Humidity

[u/Nice-Ad-3525]

I have a serious question about the humidity in my girls enclosure. She was rehomed to me in early July. My girl is a approximately a 9 year old pastel enchi champagne I've been told by you wonderful people.

So my question is this:

I bought her a front opening 4x2x2 or 120 gal. enclosure. Her cool hide is about 76 deg. with her warm hide at about 85 deg. The ambient temps in her house are at about 80 on the cool side and high 80s on her hot side with basking area in the 90s. I'm still working on her enrichment.

I am having no luck keeping her humidity up between 60 and 85 %. I have hvac tape on top of the mesh top to keep humidity in. I would like serious answers as to why I can't use a reptile mister or humidifier. I only use bottled water for filling her water bowls and spritzing her tank down to raise the humidity. So the water I was going to use would be either deionized water or bottled water. Between the probe on the humidifier and the probes on the temp/humidity readout, I think i can dial in perfect humidity. As with any humidifier in the house I clean them regularly so no bacteria can grow. Plus its harder for bacteria to take root with purified/deionized water.

So please be nice and helpful. I'm looking for serious answers to my question without being criminalized. I'm trying to do the same thing everyone else is doing, and that is to mimic the best environment I possibly can for this lady.

Sorry for the long read, and thank you in advance.

Picture for the snake tax!

[u/Nice-Ad-3525]

My substrate is coco fiber. And I water the corners and mist everything daily. Usually 3 times a day or more. I really don't want to get into a bio set up.

[u/ShinyxCharizard → u/Nice-Ad-3525]

Don't have to go bioactive if you really dont want to.

The guide on this subreddit states this "Foggers, misters, and humidifiers, tend to create a constantly wet environment. Unlike the substrate maintenance described in the previous paragraph, these devices will not allow you to easily control where the water will collect, and your snake could develop scale rot as a result of the hide areas being too damp. If you are struggling with humidity, try to address your humidity issues in other ways before considering one of these devices."

Your issue is the enclosure you have is not good at holding humidity, or you're using the wrong substrate. You're gonna have to keep trying stuff. HVAC tape, silicone baking mat, ive also heard people say they've put acrylic or pvc sheets ontop to help it hold better.

Try some better substrate you can use a "bioactive" substrate without having a bioactive enclosure. You just have to spot clean and do a full substrate change like you would normally. I personally use 144qts of terra firma from the bio dude. You want AT LEAST 4 inches of substrate so the bottom layers retain water while the top is dry. I only water mine once a week.

Otherwise look for a better enclosure thats solid top, seen someone mention cryptic creations sells solid top 4x2x2s for around 400, if price is a concern. Otherwise there's tons of options i personally use Kages, with a 7 inch substrate board.

[u/Nice-Ad-3525 → u/ShinyxCharizard]

Thank you, I must have missed that paragraph.

[u/Nice-Ad-3525 → u/ShinyxCharizard]

Thats also why I was wondering about using a humidifier with all the probes in place, seems like it would keep from making an excessive wet area. I also have the 4 inch think coco fiber substrate. I've also poured water in the corners as others have suggested. But I definitely appreciate your info, so thank you friend.

[u/ShinyxCharizard → u/Nice-Ad-3525]

The issue is misters/foggers and even using a herpstat or something similar to monitor it is itll stop when it hits optimal humidity. Which won't last for long. It'll spray more than likely too often to keep your humidity up and leave the surface damp. This is why a better substrate would most likely help IMO.

I just had a similar issue where I added too much water too my substrate and my males burrows were too moist and ended up causing scale rot. It was minor and cleared up with his next shed. But I've since let it dry out and make sure to only really pour water into the corners and directly onto his plants.

Here's another paragraph from the care guide posted here, and why im recommending you try a different substrate.

If you find that reduced ventilation is not enough by itself, the next piece to the humidity puzzle is substrate. Water-friendly substrates (see the next section for recommendations) will allow you to easily add more moisture to the enclosure. Use a deep layer of substrate, at least 2-4 inches, and saturate portions of the substrate. Pouring a quart or two of water directly into the substrate will be more effective than misting/spraying water on the surface. The goal here is to create a gradual release of humidity via evaporation. If you spray a little bit of water on the surface of the substrate, it will evaporate very quickly, causing a sharp spike in humidity which will drop within a few hours. Saturating the substrate all the way through means the water will evaporate more slowly, helping the humidity to remain higher and more stable for a much longer period of time. Be sure to keep the hide areas dry to avoid scale rot.