Humidity + Vacation

[Chris72]

We are going to Florida for a week on Wednesday and I wanted to ask about maintaining humidity while we are gone.
Currently (Very healthy 6mth old B.Python) :

> Use a 20-long tank. (100watt ceramic on digital thermostat to keep 90(ish) deg on hot-side)
> Keep 70% of the screen covered. (Normally use a towel that I mist every morning)
> Water dish is 4 inch diameter - middle of viv.
> Two hides (one each end) each has a 3 inch diameter plastic lid with moist sphagnum moss.
> Mist inside the cage every morning to bring the humidity to 65-70% at 8am.
> Humidity is back to 40ish by 6pm. (so I mist to bring it to 55%(ish).

I am a little worried that while we are gone it will dry up too much in there. At the very least I planned to put the “hot side moss” in the hide rather than on it. (So the air in the hide stays mice and comfortable.)
Am I too worried? Any other ideas?
Thanks in advance. 72
:crazy2:

[Bloedig]

Maybe a very large temporary water bowl? It would evaporate over time and hopefully keep things more humid?

[smy_749]

Maybe a very large temporary water bowl? It would evaporate over time and hopefully keep things more humid?

Large water bowl with a heat pad underneath. Seal 100% of the top instead of 70. Or get a glass top and you won't have to do much at all

[Terranaut]

Can you post a pic of your setup?

[Lankyrob]

Get someone to follow your normal routine, its too lAte now to try out diffent ideas to make sure they work before you go.

[stephanbakir]

Trying out new things, like covering 100% of the top and leaving it be for a few days without a thermostat (I only say without because you did not list one) would be a huge risk to your animals health, you could be effectively turning your enclosure into a 100% humidity sauna where the heat keeps rising for the duration of your vacation.

Call a friend, pay them if you must but have them follow your schedule.

[Chris72]

Oh yes !!
100% for sure I have a Zoo Med digital thermostat (I mistakenly omitted that). The sesor for the is on the back "wall" to report on temp / humidity. Also have a little Zoo Med thermometer with probe that is inside the hot side hide to ensure comfy sleeping quarters!

We leave home Wednesday at noon so I'll get pic(s) of the set up in the morning.

I'll try Suran wrap on the top tonight right up to where the dome (for the ceramic heater) sits on top of the screen & report back on any apparent moisture retention.
You guys are awsome!
C.

[Terranaut]

Use foil. Won't melt.

[smy_749]

Oh yes !!
100% for sure I have a Zoo Med digital thermostat (I mistakenly omitted that). The sesor for the is on the back "wall" to report on temp / humidity. Also have a little Zoo Med thermometer with probe that is inside the hot side hide to ensure comfy sleeping quarters!

We leave home Wednesday at noon so I'll get pic(s) of the set up in the morning.

I'll try Suran wrap on the top tonight right up to where the dome (for the ceramic heater) sits on top of the screen & report back on any apparent moisture retention.
You guys are awsome!
C.

Why don't you just switch him to a tub with belly heat like every other ball python keeper in the world (I don't agree that its best for the animal, in the wild they aren't trapped in the burrow, for those of you who say they live in termite mounds in the wild, they still have the freedom of mobility.)

But yea, he might be better off humidity and temp wise in a tub with a heatpad on a thermostat no?

[Chris72]

Use foil. Won't melt.


Will swap it out if it works. (Just finish and neeeed to sleeeeeeep)

Modifications made just now based on advice (Sunday night):

- Saran Wrap on most of the top.

- 4" water dish Replaced with 6" diam Corning ware bowl.

- Replaced cold side moss with 4x4 Tupperware with 2 inches water and FULL of moss to the top for disburstion.

- Humidity reads 55 so I didn't mist.


(Little brother just took off to Domincan, nobody around I want in my house, don't really want to stick him in a piece of Tupperware for a week if I don't have to....)

Stay tuned for further excitement.
Pics to follow.
C.

[Mark Taylor]

I agree with smy 749 on this it's only a week and it will work.

[Chris72]

Can you post a pic of your setup?

Alright.
I actually took these last night before a crashed and I’m glad I did. I was up so late screwing around with the set-up I slept in and has to nearly run out of the house brushing my teeth to make it to work on time!!

So we have 4 pics attached as follows (by pic name.):

Cool Side:
What we see is the cool side hide (mostly covered with Aspen) In the back corner there is a 4x4 Tupperware with 2 inches of water and full of moss to help disburse the humidity.

Warm Side:
You can see is hot side hide with a piece of dry wood screwed to it for climbing at night. The goofy bamboo house thing is obviously not functional but I he does climb over it and look inside, etc. The larger 6 inch Corning Ware water dish is behind the hut.

Front-Top:
The top is nearly totally covered with Saran Wrap. I marked the edge with blue marker so you guys can see where the edge of the wrap is. (100 watt ceramic heater on Zoo Med Thermostat). On top of His hot side hide there is a 3" Mayo Lid with wet moss. That will go inside the hide while I’m gone.

Horizon View:
Mostly for reference. We can see nearly everything discussed in the previous pics at a different angle.


Ideas? Improvements? Whatcha Think?
Thanks for all the ideas so far...you guys are awesome!

[RyanReptile]

you could try using a substrate that promotes humidity eg. cypress mulch, reptile bark.

[Chris72]

you could try using a substrate that promotes humidity eg. cypress mulch, reptile bark.

OK..Which is best in this application? (Python)
Is there ever an issue with things like mold, smells, etc? (I know that might be a goofy question...but I'm 100% sure I dont know) :)

Cheers,
C.

[DeadlyDesires]

I use eco earth mixed with Forest floor moist wood chips... both are already moist and never had any moil in my BP's enclosure also holds humidity great. we have3/4ths of the screen covered with FOIL and only mist about once every 3-4 days and never had any issues. and he is in a 40 gallon so i doubt you will have ANY problems. please switch out that wrap for foil, it wont burn or melt, you dont want to take any chances while you're gone.

[Lankyrob]

I ise repti bark, when you wet it the water is absorbed and it then releases it over time. Looking at your viv the glass is too clean/dry, i can barely see through the glass doors on my vivs at require high humidity as they are "steamed up"

[Chris72]

I ise repti bark, when you wet it the water is absorbed and it then releases it over time. Looking at your viv the glass is too clean/dry, i can barely see through the glass doors on my vivs at require high humidity as they are "steamed up"


What’s that old saying..."a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous"..? At least I know enough to know...that I don’t know!! :)

Thanks for that Rob. Every time I saw built up moisture on the glass I got worried that I was going overboard. Good to know what direction I need to point myself in.

With previous updates I was holding about 43%-45%. As you can see in the attached pic I swapped out the wrap for foil leaving a bit of a gap for the dome.

Updates last night:
Took everything out!! Put down some forest floor stuff (mostly coconut husk I think) which hold moisture well.(a little sticky so I don’t want the snake right on it) On top of that I put some reptile bark as it was also recommended a better than Aspen for Moisture / Humidity and it gives a barrier between FARO and his moisture rich coconut husk mung.

Now this might just be me being over protective:
On top of the bark I put back a little bit of the Aspen that was there so that FARO does not get stressed out. Mainly because tonight is dinner time and I want him to eat. He ate last week and he looks very healthy but if he doesn’t eat tonight and we take off tomorrow my wife will be freaked out the entire week we are gone. So his "home" basically looks the same to him. (Surely he can sense the additional materials)

Hopefully he doesn’t care about the additional smells and chows down tonight when it's rat time.

Have a strong feeling we should be nice and humid all week long.

Any additional thoughts / ideas are more than welcome. (Should I pour 1/2 cup water in the corner before we go to wet the bottom of the substrate?)

Thanks everyone! :)
C.
:D

[Chris72]

Thanks to all for the fantastic advice!!!

Here is a pic of the three layer substrate.

Humidity is holding at 56%!

As a bonus Faro didn't care about the changes at all and (in the pic) he just ate a rat pup like it was a race and he is just lounging for a second before going for a swim in him water dish as I'm typing. (My wife is currently lecturing him about swimming after dinner) :wacky:

:D

[Chris72]

Update:

Thanks to all for all the advice. The morning we left last week we were holding at 59.

We came home after our week away to 51%rh.

As a fringe benifit I think I'll only have to mist a couple of times a week rather than twice a day!!

Faro is happy as a clam! He had two pups before we left and scarfed down another when we got home last night. Growing like a weed! :)

Thanks again.

You guys = Awsome
C.

[Mark Taylor]

More pics of the snake would have been nice but glad to see he is doing well.:)