Humidity help

[LYDIA]

How do u keep humidity constant.
I can get it up to 50, but 10 minutes later its back down to 20-25.
I have a 20 gallon.. And its the dirt stuff that expands when u add water.. I dont know what its called, I think its made out of coconut stuff tho. And I have moss I the cage and a large water bowl. I completly soak the dirt in 1/2 the cage, amd wet all the moss and it says its at 50, but 10-20 minutes later it drops back down to 25..

[mainbutter]

show us some pictures of your setup and we'll stand the best chance of helping you out!

I assume you have a screen top. If you haven't already, try covering 3/4 or so of the screen with saran wrap or aluminum foil.

[LYDIA]

Let me take a picture and try to figure out how to post it on here.. Lol. One sec.

[LYDIA]

[mainbutter]

Part of the issue: heat lamps zap humidity like no tomorrow. I use one, but I keep it on a rheostat and don't run it at full power.

I can't see your screen top, I have to emphasize covering the screen top partially(let some air flow be present), helps keep humidity in.
and more moss wouldn't hurt.

[LYDIA]

i took the screen top off so i could clamp the light on to make it bright to you could see the stuff in the cage. i dont normally use that light, i have a ceramic one that gets it up to 80.
then i have a under the tank heater thing on the right back corner under his hide so im guessing its hotter than 80 in that corner..
i soak the left side of the cages dirt. and am constantly misting down the hole cage.
should i just set foil on the screen on the the left side? or do i need to glue it down?

[mainbutter]

What I did on my screen was just put foil flat over the metal screen part of the top, with a little overlap onto the outer plastic edge of the screen top. I then used a little bit of plain scotch tape to tape the foil to the outside of the cage.

A note on tape: you don't want any tape in the snake's cage, even just a tiny bit can surprisingly prove a hazard for snakes and other reptiles.

I use a CHE, and I put foil over 3/4 to 4/5 of the screen top, leaving a small rectangle on one side uncovered, which is also where I put the heat lamp. Lets me use a heat lamp for heat when needed, and it also gives a bit of airflow while still keeping much of the humidity in.

With a completely uncovered top, all the humidity rises quite quickly out of the tank.

[LYDIA]

alright. ill give that a try in the morning. thanks

[Ponthieux]

when i was using a tank with a screen top i had a piece of vinyl sheeting that i got at walmart. i didn't actually attach it to the screen so i could easily adjust how much of the screen top was covered by vinyl.

[starmom]

I think that your substrate is too thick to allow much heat to come up through the bottom. What are you using to measure your heat and humidity? Also, do you have a thermostat controlling the UTH?

Be careful about keeping the substrate too thick as it can lead to scale rot.

Here is a great information sheet regarding setting up a glass tank house for a ball python: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=56846. I strongly urge you to read it through a couple of times as I am certain that you'll be able to pick up a few tips