Tips on bringing up humidity?

[vjdragonfly]

I just bought my son a BRB for Christmas and I am having a hard time getting the humidity up. We have cypress as the substrate and spray the tank daily. We use a 60 watt heat light in a 10 gal tank with the top covered except where the light sits. The light also sits over the water to increase evaporation. The temperature under the light (on top of his hide) is 84. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. The poor guy had a very bad incomplete shed :(

[kwhitlock]

Ditch the heat lamp and get a heat pad with a thermostat. A good hotside is about 80-82, anything more than 85 starts becoming lethal. Also, get a humid hide. I have a small locking tupperware thing where I cut two holes in the sides for mine to get in and out, filled with dammp sagph moss. Hope it helps!

[vjdragonfly]

Here is a picture of the little one:
http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt322/vjdragonfly/254Diablo-December62013_zps49154e4c.jpg

[Jim Smith]

Because I have Honduran Milk Snakes, maintaining high levels of humidity is not as big an issue for me. That said, one of my snakes was looking a bit "dry" as she was preparing to shed the last time, so I put a plastic dish in her enclosure with loosely wadded up paper towels and about an inch of water in the dish. The paper towels continuously wick up the moisture up where it evaporates quickly. It seemed to work great and she shed just fine.

[lewis13]

I agree with what kwhitlock said. ditch the tank and get a plastic bin or steralite tub. It will keep humidity great and use the UTH as well.

[poison123]

anything more than 85 starts becoming lethal.

I doubt that. So long as you provide lower temps then any snake should be fine with basking temps over 100F. Not saying that the snake would use those temps but having the option to use it is not dangerous.

I've never kept BRB's so I'm not sure if they bask or not but I would use a 40W house bulb and raise to the basking surface to get the temp you want. What are you measuring himidity, basking and ambient temps with?

[CK SandBoas]

I doubt that. So long as you provide lower temps then any snake should be fine with basking temps over 100F. Not saying that the snake would use those temps but having the option to use it is not dangerous.

I've never kept BRB's so I'm not sure if they bask or not but I would use a 40W house bulb and raise to the basking surface to get the temp you want. What are you measuring himidity, basking and ambient temps with?

With Brazilian Rainbow Boas, you do not want to get above 84....especially with young ones.....they are a lower temp species....Adults are a bit more forgiving, but high temps can be lethal to babies......

[marvelfreak]

I doubt that. So long as you provide lower temps then any snake should be fine with basking temps over 100F. Not saying that the snake would use those temps but having the option to use it is not dangerous.

I've never kept BRB's so I'm not sure if they bask or not but I would use a 40W house bulb and raise to the basking surface to get the temp you want. What are you measuring himidity, basking and ambient temps with?
Temps over 85 are deadly for Rainbow Boas.

[poison123]

With Brazilian Rainbow Boas, you do not want to get above 84....especially with young ones.....they are a lower temp species....Adults are a bit more forgiving, but high temps can be lethal to babies......

I can see how having high temps can be lethal if the snake is forced to warm up with those temps and no option to use lower but I don't see how it is harmful if you simply offer it and the snake chooses to use it. I have heard the same story for many species but has been proven to be false imo.

[poison123]

Temps over 85 are deadly for Rainbow Boas.

Are you saying this because you've never seen a BRB use such temps or have you actually seen them die from such temps (basking temps with the option to use lower). I'm curious as to how its deadly. Are their scales not as thick as other boas?

[kwhitlock]

I doubt that. So long as you provide lower temps then any snake should be fine with basking temps over 100F. Not saying that the snake would use those temps but having the option to use it is not dangerous.

I've never kept BRB's so I'm not sure if they bask or not but I would use a 40W house bulb and raise to the basking surface to get the temp you want. What are you measuring himidity, basking and ambient temps with?

I'm going by what the two biggest BRB breeders that I know of told me and from reading numerous books, care sheets etc. doesn't make me an expert by any means.

My BRB spends most of his time on the cool side of his tub even now with the temp being ambient 68 on average. He will spend some time in his warm side where it doesn't get above 81. Even when he's digesting, usually in his cool humid hide.

Personally, for young BRB, I say no way to heat lamps. I'll never use one.

[poison123]

I'm going by what the two biggest BRB breeders that I know of told me and from reading numerous books, care sheets etc. doesn't make me an expert by any means.

My BRB spends most of his time on the cool side of his tub even now with the temp being ambient 68 on average. He will spend some time in his warm side where it doesn't get above 81. Even when he's digesting, usually in his cool humid hide.

Personally, for young BRB, I say no way to heat lamps. I'll never use one.

Thank you for the info. If these snakes do indeed prefer to bask at lwer temps then there is no point in offering high temps. But still wont hurt to offer, the snake would just avoid that spot.

[CK SandBoas]

I would still ditch the heat lamp, move to an UTH, move the baby into a tub, and you will see an increase in the humidity. Even if you don't move the BRB into a tub, put a plastic container filled with damp sphagnum moss on the hot spot in the tank, and that will help to achieve proper sheds....

[marvelfreak]

Are you saying this because you've never seen a BRB use such temps or have you actually seen them die from such temps (basking temps with the option to use lower). I'm curious as to how its deadly. Are their scales not as thick as other boas?
I have actually seen temps over 85 cause regurgitation in my male BRB. Plus i had a buddy cook his CRB when his air went out and his room temp spiked to 89 degrees. The cool end of the cage was around 92 for over 8 hours and the warm end 98.5. When he got home and found the air out the first thing he did was check is snakes. To find the male dead and the female near death. He lucked out on the female as she was smart enough to get in her water bowl.

[vjdragonfly]

Ty so much for all the wonderful advice, definitely will put it to use. It is good to know BRBs don't like as warm of temps, as mine is young. I was told they are very fragile up to a year old. So UTH is safe to use in plastic tubs? How do you control the basking temp.? I do have hides in both ends of the tank and s/he does use both. Again ty so much.

[kelzerman]

You can control the basking temp with a thermostat. It is really risky using UTH without a therm.

[Snakesitter]

Hi VJ!

The consensus opinion here is correct: temps over 85F can be lethal, and heat lamps are inferior to undercage or radiant heat panels controlled by a good thermostat.

Ironically, the bulb may be causing some of your issues: these bulbs tend to dry the air and make moisture issues worse.

Good humidity can be achieved even without a tub, and has four keys: a water bowl that maximizes surface area, a substrate that retains humidity but resists mold (orchid bark and coco husk are good choices), a moist moss hide, and an enclosure that limits ventilation with the surrounding room. The last one is the most important, as otherwise no amount of added humidity will stay in the viv where you want it.

Good luck, and please let me know if I can help further.

[Kid Boa]

You can also add a humidifier in your snake room. I run one to keep my room at 60% then let the tubs, substrate and water bowls do the rest and if the humidity drops I can always turn my humidifier up. :)

[Snakesitter]

I added one of those myself this year. I put between 2.5 and 3.0 gallons of water a day into the air.

[Kid Boa]

I added one of those myself this year. I put between 2.5 and 3.0 gallons of water a day into the air.

Yup, helps a lot. Canadian winters are hard here. My room humidity is only at 10-12% without my humidifier. :(

[vjdragonfly]

Definitely food for thought, guess I have some changes to make. Been tallikin about getting a humidifier (although our babies are in the living room with us, I like watching them). Is a cool air humidifier better or warm air. I used to have a warm air, but I remember someone saying they inhibit mold growth, I think it was my son's allergist. Thanks to you all again.

[Mikoh4792]

You wouldn't have much issues if you just got an actual snake enclosure. Screen tops = humidity and heat issues. I don't understand how new comers in this hobby still start out with screen top tanks for reptiles. It should have been outdated a long time ago.

[Rainbowsrus]

As a long time keeper and breeder of BRB's I can say most of the advice you have been given is good or at least close.

Glass tanks can work but need a few bandaids:

1) UTH with decent thermostat, I prefer a proportional t-stat. Tape the temp probe directly to the UTH. Set the thermostat at what ever temp you need the UTH to be to get the warm end to 80-82 degrees. Use a infrared temp gun to measure temps all around the enclosure. Start low and adjust up until you get the temps you want (unless the BRB is not in the enclosure while stabilizing)

2) Cover MOST of the top with plastic like lexan or plexiglass. Best is to have a piece cut to fit and drill a few holes for ventilation. (emphasis on "few")

3) Insulate three sides to keep the heat in as glass is a excellent conductor of heat. "Reflectix" works great, google it or look for it in the insulation section of your big box home improvement store.

I prefer a plastic box style cage as they work great for controlling temps and humidity.

Temps of 85 and above can be lethal to babies but not so much in a LARGER cage where the baby could move to somewhere cooler. Most people do NOT have a cage large enough to have a true basking spot AND areas in the cage cool enough to be comfortable.

A damp moss box works wonders as it helps humidify the cage AND provides a very humid micro-climate for the BRB to escape to.

Heat lamps do dry the cage out mostly due to the need to place them over screen, warm humid air rises and escapes out the screen being replaced by cool dry room air, vicious cycle that ends up with a dry cage. You need to keep that warm humid air in the cage.

[Rainbowsrus]

You wouldn't have much issues if you just got an actual snake enclosure. Screen tops = humidity and heat issues. I don't understand how new comers in this hobby still start out with screen top tanks for reptiles. It should have been outdated a long time ago.

Agreed but screen topped fish tanks are cheap and readily available. Also they work great for many species (those that do not require high humidity)

[Snakesitter]

...and it does not help that many chain pet stores unthinkingly stock and recommend them, regardless of the animal involved.

[vjdragonfly]

TY Rainbowsrus, I am going to buy s/he a plastic tub and a uth and do the moss box.

Thank you so much everyone for helping this beginner out.

[Mikoh4792]

Agreed but screen topped fish tanks are cheap and readily available. Also they work great for many species (those that do not require high humidity)

Yes but so are tubs. In my post I said screen tops = heat and humidity issues. So obviously those that don't need a lot of heat or humidity would work just fine in that kind of setup. But right now we are talking about BRB's.