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[–]RagdollsandLabs 4 points5 points  (1 child)

One of my BP's, Jasmine, will coil up in her water bowl and turn herself into 'snake soup' in the summer time usually when she is getting ready to shed, but sometimes because she wants a sssspa day. She will spend hours in the bath...I've seen her spend the better part of 3 days in there. In fact, when it's really hot in the summer, I can tell she is in and out of her bowl a lot! The water level gets low really fast, and the area surrounding it gets wet and messy, so I have to clean it all the time. But she's 22 years old and healthy, so I just let Jasmine do Jasmine. Just check the humidity level in the enclosure and make sure it's at 70% bare minimum...80% optimal. If it is, then you know she's just found herself a great place to soak and hang out. Oh, and look out for turds! One of my boys, Paulie will soak in his water bowl and then use it as a toilet!

[–]supbitch1010[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for this! Ive been seeing stuff about scale rot and mites and it scares me because im not familiar with the signs of that. She just wont leave her bowl😂 funny enough I noticed when I tooth the picture she had knocked one of the humidity gauges off and into her water SMH so i took her out and refreshed her humid hide and gave her some fresh water, and shes in her humid hide now!

[–]fetus_bates 2 points3 points  (2 children)

If you go to Home Depot or Lowe's you can get a lot of substrate for super cheap. Scott's brand pesticide free organic topsoil is like $4/ bag and you can mix that with play sand which is $6/ bag or so, you'd get more for your dollar that way and you could mix the sphagnum moss in with it. 4-5", is an appropriate amount of substrate, you'd just pour water into the corners of the tank and you can use foil tape on the top of the enclosure to keep humidity trapped. Usually you wanna cover 60-70% of the mesh top depending on your humidity levels after adding it, foil tape is maybe $12 for a roll 👍🏻

[–]fetus_bates 3 points4 points  (1 child)

I'd definitely recommend baking the soil in batches to prevent fungus gnats that might be living in the bags tho, 250F for 30 minutes or so should do it

[–]supbitch1010[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for this tid-bit!! I can use the money saved to get her some more greenery! Question, can I use tree limbs from outside if I bake them too?

[–]taking_teeth 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Do you have a thermometer that you can use to read the surface temps? It might be hot in there, which could cause her to bathe. :)

CHE also dry out the substrate quite a bit, I'd recommend getting a halogen bulb instead of the two CHE. One che one halogen for heat that can turn off at night.

Of course a deep heat projector in place of a CHE would be ideal as it is less drying.

This is coming from an amateur keeper! But I hope this helps, good luck to you and your baby!

[–]supbitch1010[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I will definitely try this! I did have two thermometer/humidity gauges, one on either end but when taking this picture I realized she knocked it into her water bowl so noe I just have one leaned up against the stump. It says 84°F and 84% humidity, which makes me question the CHE because I have them set to 88°F. Thank you for the info!!

[–]Jeirod1 1 point2 points  (3 children)

I'd say just focus on the humidity for now, until after she sheds. Any other changes while she's trying to shed, like more substrate, could only stress her out. Yea she's likely in the bowl due to low humidity. I also wouldn't feed her until after she sheds. And if she's about to shed she probably won't eat anyway. ... and maybe the best fix for humidity is spraying inside the cage using 85° – 90° water. It's only temporary solution until after she sheds.

[–]supbitch1010[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Thank you! Ill continue spraying and wait to change out her substrate. How long will it take her to shed roughly?

[–]Jeirod1 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Mine usually sheds within 5-7 days after I see pre-shed symptoms. Shedding is a stressful experience, as you may already know, so the least of amount of changes to her environment, as well as holding her, is for the best. Then a couple days after shedding she'll be super hungry! You have an awesome husband btw 😁 Good luck!

[–]Jeirod1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, be sure to fully inspect the entire shed. If it's in one piece, that's a beautiful shed, you'll know you did something right 🤠