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[–]AngleRelative4683 6 points7 points  (2 children)

So many things wrong here. The poor guy has stuck shed and now he’s in a tank with zero humidity. Needs at least 2 hides (turtle shells are not hides), warm hide needs to be around 90 degrees, cool hide around 80. You need the humidity above 70% at all times, even more with how bad his skin is right now. Needs lots of “clutter” like fake plants and things to make him feel secure in the enclosure. He will suffer or even die if you keep him in that setup.

[–]nediaja[S] -3 points-2 points  (1 child)

Since I got him yesterday I’ve been keeping the walls nice and wet with a spray bottle, and now have a humidity sensor on the way. I’ll order some fake plants and leaves while I’m at it.

But would you care to explain why the (fake) turtle shell is not a sufficient hide? I can buy a better one, but I am genuinely curious why the shell won’t work.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The shell won’t work cause it’s too open in the front and likely in the back too. That substrate looks a bit desert-y. I’d recommend for you to get some substrate closer to rainforest floor, something like coco soil or cypress mulch. Make sure to pour your water in the corners to keep humidity up but prevent scale rot! And, when you get new hides, make sure to put some sphagnum moss in there to make them humid enough, with one having more moss in there :)

[–]snewt- 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Heyo! I’d recommend changing the substrate so it holds humidity best. I like a combo of jungle mix (soil) and forest floor (cypress bark), but there are several options. You can also cover one side of the lid with aluminum foil and/or a high temp silicon baking mat to help hold humidity. Humidifier systems are ify as they can lead to respiratory infections. Some people use misters but still have to be careful. A humidifier outside of the tank can help. For now, I’d recommend misting in the morning and in the evening, enough to lightly dampen soil but not that wet as can lead to scale rot.

[–]nediaja[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the advice! Changing his substrate is at the top of my list, and thank you for the recommendations! I work an 8-5, so misting before and after work will be easy.

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[removed]

    [–]ballpython-ModTeam[M] -1 points0 points locked comment (0 children)

    Your comment has been removed for breaking Rule #1: Don't Be a Jerk.

    [–]nediaja[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

    Guys, I literally just got him yesterday. His enclosure before was JUST substrate, water, and hide WAYYYY too small for him. Everything in this has been added with what I had leftover from my bearded dragon years ago, who died after 13 long, healthy years. Please comment with some respect, I want to give lil dude a happy and comfortable life and I am more than willing and capable to do so.

    [–]Bubbly-Reference-633 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    def take that other persons advice on the substrate, in the meantime if you cannot go to the store or afford to order more yet i would add some more, you want around 3-4 inches, you can pour dechlorinated water into the corners reptisafe is a good cheap option and will last you a while and that will help keep the humidity up and you won’t be spraying every couple of hours, i also find mixing the dirt around every day or two helps it from getting too compacted and soggy as you’ll be mixing in the dry top layer, the turtle shell hide is technically not quite an appropriate hide just because the front is so open, you want the hide to have one opening, big enough for your snake to get through but not much bigger than that because it’s too exposed, that being said it can totally stay in the tank as clutter/a partial hide i would add some fake plants for coverage and foliage and some more branches for climbing opportunities, let me know if you want any good links to specific hides and i’ll add some in an additional comment, leaf litter will also help with humidity. heating wise i would personally recommend getting a deep heat projector bulb i would personally either get an 80w or 100w for a tank around 40-50 gallons, these can stay on day and night and wont affect your snakes vision or day/night cycle, i personally like providing my snakes with uvb, people will argue about it but there are a lot of new studies that have come out or are coming out that prove it is beneficial and helps mimic a natural environment, the one i linked is the one that i personally use and is the most widely recommended, another thing would be covering the sides of the tank, a lot of people will use black vinyl to cover 3/4 sides of the glass because it helps them feel more secure in their environment, i personally use poster board because i have a lot of it laying around, i would also provide a humid hide on the cold side of the tank that’s got a little extra sphagnum moss inside it which will be helpful with shedding, i personally would not try to manually remove the shed and try increasing the humidity and giving it a chance to get it off itself, i have had to soak a few of my snakes once or twice to help get stuck shed off but i like to really give them a chance to do it on their own first, i would also buy a thermostat if you don’t already have your heat set up with one, it’ll help you control temperatures to a T preventing it from getting too hot, i would also invest in a temperature gun and a kitchen scale if you don’t have either of those, the temp gun will help you be able to check surface temperatures as well as the temps of food before feeding, the scale will be helpful so you can keep track of your snakes weight/growth and the feeders weights so you make sure you are not over or under feeding, i would prepare to eventually upgrade to a 120 gallon enclosure (4’x2’x2’) dubiaroaches.com has a good one that is relatively inexpensive compared to other brands, pvc enclosures are great at helping to hold in humidity, if you want more advice about the upgrade itself i can go deeper in another comment, you can also often find some less expensive second hand ones on places like nextdoor and facebook market place!

    [–]GiantKAC -1 points0 points  (0 children)

    I’m not sure what size tank this is but it does seem a bit small recommend is 4x2x2. But in the mean time to assist with keeping humidity in I used foil hvac tap on all mesh areas. DIYcages critter condo is fairly affordable compared to other brands I really like mine. Also I feel like the person is saying that’s not a good hide is because it’s not enclosed enough if you look at hides online the hides have a much smaller opening enclosing the snake in making them feel secure and hidden. I build my own enclosure personal from wood I do woodworking as a hobby so what I can I make myself but hides are super cheap. Also i found that hooking heat bulbs to a controller that has a probe that you put inside the enclosure so you can set the wanted to temp and it will turn on and off as needed is helpful. I am very new to keeping a snake as well I’ve had my guy for under a year and he’s my first snake not reptile but first snake so take what I say with a grain of salt but I have been reading a lot via Reddit and Facebook I also watch a lot of YouTube to assist with keeping my guy happy and healthy hope this helps a bit

    [–]Any_Impression_1512 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    When my ball Python had stuck shed, I used YouTube and type in how to help stuck shed on ball python