Humid Hide

[Klim]

I was going to use the Zoo Med Sphagnum moss to make a humid hide. But after reading about the mold in another thread I'm kind of leary. Does anyone have an opinion on the moss or should I look for a different material to hold the moisture.

I was going to locate the humid hide over his tank heater which also has a heat lamp on that side? Good idea or not so good?

Thank you all!

[Scubadiver59]

My mold problem has been rather limited. I've been rinsing the new moss with tap water and then draining it by giving it a little press and fluffing it. Since doing this, I haven't had any more mold.

I have noticed my King tunneling into it and then back out again, and I've also found a few cases where the moss has been used as a toilet. In those cases, I pinch out the affected area, rinse, and put it back in the viv.

I was going to use the Zoo Med Sphagnum moss to make a humid hide. But after reading about the mold in another thread I'm kind of leary. Does anyone have an opinion on the moss or should I look for a different material to hold the moisture.

I was going to locate the humid hide over his tank heater which also has a heat lamp on that side? Good idea or not so good?

Thank you all!

[Klim]

Sounds good. My project for him this weekend. I want to feed him and let him rest before changing his environment. Thank you for your input and experience.

[Scubadiver59]

My two haven't shed yet, though there was shed in the container the Corn came in.

My humidity, with the water dish, the small "pool", and the sphagnum, is 35-40% in my 40gal, screen- topped vivs. But that percentage is probably due to me putting paper towels on top of the screens to keep the humidity up and still allow some airflow. If I notice shed signs, I'll probably put some extra moist moss in the hot hides to provide a "sweat box"


Sounds good. My project for him this weekend. I want to feed him and let him rest before changing his environment. Thank you for your input and experience.

[Klim]

Sounds great. My little man has shed 3 times, we got him 12-13-16. So about once a month, so far. His first shed wasn't very good, but his second was a perfect whole piece, this last time wasn't good at all. With the help from the group we got it all off. Hopefully the humid hide will help him next time.
It is hard to keep the humidity up with the screen top, I'll try the wet paper towel on top of his tank. Thank you, hope you have a great day!

[Scubadiver59]

Not wet...dry. It just slows down the moisture loss.

Sounds great. My little man has shed 3 times, we got him 12-13-16. So about once a month, so far. His first shed wasn't very good, but his second was a perfect whole piece, this last time wasn't good at all. With the help from the group we got it all off. Hopefully the humid hide will help him next time.
It is hard to keep the humidity up with the screen top, I'll try the wet paper towel on top of his tank. Thank you, hope you have a great day!

[Lefitte]

For moss, you really need to do like Scuba said and soak it in water and then squeeze it out and fluff. If you leave it too wet, it molds quickly, but if you squeeze most of the water out until it stops dripping then it's fine. I soak for 10-15 mins before squeezing.

My favorite moss is called SuperMoss. You can get it by the bale for really cheap on Amazon. It's free of dyes and safe to use. I use the mountain moss instead of the sphagnum moss and it works really well. If you only do a fine layer and a humid hide for a medium cage, it lasts about a year per bale, depending. It's also resistant to mold because it's actually for plant displays and, as my friend once said, "gardeners don't have time for that nonsense".

[Klim]

Thank you for the letting know about the dry paper towel. Thank you both for your input on the moss as well. I had not thought of gardening type of moss and reading a different thread getting Cyprus mulch. Interesting. Thank you both.

[LISA127]

The zoo med moss is new Zealand sphagnum. Very high quality, clean moss. I've never had a problem with new Zealand sphagnum, though zoo med ones are way overpriced. I buy bales from amazon.

[Santy1129]

Sphagnum moss is fine. I use it all the time. The key is that you cannot have it soaking wet for a long period of time. I water mine and it usually gets dry by the next day. I have not had any mold at all. Also it should be changed every 1 or 2 weeks as it can contain ammonia from the animals.

[sattva]

I talked about these in the mold thread... They hold moister really well....
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000ZONZIU/ref=twister_B00GVKYOZK?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[Lefitte]

The moss bales I mentioned also have an actual Sphagnum moss option as well, I just use the mountain moss one.

[Klim]

Wow, Thank you all for the different options.

[dannybgoode]

What snake for?

I own 4 snakes now and don't have a moisture hide for any of them. All shed perfectly.

That said I keep them on dirt based substrates which hold moisture fantastically well and depending on the exact mix / watering frequency allow me good control of the humidity depending on the requirement of the species.

Looks really nice too...

[akane]

Also depends where you are. I've seen my house hit 20% humidity. No moist dirt fixes that by itself. My sumatran decided to shed then. :rolleyes: Ended up being a 3 week event where I eventually just kept putting him in the water container until he'd soak himself and finally he wasn't wrinkly with a pissy attitude anymore. I still had to clean his head with a damp towel. Due to the bioactive and soil I found a huge soaking container is not going to work. Seems everyone uses a humid hide for them to go bioactive in place of water. Just need to cut a hole in mine.

[dannybgoode]

Also depends where you are. I've seen my house hit 20% humidity. No moist dirt fixes that by itself. My sumatran decided to shed then. :rolleyes: Ended up being a 3 week event where I eventually just kept putting him in the water container until he'd soak himself and finally he wasn't wrinkly with a pissy attitude anymore. I still had to clean his head with a damp towel. Due to the bioactive and soil I found a huge soaking container is not going to work. Seems everyone uses a humid hide for them to go bioactive in place of water. Just need to cut a hole in mine.

I never have an issue with humidity but yes my ambient humidity rarely gets below 40% but it does require a fair amount of misting and damping.

When I move I'm fitting a MistKing automatic misting system to all my vivs which will be better.

Bear in mind also my tanks are planted and plants help keep humidity up also.

[akane]

I actually saw someone quoting 15% humidity as common indoors. Would not be surprising. I almost went to the hospital because of all the stuff dried in my respiratory tract and then loosened when I sat up after laying down with a cheap humidifier nearby. I have a small area humidifier running next to the python so it constantly dampens the soil some. I still have to water it but if the plastic half of the lid shifts I get water collection on it so moisture is going in steadily for far cheaper than any reptile labelled option. I just haul a gallon of pure water upstairs about daily.

[Klim]

now that we are in spring. His humidity is staying 40 to 50%. His eyes were clouded Wednesday night. Then last night he is beautiful. I may just use the humid hide in winter.