Lowering Humidity

[TanyaL]

Hello!

Since getting our bp in December, I have had to keep a constant watch on humidity, spritzing often, or using other means to keep the humidity level up where it needs to be in our 20L tank. (She has shed 3 times, all of which were perfect) Since completely cleaning our her tank and replacing the substrate last night the humidity has gone through the roof! Late last night or early this morning it was in the high 80's. Because of the previous problems with keeping humidity up, we had the top of the tank covered so of course I removed that immediately. That only brought it down a percent or two. I removed the large water dish and replaced it with a small one. Again, only one or two percent difference. What can I do to bring it down to the correct level? Right now it's at 82%!!

We were using Zoo-Med bark but switched to Exo-Terra bark because that was all that was available. Could the different brands be making that much of a difference? I've heard that those living in Florida have no problem with keeping humidity up but until this point, I did. Nothing in the house has changed and we do have the a/c running so the house doesn't feel humid at all. What other concerns should I have, can it cause an RI or anything else? Any suggestions on what I can or should do? Should I take her out and put her in her feeder tub for the time being until I can get the humidity stabalized? If I need to get rid of the substrate, I'll do that but I won't be able to replace it until tomorrow at the earliest. We do have some aspen and zoo-med repti-bark left but it's not enough to cover the bottom of the tank. Would it be ok to mix the two together? I don't know if this is wise or not, so that is why I'm asking first. I could switch over to newspaper but I'm worried about the heating pad getting too hot.

We also replaced the bulb last night that is used to keep the cool side temps up. We went from a 50w red to a 50w black bulb. The light is on right now and it doesn't seem to have an impact on the humidity at all. Well, at least it's not bringing it down like I thought it would.

The only other change was that we added a background to the back and cool side. Of course, it's on the outside of the tank. But, I can't imagine that being the cause of the problem.

I'm really worried that we are opening ourselves up to other problems with this humidity being so high. Please, if you have suggestions, I'm listening! More important though, I don't want Foster to suffer for our stupidity or lack of knowledge.

Thanks!

[icygirl]

I am assuming this tank has a screen top? Also what kind of heating do you use during the daytime?

In my experience, a glass tank with a screen top and heat lamps usually has LOW humidity... have you double checked that whatever hygrometer you're using isn't malfunctioning (i.e. put an extra one in there to double check that it's correct)? If it is indeed the hygrometer that is wrong, it could save you a lot of trouble by just replacing it.

Also, have you compared the humidity inside the tank with that in your house? If your house humidity spiked without you noticing (due to weather changes), this could have an impact.

[starmom]

Good idea about checking the hygrometer to make sure it's working well!
You can mix substrates no problem. If the change in substrates is the only variable that has been changed, then I guess I would attribute the humidity change to that. I's mix the substrate with some aspen.
How's the weather down there? Has that been changing?
Take care

[TanyaL]

Thanks for the reply!

I don't have a way to check that my accurite is measuring the humidity correctly but I did verify the temps with a heat gun. So, I'm assuming that the accurite is working properly.

The top of the tank is mesh. (Sorry, forgot to mention that)

For heat, I have a UTH on the left (warm) side and a bulb on the right (cool) side. Both are on 24/7 and controlled with dimmer switches. The background is on the back and cool side which is also where the accurite sits.

Absolutely nothing else has changed in the house or with the tank (that I'm aware of). Our house temp is 77 and comfortable.

Is there another way to check the humidity levels to be sure the accurite isn't flaking out?

[starmom]

Ya know, it just sounds to me like it's the substrate since that's the only thing that has changed.
See what happens when you mix it with aspen....

[TanyaL]

Good idea about checking the hygrometer to make sure it's working well!
You can mix substrates no problem. If the change in substrates is the only variable that has been changed, then I guess I would attribute the humidity change to that. I's mix the substrate with some aspen.
How's the weather down there? Has that been changing?
Take care

The weather is absolutely beautiful right now! It's not too hot, not too humid and a nice breeze to top it off. I couldn't tell you what it's been like the past few days because I sleep during the day and awake at night (Thanks to my son's night terrors, I'm on night watch).

Could it be that this substrate is just holding more moisture than the other? I would think that it would dry out after a day or so. Am I correct in thinking that? My concern though is what do I do in the meantime? Is there any health concerns with the humidity being so high? Is this what I should expect for living in Florida? This is our first snake and since we got her in December, we have not had to deal with the Florida humidity.

What do you recommend that I do? Should I mix the other substrate or cross my fingers and hope that the levels come down? I gotta do whats right for Foster

[TanyaL]

Good idea about checking the hygrometer to make sure it's working well!
You can mix substrates no problem. If the change in substrates is the only variable that has been changed, then I guess I would attribute the humidity change to that. I's mix the substrate with some aspen.
How's the weather down there? Has that been changing?
Take care

Aspen going down....I'll post again in a bit on what effect it has.

THANKS AGAIN!

[alyssa_lennon]

I live in buenos aires, argentina, humidity here is always around 80% /82% and sometimes higher, many people here succesfully keep ball pythons despite the incredibly high humidity... the breeder I bought my boy from has over 50 ball pythons and some of them are over 20 years old... I am not telling you to keep the humidity at 82%, but while you fix this problem, I don't think Foster will get ill or anything...

[Inknsteel]

Are you sure that your Accurite didn't get water spilled on it or get peed on or something? If you have the UTH hooked to a dimmer, you shouldn't have to worry about the UTH getting too hot. Just turn it down! I would recommend dumping the substrate and switching to plain white paper towels and see what effect that has. If you switch out to paper towels and the humidity still reads that high, I'd say either it suddenly got ultra-humid in your home or that the accurite is malfunctioning... I don't think that your bp will suffer for it, unless the high humidity gets mixed with low temps, then you could be at risk for RI.

[TanyaL]

I live in buenos aires, argentina, humidity here is always around 80% /82% and sometimes higher, many people here succesfully keep ball pythons despite the incredibly high humidity... the breeder I bought my boy from has over 50 ball pythons and some of them are over 20 years old... I am not telling you to keep the humidity at 82%, but while you fix this problem, I don't think Foster will get ill or anything...

That is comforting to know!

I didn't have as much aspen as I thought so instead of mixing it, I just spread it out on top of the bark. When I removed the hides and water dish, you could see where it was sitting and you could see where she was laying because of what looked like sweat marks.

Right now, the humidity is down to 79%! Hopefully it will keep dropping.