To much humidity?

[milk man]

Originally Posted by formica

Just put the hide in, if he's stayin in the dry hide, its coz he doesnt want the humidity, he'll find the humid hide when he needs it - make sure you check the hide reguly, if the enclosure dries out quickly, the sphag will dry out quickly aswell, worth keeping some sphag ready to swap over

I have always used pasteurized sphag from garden centres (boil a pot of water, drop the sphag in and turn off the heat, leave for an hour or until its cooled, rinse well with clean water just incase there are pesticides from the garden centre) - no need to pay for over priced 'reptile' sphag imo

I just covered the top last week. It dried out very quickly before that. So he wasn't hiding because he wanted to be dry. He wasnt moving for anything not even food. He was like that for 7 weeks.

[formica]

Originally Posted by milk man

I just covered the top last week. It dried out very quickly before that. So he wasn't hiding because he wanted to be dry. He wasnt moving for anything not even food. He was like that for 7 weeks.

do you know the humidity requirements for that species? have you got a digital hygrometer? sounds like you are guessing from your first post - this is very dangerous, low humidity can be fatal for species which need high humidity, you need to get a digital hygrometer and stop guessing, and put a humid hide in there aswell

until you give your snake the option of dry and humid hides, you have no way to know why he's staying in one place, wether its because he wants to be dry, or doesnt have any other option, or because something else is going on

how long have you had him? how long have you had the sealed top? has he started eating again since you increased the humidity?

what are your enclosure temps?

[milk man]

Originally Posted by formica

do you know the humidity requirements for that species? have you got a digital hygrometer? sounds like you are guessing from your first post - this is very dangerous, low humidity can be fatal for species which need high humidity, you need to get a digital hygrometer and stop guessing, and put a humid hide in there aswell

until you give your snake the option of dry and humid hides, you have no way to know why he's staying in one place, wether its because he wants to be dry, or doesnt have any other option, or because something else is going on

how long have you had him? how long have you had the sealed top? has he started eating again since you increased the humidity?

what are your enclosure temps?

I have read all I can about the types of snakes I have and I know the humidity requirements for them, but I admit I am a novice and dont know everything. That is why I am asking for advice. My ambient humidity here in Houston rarely falls below 50% so I thought it was fine. He was in shed when I bought him so that's why I thought the first shed went bad. I then started misting every other day but it didnt help. That is why I covered the top.

I do not have a hygrometer yet, but as I said it rarely falls below 50% humidity here. With a 135 gallon aquarium in my house its pretty stable at 60%.

As for knowing why he is hiding. He was brought out of brumation not long before I bought him. So I believe he was just in a mating cycle. He started eating 4 weeks ago.

I got him on 3/16/10. I covered the screen about a week ago. Wednesday is feeding day so he hasn't had a chance to feed with the higher humidity.

The hot side is at 87*F and the cool side is at 73-74*F. I use a UTH with a VE-200 thermostat for heat.

[ErikBush97]

Originally Posted by milk man

I have read all I can about the types of snakes I have and I know the humidity requirements for them, but I admit I am a novice and dont know everything. That is why I am asking for advice. My ambient humidity here in Houston rarely falls below 50% so I thought it was fine. He was in shed when I bought him so that's why I thought the first shed went bad. I then started misting every other day but it didnt help. That is why I covered the top.

I do not have a hygrometer yet, but as I said it rarely falls below 50% humidity here. With a 135 gallon aquarium in my house its pretty stable at 60%.

As for knowing why he is hiding. He was brought out of brumation not long before I bought him. So I believe he was just in a mating cycle. He started eating 4 weeks ago.

I got him on 3/16/10. I covered the screen about a week ago. Wednesday is feeding day so he hasn't had a chance to feed with the higher humidity.

The hot side is at 87*F and the cool side is at 73-74*F. I use a UTH with a VE-200 thermostat for heat.

You have a 135 gal for a Cali King snake?? How big is he.. I don't even think an over grown adult would need a 135 gal (depending on the dimensions)

[Starbuck]

Originally Posted by ErikBush97

You have a 135 gal for a Cali King snake?? How big is he.. I don't even think an over grown adult would need a 135 gal (depending on the dimensions)

you can (and i do, unfortunately) keep kings in a smaller container.... but if you have the means why would you ever WANT to?
with such a large tank the snake has options to chose a wide range of microhabitats.

to the OP, since you have such a large tank, i would consider offering a slightly hotter 'hot spot', that way your snake can choose.

I kept my kings/corns in open top enclosures for most of when i had them, they are now in tubs since i am moving, but i never had an issue with sheds/humidity.