Dehydrated/underweight

[Homebody]

First off: We love our snake. We want to do what’s best for him. He is my sons most prized possession. So, anything we have done wrong has been accidental. Edited to add: he is 21 weeks old.

here are tank stats:

glass 20 long with mesh lid
88F on hot side with 92 basking spot, 78 cool side
Humidity: everywhere. Trying to keep 65% and failing. Keeps falling to 20%. Top is foiled. Put in a humid hide.

I started noticing about a week ago that he’s appearing thin to me and possibly dehydrated due to some wrinkles. Here’s how I think we got here:

1) when we got him from repticon, and being new at all of this, I asked the breeder what he ate. The answer was rat fuzzies. We went to the feeder booth and ordered rat fuzzies. Little did I know up until about 3 weeks ago, what they had labeled as rat fuzzies were actually really rat pinkies. So I think we have been unknowingly feeding him too little food which makes me sad. I ordered both some fuzzies and pups from perfect prey. They will be here soon.

2) humidity is an issue. It’s inconsistent despite our best efforts. Summer won’t matter. It’s hot and humid here. But, this winter is a problem.

3) mites. He came home with mites. We are still treating for them and have been since November. I haven’t seen any adult mites but we still aren’t using a substrate that can hold moisture. So, humidity again.

I soaked him today. He drank for a good long while and then drank again. I replaced him and he took a hopper mouse.

here are some photos of him so you can see what’s going on with his skin. Please comment on if he’s skinny, if he’s dehydrated, and what we can do to best help him. Photos with red hide are from today. The other ne was a week ago.

Regarding feeding, he doesn't look that thin to me. You've ordered appropriately sized prey, so keep feeding him what you have until that arrives. He should be fine on that score.

Regarding humidity, I always say if you want humidity to go up, put water in and don't let it get out. So, if you aren't already, you should mist frequently. Post a pic of your enclosure (particularly the lid) and I'll let you know if I see any additional ways you can keep the humidity from escaping. Humidity holding substrate will help too, but I understand your holding off until the mite treatment is done.