Humidity

[cierahailee]

new to this. what should my humidity level be, and what is the best way to keep it consistent, or to raise it?? please help.

[ohyeahnow]

You should try and maintain humidity between 50 and 60%. During shedding raise it to 60-70%. If you are having trouble with humidity make sure to provid a humid hide, at least when shedding. Not knowing your cage it is hard to give specific advice. I use apen bedding and mist it whenever humidity drops and keep humidity between 50-60%. If you have an aquarium cover part of the top with foil or plastic wrap. If you are using a lamp this makes it harder. My aquarium has a lamp, and my top is wrapped with reflectix as is three sides. After doing this I had to cut "doors" in the top to open after misting to allow humidity to not build up to much.

[starmom]

You need to share what the snake's environment is: type of enclosure, heating, current temps and humidity, etc.
With information, we'll be able to give you helpful suggestions!

[cierahailee]

right now he is in a 20 gallon terrariam with a mesh top. i have the heat lamp on one side, not sure what wattage, ill have to check, and a black light on the other that i turn on at night. the substrate is wood chips that i bought for him when i bought my whole setup. the temp stays around 80 - 85, and the basking area is around 90 or so. my humidity was staying at around 50, but now its dropped to around 10 or 20 and i cant keep it up? please help me here. any info is appreciated.

[starmom]

Read this: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=56846.

I would be inclined to close up the top of the tank, change the substrate to aspen, and purchase an under tank heater so that your lights don't zap the humidity anymore. Remember that you'll need a thermostat to regulate the UTH.

[cierahailee]

ok, i placed a piece of foil over one side and got it back up. do i need to mist the tank to keep the moisture in there, or what? im using douglas fir bark, it is what came with the setup i bought. is that not very good? they also steered me away from the under the tank heaters?? dont know why though. with the under tank heater, will i still need the top lamps? do the heaters come with a thermostat or how do i do that part. im sorry to be asking so many questions, im just new have spent alot of money already on this for me to do something wrong and have something happen to him.

[starmom]

UTH's do not come with a thermostat.

I don't know the room temps that the snake tank is in and so I don't know if you would need supplemental heating; probably not if you got the right sized UTH.

I would switch out the bark and go with a thin layer of aspen.

And lastly, since we're talking about changing your entire set-up (always a drag but most pet stores are notorious for handing out poor advice while taking consumer dollars) check out these reptile cages: http://www.reptilebasics.com/2x3-Cag...h-p-16286.html.

[cierahailee]

ill probably go down to petsmart and grab a heater then. how would i hook up a thermostat to it? is the douglas fir bad, or just the aspen is better? and as far as room temp, i keep my house around 73 to 74.

[ohyeahnow]

UTH's do not come with a thermostat.

I don't know the room temps that the snake tank is in and so I don't know if you would need supplemental heating; probably not if you got the right sized UTH.

I would switch out the bark and go with a thin layer of aspen.

And lastly, since we're talking about changing your entire set-up (always a drag but most pet stores are notorious for handing out poor advice while taking consumer dollars) check out these reptile cages: http://www.reptilebasics.com/2x3-Cag...h-p-16286.html.

If the UTH does not supply enough heat after you redo your set-up I can explain how to make a top that will hold in ambient temperatures, and humidity if you still need a light. You will probably be ok with the correct size UTH and aspen bedding, make sure to mount the thermometer probe and t-stat probe where the UTH is mounted so the glass will not get too hot.

[starmom]

ill probably go down to petsmart and grab a heater then. how would i hook up a thermostat to it? is the douglas fir bad, or just the aspen is better? and as far as room temp, i keep my house around 73 to 74.

An unregulated UTH can burn your snake. I would caution you to not hook it up until you have purchased the thermostat! The site of the link I offered for the cage also sells many types of thermostats. RBI is a respected business and offers outstanding products and customer care. I encourage you to check them out!