Humidty Control Help

[CerbTheTridog]

Hey everyone,

Was wondering if anyone could suggest good tips for how to control humidity in my BP's cage. I have a terrarium with a screen on top. The humidity was basically 10% or lower, so I started moistening towels and putting them over, and spraying the inside of the tank to try to get the humidity up. He's having a bad shed, and I'm pretty sure its because of the humidity mixed with the dryness of winter.

Anyone else have any good suggestions for how to get humidity up to the proper levels? And maybe placement of humidity gauges?

Thank you all,
Cerb

[PghBall]

Unfortunately tanks and terrarium's do not hold humidity levels well. You can try covering 3/4 of the screen lid with foil. Also, are you using a heat lamp? If so those kill humidity. I would recommend you try to find a UTH (under tank heater) that will fit the size of your enclosure to use as your heat source.

[CerbTheTridog]

Unfortunately tanks and terrarium's do not hold humidity levels well. You can try covering 3/4 of the screen lid with foil. Also, are you using a heat lamp? If so those kill humidity. I would recommend you try to find a UTH (under tank heater) that will fit the size of your enclosure to use as your heat source.

I do use a day/night headlamp, and I have a heating pad under one side of the cage. I thought I was supposed to have hot and cold zones? Would a heating pad large enough for half the size of the cage provide enough heat throughout the day and night to maintain 83-93 degree temperatures while still providing a hot / medium / cool zone for my little Yawn to move back and fourth between?

[bcr229]

First, do you have a thermostat regulating the temperature of the heat pad so it doesn't get hot enough to burn your snake?

Second, a tank + a light will cause a dry environment very quickly, which is why people eventually ditch the tanks in favor of either a tub or a PVC enclosure designed for reptiles.

[CerbTheTridog]

I foolishly purchased a "starter kit" for this, which is the tank with the mesh top. I don't really fancy replacing it already, but I'm willing to put foil down on it.

I don't have a thermostat temperature controller either, but when I put my hand over the bedding over the heatpad, its very minimally hot. Like, it's warm but nothing burn worthy. Though it's starting to sound like the pad I have is not going to be sufficient, and the light I'm using is not a good solution either.

So, it sounds like I should get a much larger heating pad with a self-regulating temperature control, with a temperature sensor inside of the cage. I should then ditch the light (? Or is there an alternative for mimicing day and night for him?) and cover up most of the screen with aluminum foil to keep the moisture in (Or should I cover it all... which I feel would restrict airflow?)?

I'm very newbie at this, but I definitely want to learn. And I do enjoy watching him in the cage, and its cute when he watches me back. So I'd like to keep the glass tank (Though I did put plastic over three of the sides so only the front is open).

[Eric Alan]

I don't have a thermostat temperature controller either, but when I put my hand over the bedding over the heatpad, its very minimally hot. Like, it's warm but nothing burn worthy. Though it's starting to sound like the pad I have is not going to be sufficient, and the light I'm using is not a good solution either.

Yikes! If it feels warm to your hand on top of the bedding, it is far too warm for your snake. Think of it this way - at room temp, your hands are roughly 90°F. Feeling warm, means several degrees hotter than that. Which means that under the bedding, where your snake can still easily get to, is quite a bit hotter than that. That puts the temp there easily in the burn zone for a ball python. An unregulated heat pad is the most underestimated source of BP burns out there.

So, it sounds like I should get a much larger heating pad with a self-regulating temperature control, with a temperature sensor inside of the cage.

Nope. Just get a thermostat for your current heat pad and keep the sensor on the outside - you don't want your BP moving it, peeing on it, spilling water on it, etc. We can help with how to make sure it works properly. Also - remember that a heating pad is just for a hot spot temperature. They're not meant to heat the entire enclosure at all.

I should then ditch the light (? Or is there an alternative for mimicing day and night for him?) and cover up most of the screen with aluminum foil to keep the moisture in (Or should I cover it all... which I feel would restrict airflow?)?

The day/night aspect is far less important that making sure temperatures are correct. For most people, ambient light from a window in the room is enough.

I'm very newbie at this, but I definitely want to learn. And I do enjoy watching him in the cage, and its cute when he watches me back. So I'd like to keep the glass tank (Though I did put plastic over three of the sides so only the front is open).

If you haven't found it already, there is a fantastic write-up on how to set yourself up for success using a glass tank. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it's pretty easy to do once you're familiar with the basics. See here: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...With-Pictures!

Good luck!

[Coluber42]

If you browse the forum, there are lots of threads about how to reduce the amount of ventilation of a screen top to maintain humidity levels. IMHO, the easiest and safest is to use aluminum foil, because you can cover the entire thing except for where the lamp is and the lamp fixture can't burn or melt the foil if it is in contact with it. You'll lose humidity through any remaining surface area that is just screen, including where the lamp is, so you have to minimize that as best you can.

Don't be discouraged, even though people will be telling you to just ditch the tank. It really isn't that complicated to insulate it and modify the lid (even just covering it with foil) to retain humidity better, and basically once you get it all figured out you'll be good to go and you won't have to worry about it any more.

You might need to make adjustments come summer depending on the temp and humidity in your house.

Regardless, thermostats are important even though they don't come in the "starter kit". Under tank heaters can easily overheat because they are covered with substrate, which functions as an insulator. The heater stuck under a tank and buried in substrate can get way, way hotter than it would ever get if it were just sitting out on the table, and snakes can burrow or shove substrate aside and come in contact with that hot surface even if the top of the substrate isn't that warm. Even the snake's body can have an insulating effect. Thermostats cut the power when the set temp is reached so the heater doesn't overheat even if it is well insulated.

[melcvt00]

Right now I am maintaining humidity in mine well. Screen top covered in foil, except space for the CHE. Tank is inaulated on 3 sides with Reflectix. I have to get my UTH going because ambient on the warm side is 77-79. Hot side is 90. Humidity is staying 55-65%. I recently decided to give a towel for substrate a try, and there is a washcloth on his hide on the hot side that I change out every day that I soak with warm water and gently squeeze out.

My house is 68° with humidity at 45-55%.

More than one person here said to not do it because of smell, but I haven't had an issue. It's easy to change the towel each week. There has been no smell, and no issue with Malfoy's scales.

[kimmu]

It is possible to keep the humidity up in a glass tank. You just have to be creative and vigilant. Because my house is extremely cold, I do have to have a heat lamp run 24/7 to keep ambient temps up, as well as two separate UTH on their own thermostats to keep the current belly heat temps. So this dries things up even more. I finally got mine sorted out by covering the screen lid with foil to start with. I've insulated three sides of the tank with insulation foam. I have two water bowls in the tank to have more water surface area. I use newspaper for substrate since I did not have luck with coconut coir - turns out it makes me break out into hives. Yay random allergies. I also have sphagnum moss that dampen once a day in the tank, as well as a third water bowl that I keep a damp wash cloth spread out over. I pick out the soiled moss and toss it and replace it. The washcloth gets washed. She's yet to soil the washcloth, but I bought a bunch of them so if it does, I'll just toss any that do.

Doing this gets my humidity up to 60% pretty quickly, I dampen everything before bed, and it lasts throughout the night and next day until I dampen again.

[Yzmasmom]

I use tanks with screen tops. We cover the tops, except the areas the lamps sit on, with packing tape or saran. This maintains humidity fine in spring and summer but fall and winter we run a small room humidifier and that keeps it perfect.
In sheds we use moist sphagnum moss and then mist if needed.