Problem with humidity (pictures)

[chz]

Hello fellow BP enthusiasts! I have had my BP for about 5-6 weeks now and I spoiled him with gifts when I bought him after I read one of those 70-100 page pet books they sell at each pet store. I provided a hot and cool side (as you will see in the pictures below). He has some nice greenery which he hangs around in from time to time, and seems generally happy.

About 1.5 weeks ago he shed for the first time since having him, and it came off in pieces. He still has a "stuck" shed on the left side of his face, covering one eye. Also a very small piece on his back which has seemed to fade over time. The relative humidity in his cage can go anywhere from 30-60%. Most of the day it will remain at 45-50. Now, from what I read, BPs need about 50% humidity at all times (60% when shedding). I simply cant think of a simple way to fix this. Right now I amd occasionally misting his cage (which Thor hates by the way.. seems to stress him out) and as you can see in one of the pictures, I put a clean wet washrag next to the heat pad on the warm side. Also there is a piece of particle board w hich fits over the top of my cage perfectly with just enough room for my light. I put it there to help keep the humidity higher. But nothing seems to keep it steady. The fluctuating humidity (down to 30 at its lows) is really bad on a BP, and I want to have this fixed ASAP. Sooo...

I would REALLY love to find a cheap humidifier that is ideal for what my needs are. Having it hooked up to a humidistat so it is automated would put the icing on the cake. So basically I have two questions that I'd really appreciate some answers to from all you BP veterans out there..

1. What is the simplest and most effecient way to fix this issue (besides a hide box with wet moss)
2. Where can I get some form of a small humidifier (keep in mind my tank is 20 gallons) and have it hooked up to a humidistat.

Right now I am so concerned for my BP. He seems so stressed at times. I give him a lot of attention and try my best to keep his living quarters in tip top shape. But this one thing is bugging me lately.

Also, if any of you look at my pictures and have any unrelated suggestions to modifying the decor/tank in any way, feel free to express those thoughts

-Nick

Click here for picture 1.

Click here for picture 2.

Click here for picture 3.

[BD1]

Get rid of the glass tank, would be my first suggestion. I had my BP in a 40 gallon breeder for a while and it was a nightmare to keep the humidity up. I also heated the cool side with a heat lamp, and then switched to a CHE, both of which sucked up any remaining humidity in the cage. I HATE tubs for snakes (my personal preference, although there is nothing wrong with them!!!) because I love watching them climb around and do snake things so I got an Animal Plastics cage with sliding glass doors. I was initially using the belly cable for the hot side and the CHE for the cool side but I was still losing humidity. I finally bought a Radiant Heat Panel (got mine from Pro-products) and haven't sprayed my cage since. It is the best heat source I have used so far, and it is mounted to the top of the cage so there is little to no chance of the snake getting burnt by lying on it. For a short term fix, maybe move the water bowl closer to the lamp, so as the water evaporates it will bring the humidity up, but then you will have to fill the bowl more. I also have a humid hide in my cage all the time, it is filled with moss and I spray it every once in a while. When I see my Ball hanging out inside it, I know he is looking for more humidity and I spray it down. Good luck.

Something else to consider, looking at the pictures, your thermometer is right below the heat lamp, so it is ALWAYS going to give a low humidity reading because the heat is constantly baking that area. I am not familiar with that thermometer, but I would try moving it to ground level, where the snake is. I don't see any wires for a probe coming off the thermometer either, does the therm. only register the temps directly around it or are there probes that come off of it for the hot side and cool side. Maybe consider getting one of the Accurites with the probe.

[Sunny1]

From looking at the pics, I would definately get rid of the light. I have my BP in a tank, I use an under tank heater connected to a thermostat to control the temp of the UTH. That light is definately sucking out all of your humidity. I would actually also lose that peice of wood on the top of your tank as well. Unless that wood is water sealed, then plain wood can also be a culprit in sucking out humidty from the enclosure. What I have done to my screen top to my tank is I used some foil, put 3 layers of it with the reflective side down on the screen part, and then covered it with duct tape. It shows you how to do it in this sticky:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=32800
Make sure not to cover the entire top, you still want some airflow in the cage. Others have used saran wrap with good results or even try using a damp towel on top of the cage.

I agree with BD1, I would get one of the Accurite thermometers. You can get them at Walmart, and they would measure the temp on both the hot and cold sides as well as the humidity. You want to measure the temps of the substrate and the ambient air temps much closer to the floor of the enclosure (as this is where your BP will spend the majority of its time). This is also covered in that glass tank sticky I posted a link to.

You should also get identical hides for both sides of the tank. As they may prefer one type of hide over another and you wouldn't want your BP to have to choose security over thermal regulating.

I hope this helps you!!

[chz]

BD1 I recently moved stuff around in my tank to accomidate the new home (I moved him from my house to my gfs). In the process the lamp was moved to the opposite side, which has resulted in incredibly high readouts of temp and low humidity. so I will switch that around. Your info is great, I will provide a humid box for now until I can get a high tech hygrometer/thermometer that will measure both sides of hte tank. Yes my thermostat measures the temp directly around it. WHen it was placed opposite the light, it was consistantly around 80-87 degrees F. So possibly I will just buy an identical one, and move then to the lower part of the tank on the hot/cool sides. Also I will remove the top cover and spray down the cage a bit more until I can get things going.

Sunny1, thanks for the great help. I will find this UTV light you speak of and remove my light. I will also follow the foil guide you provided me a link for. Seems ideal for my problems.

Thanks a million guys!

-Nick

[Sunny1]

Well it is a Under tank heater (UTH) not a light. But you will also need to get a thermostat to go along with it, otherwise the temps can spike on it causing your BP to get burned. You can get one of these (the under tank heater) at basically any pet store. And the thermostat you can order from reptilebasics.com or beanfarm.com . The link that I had posted goes over alot of that, and shows you how to use a thermostat and shows you the accurite (thermometer) that is good for both reading the temps as well as humidity.

[Sunny1]

Actually I was looking at your pics again, you actually already have what I was talking about (the UTH) but it is on the side of your tank. I would just try to gently take it off and place it at the bottom underneath the tank. But I would definately get a thermostat for it.

[Bright202]

Sunny1, thanks for the great help. I will find this UTV light you speak of and remove my light. I will also follow the foil guide you provided me a link for. Seems ideal for my problems.

Lol UTV, it's okay dude, we're all noobs at some point in our life, I would tottly recommend getting a herpstat and some flexwatt from www.beanfarm.com
Good place. Anyways I wish you the best of luck with your tank, in the mean time, I have to go to work
Good luck, and happy herping!

-Mitch

P.S yeah I know "happy herping" lol LAME

[chz]

Lol Bright, I was a little out of it when I was writing that response. I just re-read everything Sunny had to say and quickly realized that I misinterpreted a few things. Soooo. Yes I have a side heater, but it says on it "this heating element is not meant to be placed on the underside of a tank" or something similar.

So I will remove that STH and replace it with a nice UTH that will cover approx. one half of the tank. I'll get an accurite therm that you and BD1 speak of. Also I'm going to follow that guide you posted to cover the top of my screen with foil.

Sunny1, I do have one question for you though. You told me to get rid of my light. What should I replace it with? A simple fluorescent? Seems like I'm gonna have to figure out a new method to lighting my cage after i cover the screen using the guide you provided.

Again.. thanks everyone for the replies, and sorry for the noob response earlier.

[Bright202]

Lol Bright, I was a little out of it when I was writing that response. I just re-read everything Sunny had to say and quickly realized that I misinterpreted a few things. Soooo. Yes I have a side heater, but it says on it "this heating element is not meant to be placed on the underside of a tank" or something similar.

So I will remove that STH and replace it with a nice UTH that will cover approx. one half of the tank. I'll get an accurite therm that you and BD1 speak of. Also I'm going to follow that guide you posted to cover the top of my screen with foil.

Sunny1, I do have one question for you though. You told me to get rid of my light. What should I replace it with? A simple fluorescent? Seems like I'm gonna have to figure out a new method to lighting my cage after i cover the screen using the guide you provided.

Again.. thanks everyone for the replies, and sorry for the noob response earlier.

LOL noob response if good, now your learning and someone else will be a noob



http://www.pro-products.com/proheat.html
Try this out for switching the light, just mount it on top of the cage, and it will not burn the snake its a little pricey, but I assure you its worth it when taking off the STH slowly peel it off, trying not to bend it to much, check to see if it works and place it under the tank, but always connect it to a thermostat.
Hope this helps

Mitch

[chz]

Ok guys just to give you an update on the humidity problem:

I followed the guide which was posted above (3 layers of foil and duct tape)and it turned out beautifully. Rather than leaving a square opening for light/ventilation I simply used an exacto knife to cut a circle around my light fixture. I am very happy with the way it turned out. I will add some pictures in the morning (Thor has been bothered enough today as it is during the construction process). So far, my humidity is at a steady 61% (whereas it was at 30% before doing this).

I also removed the heat lamp and replaced the bulb with a 100 watt fluorescent. The only thing I have yet to do is move the UTH to the bottom of the tank.

It is so gratifying to see positive results from the work you put into keeping your BP happy. Thanks to everyone in this thread who pointed me in the right direction.

-Nick