Humidity for Kenyan Sand Boa

[eleni]

I plan on getting a kenyan sand boa pair and a setup for the babies, but I'm a bit worried about the humidity in the only cat-free room in the house. It currently has a humidity about 50-60%, like the rest of the house, but I'm going to get a panther chameleon pair in there which would raise it to 70-80%. Would this be too much humidity? If so, what humidity would you recommend?

If this room doesn't work out, do you have any tips on cat-proofing racks? Or maybe tips on other, preferably not too expensive, options to keep the babies in that lock? The only way I could keep them in another room is if my cat had no way of getting into them, and the babies had no way to escape. My cat could most definitely find a way to get into sinope rack setups.

[TRD]

They should be kept dry, 20-30% is not an issue, even lower with high temps. Only during shedding they prefer a bit higher, but only in 1 spot - not the entire enclosure or air (they should not be kept wet). Just a small microclimate in the general setting of the enclosure that has a higher humidity would suffice during shedding.

Maybe you can just keep the babies in a lockable box... baby KSB are very small, they would be lost in your typical rack unless one specifically for babies.

You might be able to avoid the curious cat sticking his nose in by using a normal under door stop (or whatever you call that in English... triangle wood that you can stick under a door to lock it in place) so the racks can't be moved out that easily.

This thing, just smaller -->
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/1d/68/0e/1d680e0953756d2c0664774333283f47.jpg

[eleni]

Thank you

I could try something like that. I was looking at the hatchling racks on vision cages and animal plastics (iris). If those wouldn't work, though, I could probably make one. I suppose such a low humidity wouldn’t warp wood, is that right?

[regi375]

Humidity that high would definitely be too much. I'd recommend a shed box in the cage that has an increased humidity. Basically an enclosed hide box where the humidity is higher. My kingsnake had trouble shedding until I put one in there.
As far as cat proofing, best I can recommend is just keeping them out of the room. Either that or make a rack system where the enclosures are like a drawer with a locking top, and some way to keep them from pulling out. Sorry I couldn't be of more help, best of luck to you.

[Tsubaki]

Our cat used to know damn well to remove the door stopper to get into the bedrooms haha. In wooden racks, if you have a little wood edge that sticks out in front of the tubs edges (it doesn't have to be much). You can drill a hole in the middle, and drop a long nail through it. This will act as a secure stopper, put one left and one right on bigger racks . You can just simply push them up from the bottom to pull them out of the top, takes only a few seconds. It's one of the easiest and cheapest ways to secure racks, also it ensures you slide them in completely and does not block the already limited outside view. Cats won't get in, neither will little children. I spend hours helping a friend trying to find a way to secure his recently build baby cobra racks. (They were also in a locked room, just an extra precaution) Could technically work for non wooden racks as well, as long as you can drill a hole that makes the nail fall in front of the tub without weakening the structure. Anyway, another option would be sliding locks, attach one on left and right side of the tub, drill holes in side of racks (or attach one top or down middle and drill a hole accordingly, you get the idea).. Slide locks in hole and tub is secure.. This takes a lot more work though! Good for really large racks.

[eleni]

Thanks, the door won't be locked and my cat will have easy entry, but whenever I get my snakes out, I will be sure to keep her out. I looked up some snake rack lock ideas and saw some with wooden dowels the went through either end of it, keeping the tubs in. I liked this method a lot, it seemed like it would keep my cat out. Has anyone used these, and if so did they work well?

[sirtalis]

For a sand boa that may be too high, I had a sand boa for a short time and to reduce humidity I simply increased the ventilation and the heat