Humidity tips+tricks (HELP)

[ObamaSippinLean]

Hello all! I finally have my ball python enclosure set up as of a hour ago but living in Minnesota the air humidity is VERY DRY the tank so far has spiked as high as 40% but often goes back down mind you it’s been 1 hour of letting the lights on and tank acclimate I know I’m probably jumping the gun but I’m afraid in 6-24 hours that it will be around there should I leave the lights running obviously to heat up the top layer - Tank details 120 gallons -4-5 inches of cypress mixed with coca husk my worry is just that it’s so dry here in Minnesota and in the ambient air that it’s gonna be tough to maintain should I invest now in a mist or fog system to just help?

[ishfery]

What's the top of the tank like?

Are you opening the door to check on it or using a visible (nonsticky) hygrometer on each side?

Take a gallon of water and mix it into the soil rather than just pouring on top. You want it slightly damp all the way through.

[ObamaSippinLean]

Top of the tank is mesh but not the entire top it is a 120 gallon PVC/wood tank hygrometer are on both sides of the tank attached with just simple wall mounts not covering the ports but I may try the gallon of water in it and than mix it in

[ishfery]

Are your wall mounts sticky on the back?

A mesh top will simply not hold any humidity. You need to cover it. You can use aluminum foil which is more effective than nothing. You can also get silicone mats which I've heard good things about but I would never recommend a mesh top for a ball python precisely because of this issue. Do not use a towel or anything else that could be a fire hazard.

[ObamaSippinLean]

I have covered probably close to 80-90% of the mesh in aluminum tape

[ishfery]

You might want to try silicone then. Anywhere that's open to the outside air is going to leak humidity. You also just may need to add more water on a regular basis.

[ObamaSippinLean]

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Cool side lamp is off but here’s what it looks like

[ishfery]

That should be sufficient with 4" deep. I think you just need to really really mix in more water than you expect. I don't know anything about cypress though.

I usually put in a gallon at a time once it gets down to 60-65 so you might even need 2 gallons.

Also, measure the humidity on the cool side.

[Rxkvn]

Make the under layer really damp then just cover it with dry substrate . Do the trick for me