Cypress Mulch and keeping humidity up?

Zelg · 01-24-21, 07:50 PM

Hello everyone, I havent been on in a few years since getting my last snake (a carpet). I recently picked up a a 50%sonoran-50%columbian. First off I guess I should just confirm what a good humidity level is. I couldnt find much in Sonorans specifically but I think I saw someone saying columbians (or maybe just Boas in general?) should be kept at 50-70% humidity so I chose to use cypress mulch.

I loaded my tank up w/ it and of course it was 100% with water dripping down the sides so I removed like 80% of the mulch and let it dry out and then over the past 2 weeks I have added more by the handful to manage the humidity to keep it above 50%. My baby had a perfect shed so I felt thats a good range (I'm thinking 50-60% is more ideal) but of course I'm looking ahead to the point of having the cage floor covered w/ mulch again and it drying out.

The enclosure is animal plastics (their carpet enclosure) and its heated via a RHP and has the water bowl under the heat panel in the corner. I also have a mini heater in the room to keep the room at 70F and of course thats going to dry things out more.

My question is basically is there a good way to add moisture to the existing mulch w/o just adding more of the "wet" mulch? I saw of course thought about just misting the mulch but then I ran across someone saying its not a good idea (they didnt go into detail on that in their post) so now I'm questioning that. I also read that cypress mulch is great at holding and releasing humidity but once its dried out then its hard to have it soak in again and you risk mold developing.

I've read people saying to just put a large water dish under the RHP and that'll be enough to keep the humidity up but with it being winter, I need to heat my snake room to help manage temps and that just dries things out quicker.

Anyone have any suggestions?

chairman · 01-24-21, 10:32 PM

I use cypress mulch with my carpet pythons and if I need to raise the humidity I'll dump out the water dish into the mulch. The bottom of my AP cages are sealed, so they don't leak the water out, and I haven't had any mold problems after several years of using this method.

Zelg · 01-25-21, 04:45 PM

Thanks for the reply. I guess once I get a good amount of mulch added I'll start pouring some water over it. Any thoughts on mixing some soil in with the mulch to help hold that humidity better? Seems like it might help but I have no idea.

TurboChris · 01-25-21, 07:03 PM

Hardware store will have sprayers with a wand for about $20, also smaller hand held half gallon sprayers for as cheap as $5-$6.
https://www.menards.com/main/outdoor...265561&ipos=14

chairman · 01-25-21, 07:11 PM

Sprayers are useful too.

I would mix in coco coir, sometimes called eco-earth. I think that coco coir mixes better with mulch than soil does.

Zelg · 01-26-21, 06:51 PM

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll end up adding the coco earth to help manage the humidity along w/ a good sprayer.

toddnbecka · 01-31-21, 02:20 AM

I tried mixing eco earth with the cypress for my Dominican red mountain boas. Too much of the coco ended up in the water bowls, constantly made a mess, so I just use cypress mulch. As long as you keep it damp it's fine, just don't allow it to dry out completely.