Tips on humidity and other stuff

[honey.bee.]

So I recently adopted my ball python, Dexter, and I was wondering about a few things-

1. I smoke weed (about once a day), his tank is in my room where I usually smoke but since I got him I have been doing it in other parts of the house. However, I'm getting a new roommate who doesn't smoke and I would like to keep it in my room from now on. So the question is, could I smoke in the same room he's in? It is a larger than average sized room and extremely well ventilated (I never hotbox) and they would be at opposite ends of the room.

2. Can I get a few tips on how to keep up humidity? I've finally got his temps perfect with a ceramic heater on a rheostat but now it's drying out faster. I have to spray down about 3 or 4 times a day (my reptile mister broke yesterday so I'm using a spray bottle I usually use for my succulents).

Thanks in advance for the help!
Anna

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[honey.bee.]

3. This is my only ball python and will most likely not get another one, do I still have to worry about mites? He didn't come with mites but I was just wondering if it's possible for him to get any even if I don't bring any other reptiles in my home.

[royalreilly]

1. I personally would not recommend smoking anything with your BP in the room. The respiratory system of a reptile is much more delicate than the respiratory system of a human. For snakes specifically all of their organs have to be kind of weirdly set up to fit, lol. I've never smoked so I have no first hand experience, but I've heard that it can possibly have a role in giving reptiles respiratory infections. If I were you I'd try to keep the smoke far away from the little noodle. Maybe I'm just paranoid but I won't even light a candle in the room with my BP.

2. Ceramic heat emitters really do just suck up any moisture... I have one too and it can get pretty annoying. A spray bottle will work great as long as you continue spraying multiple times a day. I eventually started using a cool mist humidifier with a timer on it to regulate my humidity, but spray bottles are a lot cheaper

3. Unfortunately mites can show up later on... My first snake came with no visible mites but apparently there were eggs under his scales... A few weeks into owning him *poof* suddenly mites appeared. I don't think this is incredibly common, but it unfortunately can happen. It's not really that big of a deal, they're just a nuisance to get rid of. Other things that can possibly transfer mites would be things like visiting reptiles at a pet store, going to a reptile convention, etc. If your BP is pretty new I would just keep an eye on him for a few weeks. You most likely have nothing to worry about though!

I hope everything goes well with you and your new snake! And hopefully the new roommate too, haha

[Bogertophis]

I'd recommend that you never smoke in the same room as a snake...not weed nor any other smokes...they only have one functional lung, and heaven only
knows what inhaling a bit of weed would do to them. Do have a care...

You shouldn't have to worry about mites if you only have one snake & it didn't come with any. It's possible but unlikely that you could bring some home from
a pet store or someone else's snake on your clothing or in reptile bedding (-as some have claimed), but before you declare your snake mite-free, know that if
you just got him recently, mite eggs can still be present & hatch out mites in about 30 days, so remain vigilant.

Keeping humidity in a tank requires you to cover most of the screen top with some sort of material that is impervious to air flow, such as foil, a piece of plexi-
glass, tiles, or plastic wrap. Restricting air-flow is how the plastic enclosures maintain humidity, so you need to mimic that. Some substrates also hold the
humidity far more than others.

[bcr229]

Generally you don't smoke, spray aerosols, burn incense, or even use those Scentsy things anywhere near your snake. I won't have any of that in my house, never mind my snake room.