Need help with humidity control

[Keinelust99]

Hi I need some help and suggestions with humidity control in my
boa's enclosure , I use a radiant heat panel hooked up to a thermostat to keep the enclosure at 86f with the basking spot at 91f ,
the promblem I am having is the humidity it gets to dry in there
I have a cool mist humidifier which I modified to pump into the enclosure
but I have to run it on the lowest setting all the time to keep it between 60% and 70%. I would like to know if you guys can recommend something like a thermostat for the humidity like the herpstat which I could control both
I will be upgrading the enclosure soon to give her more room so I'd like to start buying equipment to prepare for the new one

[trailblazer295]

What kind of enclosure? Glass, wood, pvc? What are you using for substrate?

[Keinelust99]

enclosure is melamine and sealed , substrate is expensive outdoor carpet

[bigsnakegirl785]

Yeah the sort of info trailblazer is asking for will be tremendously helpful, we can't help you with what you've given us.

[Keinelust99]

sorry for the huge delay in replying, but I'm new to posting here and all my replys have to checked by a moderator first, so the enclosure is 4 1/2' by 2' by 3' so its 3 feet tall 2 feet depth and 4 and a half foot long, the heat source is a large radiant heat panel the enclosure is melamine and sealed with aquarium silicone with front sliding and locking glass, the substrate is outdoor carpet the thicker kind not the cheap plastic one, I have a few fake plants as she destroys anything real i have tried, the ambiant temperature is 85 to 86 with the basking spot at 90 to 91 . and thank you guys for your replys

[Keinelust99]

This is the enclosure

[trailblazer295]

Could try putting the water dish under the rhp, that will evaporate more water. Also a moisture holding substrate like cyrpess mulch would help. A automated misting system for a boa would be overkill.

[Keinelust99]

ok next time I'm out ill pick up some cypress , I used it in the past but wasn't a big fan
the humidifier is just to keep the humidity proper I'd like it to only come on when it needs the extra boost I try and keep everything at all the proper levels ,I will for sure make some changes on the next enclosure I make. this one suited its purpose but just not big enough anymore

[trailblazer295]

I use Cypress for my boa and BP. It requires moistening every few days to a week depending what your home conditions are like. Winter is worse for me, summer I find it's a lot eaiser to maintain.

[Keinelust99]

Yeah same thing with me, I'm in Quebec lol

[Keinelust99]

what kind of enclosure are you using for your boa if you dont mind me asking?, luckily I am now able to respond faster lol

[Andy_G]

Is that astroturf, Keine? Definitely better alternatives out there.

Also...it is definitely an option to move water under or over a heat source to raise humidity, but this will accelerate micro-organism growth, so be mindful to change your water and clean the dish more frequently if you plan on doing this.

[bigsnakegirl785]

I much prefer EcoEarth myself, I can easily keep up 70-80% humidity in my 6'x2'x3' wooden enclosure, but it's way overkill in my T12 PVC enclosures.

So, switch the bedding, maybe block off any extra ventilation, put a bigger water dish, and maybe that will help? ReptiCarpet is hard to sanitize and doesn't do much of anything for humidity.

I did just get cypress mulch for my two new rainbows' tubs because sphagnum moss and EcoEarth are molding, even though I've doubled the air holes. So I guess I'm about to find out how good it is. It's the same sort of wood bedding as ReptiBark, but I'm hoping it holds humidity better. When I used ReptiBark, once it dried from the bag there was no hope for humidity and I often found tiny splinters in my ball python's skin.

[trailblazer295]

what kind of enclosure are you using for your boa if you dont mind me asking?, luckily I am now able to respond faster lol

48x24x16 pvc snake cage. He is just a little noodle at the moment so years from possibly outgrowing it.

[Keinelust99]

I'll give the cypress another try, I just like the carpet because I can switch them out easily so there is no trace of excrement or urine, I found with the cypress you can spot clean but never get out every trace there is always some that will stay. as soon as summer hits I'll be upgrading so there is alot of things I will change, I've had her about 6 years now so I would like to build her the perfect enclosure

[trailblazer295]

I've heard good thing about eco earth humidity wise but heard it's dusty and more prone to molding.

[bigsnakegirl785]

I've heard good thing about eco earth humidity wise but heard it's dusty and more prone to molding.

Yeah, if you keep it dry it does get dusty. I keep my bedding damp, so it's only dusty for a couple of days before I dampen it again.

As far as mold, it really depends on the set up. I hasn't molded at all in any of my overhead set ups, but I has molded when I've tried using it in my flex watt set ups. The only bad thing is the EcoEarth causes an insane amount of condensation in the upper T12 in my stack that's housing my ball python, but I've just switched half the bedding to aspen and that's really helped. But I haven't seen any mold in my EcoEarth since I stopped using it in my belly heat set ups.

[trailblazer295]

Yeah, if you keep it dry it does get dusty. I keep my bedding damp, so it's only dusty for a couple of days before I dampen it again.

As far as mold, it really depends on the set up. I hasn't molded at all in any of my overhead set ups, but I has molded when I've tried using it in my flex watt set ups. The only bad thing is the EcoEarth causes an insane amount of condensation in the upper T12 in my stack that's housing my ball python, but I've just switched half the bedding to aspen and that's really helped. But I haven't seen any mold in my EcoEarth since I stopped using it in my belly heat set ups.

Interesting, both my PVC cages I've turned off the UTH and stick strictly with pro products RHPs. I had mold with cocohusk bricks one spring because I couldn't dry it out despite my best efforts so been sort of paranoid ever since.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Interesting, both my PVC cages I've turned off the UTH and stick strictly with pro products RHPs. I had mold with cocohusk bricks one spring because I couldn't dry it out despite my best efforts so been sort of paranoid ever since.

I mean, maybe I'm not seeing mold because I switched out the bedding in the top one before it could mold? The other half has no mold, and he's been in there for like a month now, at least. In my tub set ups, it took like 2 months before it ever started molding, so maybe I just didn't let it sit long enough.

River's bedding dries out after about 2 weeks, so no mold there yet. Bud's bedding, the one in the top enclosure, just didn't dry out at all with all the condensation. I changed the bedding fairly quickly when I saw changing temps in the enclosures wasn't helping (as in bringing down the temps on the lower half - setting the RHPs at a lower temp so the bottom half would fall under 80F and less heat would travel up out of the bottom enclosure).

[trailblazer295]

I had mold in about 2 weeks, even with the door open and a fan running couldn't dry it out enough. But those are bricks soaked in water. The humidity kept going to 90%. Over all in happy with cyrpess it is a bit more work in winter to keep it high enough but summer is easy.

I have been debating trying eco earth

[dannybgoode]

Orchid bark is another option. I use it for my boa and it works very well. Retains humidity without mold issues.

A little pricey but worth it imo, particularly if you only have one snake to consider. Looks nice too.