Humidity questions

GyGbeetle · 01-23-17, 09:58 AM

I recently had a bout with mites, so I followed standard protocol of having everyone on paper towels. But one of my baby boas seemed to be really dry, and had a really hard time with her shed. So we bathed her in warm water, and tried spraying down her enclosure (like we do with our forest floor bedding. Her clutch mate shed a few days before her without incident. So we broke protocol and after 3 weeks on paper towels, put moist forest floor substrate back in. And bathed her while helping her shed.

My question is whether this is normal. She has a water bowl in her enclosure at all times, and she can soak her entire body in it. But she wasn't doing that as often as her clutch mate had done, or any of the other snakes for that matter. She seems to be ok now, a lot more moist since putting the substrate back in. Temps are all good and she eats just fine. The only thing I could think of was the paper towels just weren't providing enough moisture in her enclosure.

sattva · 01-23-17, 02:29 PM

I think you might be right with the paper towels... Lets face it that's what they're designed to do! Suck up moisture that is... I keep all my guys on paper towels, all the time for easy cleaning... I also live in Northern California and if it's not raining, our humidity drops to 30% or lower... I have a room humidifier and a fogger, if the humidifier can't keep up... I dump at least 3 gallons of water a day into my snake room; That's not counting evaporation from their water dishes... I like to keep it at 80% humidity if I can, but even at that, I have to soak and help them shed 50% of the time... Every once in awhile I will get a complete skin...

GyGbeetle · 01-23-17, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sattva

I think you might be right with the paper towels... Lets face it that's what they're designed to do! Suck up moisture that is... I keep all my guys on paper towels, all the time for easy cleaning... I also live in Northern California and if it's not raining, our humidity drops to 30% or lower... I have a room humidifier and a fogger, if the humidifier can't keep up... I dump at least 3 gallons of water a day into my snake room; That's not counting evaporation from their water dishes... I like to keep it at 80% humidity if I can, but even at that, I have to soak and help them shed 50% of the time... Every once in awhile I will get a complete skin...

Thank you for confirming! Makes me feel better to know I'm not alone. I used to live in Northern California in the East Bay, away from all the moisture, so I remember how dry it got up there. I now live in Arizona. Enough said.

SWDK · 01-25-17, 05:07 AM

If you have the room you can always add a humid hide to provide a really humid place for the snake to hang out in. They work wonders for shedding time.

GyGbeetle · 01-25-17, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SWDK

If you have the room you can always add a humid hide to provide a really humid place for the snake to hang out in. They work wonders for shedding time.

I hope that we never have another bout of mites again where we have to put everyone on paper towels, but if we do I'll look into this. The enclosures get sprayed down every 2-3 days, and the forest floor with the heat and a hide, it stays pretty moist up in there. The snakes haven't sent any complaints into the complaint box (haha just kidding. They can't write). We're starting to stock pile emergency products for "just in case" situations, so this will definitely be on that list.

Snakes are exhausting!!!!

reeny08 · 01-27-17, 02:09 AM

Both temp/humidity are very crucial in having a happy pet.

I have 2 carpets which I keep at 29 degrees and roughly 42% humidity. I only mist once a week.

I'm not sure if you would need roughly the same temps for boas.

Also, hygiene is everything. I do it every week without fail. Cleanliness = no nastiness.

Try using F10 on everything. If you use branches for climbing, don't bother putting them in the oven. Throw them out and just get some new ones.

Re the shedding: If your boa is having issues you can try separating from the mate. If it's more intensive shedding go and see a specialist herp vet and get help.

GyGbeetle · 01-28-17, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reeny08

Both temp/humidity are very crucial in having a happy pet.

I have 2 carpets which I keep at 29 degrees and roughly 42% humidity. I only mist once a week.

I'm not sure if you would need roughly the same temps for boas.

Also, hygiene is everything. I do it every week without fail. Cleanliness = no nastiness.

Try using F10 on everything. If you use branches for climbing, don't bother putting them in the oven. Throw them out and just get some new ones.

Re the shedding: If your boa is having issues you can try separating from the mate. If it's more intensive shedding go and see a specialist herp vet and get help.

She shed pretty poorly this time around. It's her first she'd since bringing her home. Took a couple of days and her nose still has a bit leftover. If it happens again, I'll call our vet and see what he thinks. She soaks herself, the humidity is good (tropical boa, so our humidity is higher, around 60-70%), heat is good. She may not have been fed a proper diet from the breeder we got her from; I'm starting to realize this is a common trend in this business, which is kind of sad. She seems relatively good for now. All the other babies have great sheds, so I honestly don't think its husbandry since we keep them all pretty much the same.

**Andy_G** · 01-28-17, 01:37 PM

Create a humid hide and it will solve your issues until you change from paper towel. Aside from the oddball individual, boas won't usually soak unless too hot or stressed