what do people think about brian gundy's humidity recommendation ?

[distaff]

I remember watching that Brian Gundy video and found it confusing too. Northern California tends to be humid.

I've been thinking about humidity a lot recently. New Mexico is dry, and my native "dry" Sonoran Gopher and Rosy Boa have been kept in dry glass tanks, Reptichip substrate. However, in the wild, these desert snakes spend most of their time under rocky sheltered areas, near the damper ground. They (Rosy Boas excepted??) venture out mostly at night. The thing about the Trans Pecos specifically, is they really need good ventilation if they are to remain healthy long term in captivity, and if tubs are used, the tubs should be drilled on the sides. Rhodes says these snakes can and do thrive in even FL humidity; they just need good air exchange.

Back to BP's, this is likely what Brian Gundy was getting at, but he explained it in a confusing way; he said, damp air breeds bacteria. Well, damp stagnant air breeds bacteria. Also, he wasn't taking into account his own mild climate, and he wasn't addressing the many BP owners who struggle with dry stuck sheds. He just shows his own box of complete intact sheds, and says, "Don't worry about humidiy." Well, that is NOT the experience many others are having , and it's NOT helpful!

After reading Rhode's The Complete Suboc, I decided to take Rhode's advice, and offer a humid hide to the Trans Pecos Rat and my other two "dry" snakes. I chose the usual plastic "Tupperwares" that were suitable sized for each snake, cut a hole three times the snake diameter, and stuffed the thing with moist "Forest" moss. Basically standard advice for BP's in dry atmospheric conditions. My snakes do spend time in those,and the Rosy has actually stopped cruising. (I was getting concerned for her - she was testy, she wanted something, and I wasn't sure what was needed.)

So, my take on this is: when in doubt, offer a humid hide. Then, you don't have to worry so much about accurately measuring humidity.