in the cold side with her water. i but my humidity gauge on the glass in the center both ways on the glass. i started having humidity issue so i switched to cypress mulch. every day and threw out my day i wet her substrante to keep it in the mid 50's. she started to develop this flaking of her scales. i with not reallying knowing alot just thought it was from the leftover owners not taking care of her. week later her scales are brownish colored all over her. i take her to a vet a soon as i was able to which was the next day. i was told they was mites. so i went home with my medication and i threw away everything and cleaned everything. not knowing that u can see mites i though they was micro sized. at this time not knowing how i got them i have switched to frozen rats and eco earth coconut fiber bedding. through the course of a few days her scales are getting worse. i went back to cypress mulch cause the coconut fibers were messy and lacey started to develop this desire to dig all day. since i have had her she never dug. now its like the new big thing. so in fear of the fivers getting clogged in her snout i went back to mulch. few days ago this brown stuff was acually scale rot.... ive been keeping all the flooring damp and moist even inside her hide. issue is my meter reads 50-60% and the temp in the mid 80s fearing that im screwing this up the vet told me to get aspen shreddings and clean her tank and get it dry. so i did that. how here is my issues

1 did i place the humidity gauge in the wrong place on the glass? i currently have it leaning on her hide right now.
2 did i mist to much causing this issue
3 now that im using aspen shreddings i cant keep the humidty up anymore. i have a piece of plexiglass on the lid right now
im very scared to mist the tank now even when the gauge says its 40% i dont want to cause her more issues but i know it needs to go back up

right now she still eats like a champ and shes great to take out of the cage she moves all over her cage and house with no care in the world it seems.

and i forgot to mention that i stopped using aspen mulch in the beginning cause she got alot in her mouth and couldnt get it out i had to take it out for her is why i went to other stuff.

could someone please help me with this issue. my house has central air so its cool in the house so its harder to keep the humidity in. if its safe to use a different substance for her flooring let me know such as cypress mulch. i just think ive put to much thought into this layout and screw it all up in the process. and yes i know glass cages are not great. but i currently do not have a way to get other stuff like a pvc cage.

[Scottywelsh]

First of all never go back to that vet that couldn't pick up that the snake had scale rot !
Misting the tank is not a problem. The problem is having wet substrate, especially in the hides.
The easiest way around this is to switch from a glass tank to a wooden or plastic viv which holds humidity really well with no need for wet substrate.
In the UK you can get a 4ft x 1ft wooden viv for about £40 which is pretty cheap (not sure where your from).
If you don't want to change then there are quite a few things you can do.
Cover as much of the mesh top as you can with tin foil or something similar.
Switch to my personal favourite substrate which is bark chips. It holds humidity very well without being wet and releases it over time rather than all at once. Mist the top of the substrate, mix it together and then Mist it again. Does not need to be wet just misted if that makes sense lol.
Get a load of sphagnum Moss. It's is a God send for humidity problems. Have some around the outside of the inside of the viv and then put a little in the corner of her hides when she goes into shed for a little boost. Seriously it is good stuff and alot of people use it day to day.
Move your water bowl to the hot side or get another water bowl with a large surface area and put that on the hot side.
As for the hygrometers I have mine about 2 inches above the substrate in the middle of my vivs
But remember that they are pretty much always wrong.
Do the "salt test" on your hygrometer to check how accurate it is and then go from there.
good Luck

[Alexio]

What type of hydrometer are you using digital or analog?
I personally would recommend the vavarium electronics thermometer/hydrometer. It has a probe you place and it very accurate. There is also the acurite brand of thermometer/ hydrometer also digital I use some of these as well they can be purchased from many hardware stores or be retail stores.
Basically everything Scotty said is true, your problem is you have things wet, as opposed to humid.
Including pictures would help a lot but it seems like your just going to need to cover your setup.
I use paper towels and have a water bowl and I have never once misted or put any water inside (except for changing out the water dish) . Once you find (make) a suitable top for tank you won't have to use so much water to create the humidity you need.

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[Lacey]

well i apparently can not put a picture in a thread yet. im guessing its cause im new to the forum. best way i can discribe it is its a 40 gallon tank it has 2 half long hides that have been modified to be one entrance hides. one big piece of wood to rub on and her water bowl. the hydrometer/temp meter is a acurite from lowes. it sits on the floor right up against her hide where she spends alot of her time. im relizing that i had her substance to wet from seeing the humidity levels in in the upper 40s with aspen shavings and there dry as a bone.. the mulch i had it damp and would stick to the snake. but i was going by the meter that i must have had in a bad spot. totally my fault and trust me ive lost sleep over it already. i realize that a tubberware box would be alot better just that isnt a option right now. do they make a PVC tank 40 gallon that looks like glass? if so are they good and where can i get it. if i am safe to mist whats the proper way to mist how many pumps where do u spray at? i was just wetting everything including inside her hide. ive been so worried that she would get sick or die that ive been getting up a few times between the night go check on her set my alarm for 3 hours later go check again. i must add that ive been out of work for a while now and this is probley why ive focused all my attention to this snake. its something to care for and do through out my day.

im trying to lay the tank out to make it look more like a place she would be in if she was outside. so i didnt wanna use tupperware hides and turned over cool whip bowls. since last night i have put 2 small kfc bowls with wet moss in the cage. one on the hot side and one about middle. seems to help i might need bigger bowls to add a little more. if anyone has ever had a small mac and cheese from kfc u know how small those containers are. i dont want it sitting on the substance ive now to overly worried of her ground getting wet again and getting sick on me.

reddit doesnt really offer alot of help. more people just whining and cutting u down. so i came here for the help

am i safe to go back to cypress mulch or should i stay with aspen shavings?
what is the proper way to mist and how much( how many pumps)
will the scale rot clear up on its own with no meds ( very mild)

thank for all the help so far i can tell im going to love this forum and as soon as im aloud to post pics ill get some here

[Scottywelsh]

I've never delt with scale rot but there are some home remedies on this forum so would be worth looking for it or starting a thread about home remedies for scale rot. Other than that a vet visit is more than likely needed for some cream or something.
As for misting it's going to vary massively from person to person and what spray bottle you use.
If I had to guess in my 4ft long vivs I mist the substrate 6 times and then mix it and then lightly mist over the top of the substrate again. Probably 10 times in total and that's once every other day because I don't need to boost my humidity much.
With the exo terra viv I started with it would be exactly like above but twice a day or more instead of every other day. . You can't wet aspen much as it will mold so if your going to need to be misting alot then you'll need a different substrate.
While she has scale rot your gonna need to keep her on dry substrate until she is healthy, news paper, paper towel, that sort of thing.
I'm sure there is a tone of information on scale rot on this forum so have a quick search and you'll find everything you need. Or like I said if you can't find anything start a thread on it.
Good Luck

[Lacey]

thanks alot for your help. yes im trying to keep it dry cause she has the rot going on does that mean i ignore the humidity levels till shes better and just keep it dry? or just make sure its not damp like before? im really nervious about going back to other substances for her flooring if i go to cypress just dont mist it 4 times a day then

[Scottywelsh]

Is it at all possible to put your snake into a plastic tub just for a couple weeks to make sure she heals tidy ?
Won't have to worry about keeping it dry then while she heals.
Doesn't have to be fancy. A tub, paper towel, uth, thermostat, 2 hides and a water bowl.

[Lacey]

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[Lacey]

no its not really a option but i check on her alot shes clearing up very well since i switched bedding to the aspen. shes not moist if that makes sense before she was wet to the touch and u haveto wipe off the substance off before taking her from the cage. so far the only issue is keeping the humidity up in the mid 50% with out misting every 2 hours holds well at 45 though. ive been told that 40s is still ok for her but im not sure about that. so i been keeping it between 40-60 % just by looking at my picture i finally figured out to post anyone have any other options?
i also just went and bought a bigger water dish too

[Lacey]

i have been trying for 2 days now to keep it about 50% and the humidity is gone before u know it even with the tank covered on the top with plexiglass cypress mulch was the only substance that i found that holds the moisture. should i go back to that and just not mist it as often as i was since i was unaware of what the humidity levels were at ground level?