Help! Can't get the set up correct

[wilwarin712]

I just brought my new little girl home yesterday afternoon and she's in very deep shed, so I need to keep the humidity higher than usual, or so I've read. At first I had one of the 10 gallon uth pads on the side of the tank in the back right corner, but it's heating the whole tank evenly, so there's no gradient. I just moved it to the back of the tank to see if that would help develop a gradient. I'm also having a problem keeping the humidity high. It keeps dropping to about 30%. I went and got my old aquarium lid and put it over top of the screen top I already have to see if that would help some. I have her water bowl in there, too, but it doesn't seem to evaporate much at all. Any suggestions?

[RoyalGuardian]

I would suggest going out and buying tubs instead of a glass tank. Glass is harder to keep humidity in than plastic but I'll admit they arn't showy. You could try putting some foil over part of the screen lid to keep some in. I would NOT however use any kind of sponge as they can house bacteria and all sorts of iky nasties. Hope this helps!

[wilwarin712]

I would suggest going out and buying tubs instead of a glass tank. Glass is harder to keep humidity in than plastic but I'll admit they arn't showy. You could try putting some foil over part of the screen lid to keep some in. I would NOT however use any kind of sponge as they can house bacteria and all sorts of iky nasties. Hope this helps!

How would you heat the tub, though? Would I have to buy a rack with that? Cuz the uth says not to use it with plastic, I thought.

[starmom]

You would heat the tub with flex watt.

Lets work with what you have going on...
-Put foam board or rigid insulation around the sides of the tank. Not only will it help to hold in the heat, but it will also provide an added sense of security for the snake!
-You need to have the UTH controlled by a thermostat or, if your environmental temps do not differ by more than a degree or two, you can get a rheostat.
-You need to foil or plexi the top of the tank for heat and humidity.
-Placing damp sphagnum moss into each of the hides will help a lot right now for the shedding process.
-Place a shallow and large surfaced bowl of water near the hottest part of the cgae floor. This will help with evaporation.
-Mist the cage with water to help bump the temps up.

If you are successful with this-- kudos!! If not, here's a link: http://www.reptilebasics.com/2x3-Cag...h-p-16286.html

[Jay_Bunny]

^ What she said. Also, put the water dish near the uth to get it to evaporate faster. I would use the foil method by putting foil around part of the lid to trap in humidity. Its not attractive looking but it will help.

(By the way, I forgot to give you that aspen I had left. Sorry about that. )

[wilwarin712]

You would heat the tub with flex watt.

Lets work with what you have going on...
-Put foam board or rigid insulation around the sides of the tank. Not only will it help to hold in the heat, but it will also provide an added sense of security for the snake!
-You need to have the UTH controlled by a thermostat or, if your environmental temps do not differ by more than a degree or two, you can get a rheostat.
-You need to foil or plexi the top of the tank for heat and humidity.
-Placing damp sphagnum moss into each of the hides will help a lot right now for the shedding process.
-Place a shallow and large surfaced bowl of water near the hottest part of the cgae floor. This will help with evaporation.
-Mist the cage with water to help bump the temps up.

If you are successful with this-- kudos!! If not, here's a link: http://www.reptilebasics.com/2x3-Cag...h-p-16286.html

I'm at work right now, but first thing tomorrow I'll try the foam board/insulation and the moss ideas. Those sound really great, thanks! I do have the uth on a rheostat at the moment. I wanted a thermostat, but I couldn't find one smaller than a 50 gallon tank. When I called the pet store, she also suggested using plastic wrap over most of the tank and just leaving a couple inches open at one end for ventilation. Will this work and be safe? I do have a water dish in the tank, but it's not next to the heater. I'll try rearranging the hides so I can get the dish closer to the heater and see if that helps. And I'll continue doing the misting if I still have issues. Thank you so much for the advice!

[wilwarin712]

^ What she said. Also, put the water dish near the uth to get it to evaporate faster. I would use the foil method by putting foil around part of the lid to trap in humidity. Its not attractive looking but it will help.

(By the way, I forgot to give you that aspen I had left. Sorry about that. )

That's ok, little sis. I found these reptile safe carpet things at petsmart earlier to use in place of the paper towel I had, and I got really excited cuz I read about them somewhere and it seems like they work well. Plus, it seems easier to clean up than the aspen bedding, too. Maybe when she moves up to the 20 gallon eventually I'll switch to the aspen. Is there a benefit with aspen over the reptile safe carpet I have right now?

[starmom]

A thermostat is not rated for tank, cage, or tub size. A thermostat regulates the heat source. Without proper regulation, temperatures can swing wildly and that is never good!

Check out the thermostat FAQ section on the Reptile Basics site here: http://www.reptilebasics.com/Thermostat-FAQ-sp-10.html. These are the thermostats that Reptile Basics sells: http://www.reptilebasics.com/Thermostats-p-1-c-250.html and also . Rich at Reptile Basics is a terrific guy and is very available to answer further questions after reading the FAQ.

These t'stats are also top notch: http://www.spyderrobotics.com/products/index.html. Dion is also terrific to deal with and is available for questions.

[starmom]

That's ok, little sis. I found these reptile safe carpet things at petsmart earlier to use in place of the paper towel I had, and I got really excited cuz I read about them somewhere and it seems like they work well. Plus, it seems easier to clean up than the aspen bedding, too. Maybe when she moves up to the 20 gallon eventually I'll switch to the aspen. Is there a benefit with aspen over the reptile safe carpet I have right now?

Aspen can be thoroughly tossed after each pee and/or poo. Snakes pee A LOT!!
Carpet tends to harbor yuckiness and breed yuckiness. That's just...yucky!!!

[wilwarin712]

A thermostat is not rated for tank, cage, or tub size. A thermostat regulates the heat source. Without proper regulation, temperatures can swing wildly and that is never good!

Check out the thermostat FAQ section on the Reptile Basics site here: http://www.reptilebasics.com/Thermostat-FAQ-sp-10.html. These are the thermostats that Reptile Basics sells: http://www.reptilebasics.com/Thermostats-p-1-c-250.html and also . Rich at Reptile Basics is a terrific guy and is very available to answer further questions after reading the FAQ.

These t'stats are also top notch: http://www.spyderrobotics.com/products/index.html. Dion is also terrific to deal with and is available for questions.

Ok, I was a little confused cuz the thermostat I found said that it worked well on tanks 50 gallons and up. And I didn't know about that problem with the carpets. Even if you change it often and soak it in water to clean it out, it'll still have those problems? Will it make her sick?