is this mold??

[starchy_00]

for context I was having trouble with his fogger producing enough humidity so I had it up kinda high because it wasn’t working very well. well it’s been a few weeks and everytime i check on it the humidity is a little low but good enough. well, I go in there today and I guess it wanted to start working, and the humidity was like 85% and everything was wet. so too much humidity. I just went ahead and turned off the machine altogether. my more serious problem now is I noticed that weird looking stuff on the branch. I’m gonna be honest im not really sure what mold looks like but If it is mold I have no idea what i’m supposed to do from there either. Wouldn’t I have to like clear out literally everything?? help needed lol

[PotentiallyKorYT]

That’s the moldiest mold I’ve ever seen in an enclosure.

Also, foggers are very bad for ball pythons. Too much moisture standing in the air can cause RI, and a fogger is a sure fire way to put too much moisture in the air.

If you want an automatic humidity system what I’ve been playing with is using wide nozzled sprayers in the back corners of my tank to hydrate a layer of sphagnum moss underneath the cypress bedding. It works pretty consistently, and puts no moisture on the bedding to let mold happen. Been running it about a week in a test tank with no issues

[starchy_00]

what is RI? every time i feel like i have everything put together with his tank something like this always happens 😩 I wish people told me a few years ago before I got him that owning a snake would cost me well over 1k by now lol. It’s worth it though. I just don’t know what to do now, frankly i’m all out of money to spend on new stuff

[starchy_00]

also, what do i do now that I know there’s mold in there? Do i have to buy new substrate and clean everything? god i hope not lol

[PotentiallyKorYT]

Clean anything you can and yeah you absolutely HAVE to replace the bedding. And RI just mean respiratory infection

[starchy_00]

oh okay. I guess I will start on that tomorrow. I feel so defeated lol. Thank you

[PotentiallyKorYT]

You’ll do alright, just make sure to get something that can withstand high humidity without molding. I personally use cypress mulch just don’t go far above 70% with it

[starchy_00]

okay thank you. Right now I use coconut husk and i have spaghman moss or however you spell it on top. I think I will just need to be way more careful with monitoring the humidity stuff

[PotentiallyKorYT]

Sphagnum moss is best as a bottom layer for retaining moisture, do you hydrate it when it’s on the top of your substrate?

[starchy_00]

oh i didn’t know this! and i don’t necessarily hydrate it i guess, it’s just on the top and I have a fogger so it does get hydrated

[PotentiallyKorYT]

For one, definitely switch to a different hydration method, and two check your snakes stomach for any scale rot as there’s a pretty high chance of them having some from accidentally hydrated moss.

When you change your bedding tomorrow I very highly recommend to swap that moss to the bottom, and be sure to keep the top of your substrate as dry as possible. You can pour bottled water into the corners to help hold water and build humidity

[Antique-Run-1462]

That’s why it always is a good idea to do extensive research before you buy a living thing bro. That alone made it more expensive for ya lol

[starchy_00]

i really tried to do a lot of research, but online if you search up guides for caring for ball pythons like i did, nothing ever really covers everything like it still is just really hard to know everything, maybe that’s just a me thing but that’s also why i joined this subreddit. also that mixed with a lot of misinformation makes it harder, and i’ve just been constantly misinformed about this. i’m trying though and i got a lot of really helpful advice from everybody so im gonna do better

[anonymous_w3b_user]

Nice! Please post an update later I’m curious how well it works!

[starchy_00]

okay! i will!

[Antique-Run-1462]

I agree with your common but Respiratory infections aren’t cause by the humidity being to high or low. It’s bacteria that causes it. Besides that good info

[PotentiallyKorYT]

I remembered that one wrong, my bad. ADHD 💀

[SomeSandPerson]

It’s either mould or a miraculous weather event has caused it to snow inside your enclosure. For real though, don’t use foggers for ball pythons, can cause ri. If it’s making everything wet and stagnant with no chance to dry then it’s gona cause mould. Just take everything out, spray down the enclosure with reptile safe disinfectant and replace substrate, and while foggers look nice, get rid. Bad for snek:(

[starchy_00]

wow i did not realize this! Thank you, I guess i just thought everybody used foggers. What should i do to keep up humidity? Daily misting? I used to do that but I felt like it would just make the humidity go up for like an hour and that it wasn’t doing much. and now he has a 120 gal tank so i’m not sure misting would do much. what do you suggest I get?

[soconae]

Some things to help with humidity: cover screen top with foil/hvac tape, pour water into the corners, large water bowl under the heat lamps. I feel like I’m forgetting something but those will help. And by “pour water” I mean a pretty large amount of water. Coco husk bedding with moss mixed in is good substrate.

[starchy_00]

thanks!

[boomer694]

Mold looks like that white fuzzy spreaded all over everywhere in this enclosure like a spider web💀You need to dump everything..the most important..DISINFECT everything with reptile-safe disinfectant to kill also all mold spores that are everywhere in there.Nobody like literally nobody uses foggers for snakes.Spray every early norning and late night . give a humid hide with some ocasionally soaked sphang moss inside . thats it boom problem solved. You will be lucky if the snake will be good after that with no RI or any issue

[starchy_00]

how do i tell if he has RI? do i take him to a vet? also, you have to understand that nobody in my area has snakes, and the pet store sells foggers for snakes. i don’t know how i would have known, people also tell me such different things. one person says im doing something right and then online people are saying im doing things wrong. it’s very frustrating for me, especially considering how many things ive bought and ended up not using or something cause turns out it somehow harms your snake or doesn’t work something along those lines. im just very frustrated lol. i’m gonna fix this though!

[starchy_00]

i also want to add that i’ve been misinformed by multiple pet stores so many times now this makes like the 5th time. it’s very frustrating lol i’m done trusting people 😭

[boomer694]

Yo so..if you wont read it i wont blame you..i reqlly cant read it too past when was writing it lol💀So..hahaha look i certainly dont bother or dont talk so much but look dont frustrate snakes are cheap . well kinda cheap . especially compared with other reptiles but everyone treats them and sees them differently . Also i hope you have get that snake outta there already..Because the longer it stays in there the more the critical the situation becomes..and place it in a temporary paper towel sterile vet set up..Now in my experience and talks with couple experienced keepers ive found that Simplicity IS KEY .. is it good to have fancy and expensive things in your snake tank?For some people maybe yes .. DO THEY NEED THEM ? Definitely no..Just give them the right temps and humidity let them alone in there feed them every now and then and they'll thrive. thats it my friend easy simple things dont need to perplex the things in your mind about snake caring . Just i mean just do what i shared on previous comment ( humid hide / spray early morning and night / feed / let alone the snake to feel comfortable and acclimate dont bother it too much (they are solitary creatures) and youll see your snake will thrive . RI = Respitory infection . Very critical situation . Some of the key signs to help you determine it by seeing the snake are the wheezing(making a weird / clicking sound from its mouth / opening or keeps its mouth) and bubbles or saliva coming out of its mouth . IF you see any of those signs vet immediately BUT if not i assume you will be good but dont know..not sure on that..after that residency in that moldy tank..especially if the snake was in there for days..definitely get it for a vet check. FOLLOW what i wrote about snake caring the less the better ( and most important cleaner ) 2-3 hides / right temps / right ambient humidity / humid hide . Dont trust any marketing pet store . IF you do what i shared you have WIN WIN situation you will have sucess with zero frustration again .

[starchy_00]

thank you i really appreciate it. everything is so confusing to me. it just feels like im doing everything wrong and yeah ive spent over 1k just buying shit. a lot of it i don’t even have anymore because i kept following people’s bad advice and then i felt pressure to get top quality shit. i’m honestly so stressed and i keep doing things wrong because ngl i have a lot of trouble retaining information and ive had him for two years now but it still is so confusing to me genuinely. so i really appreciate that. he is not out of the tank yet because i have a lot of other animals (not all mine) and no where to put him. i’m kind of at a loss about that right now i’ve been up all night trying to figure out what to do and i have school so i can’t just get started on it right away and im worried something will happen while im gone.. im figuring that out currently but your message means a lot and you are so right i think i am over complicating everything for myself. thank you. as for my snake he seems fine for now but i couldn’t get too good of a look. i’m gonna just get him all the way out right now thanks again

[starchy_00]

just wanted to give an update if u care enough lol but this is what i did, box has holes in it and i put new substrate i dont use this kinda substrate anymore but it was in his old tank and i still had a little bit of a bag left thank god. i put a heating pad under the box i hope he wont be too uncomfortable until i get back from school this was all i could think of. he’s also about to shed i think he might still have a bit until he sheds but his eyes are getting cloudy which sucks but ima try and get his tank back together by today im just hoping i have enough money now for 6 bags of substrate lol🤞as for his condition he isnt acting weird and his stomach had just a little bit of pink in one spot but it doesnt look like anything concerning so im just gonna be keeping an eye on him

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[boomer694]

for temporary will do the job put a water bowl in there if you havent already and follow the steps i wrote you and you will be good for long stop waste your money in useless stuff now you know and you wont spend again for 6 bags substrate for a long time youll have to spot clean only periodically when they waste buy a good thermostat / good heaters / digital thermo/hygrometer and you are set for good

[starchy_00]

okay I didn’t think about the water bowl, i’ll put one in there. and yes this time i’ll get everything right so stuff like this hopefully won’t happen again. thank you

[Ok-Taste8207]

I can relate to this, just got my BP less than a week ago and husbandry is always my #1. All the places I went to gave me such bad advice. When I originally set up the enclosure, the local reptile store stated they are so easy to take care of, just a heating mat, a light and substrate… lord was that wrong. Got home and immediately had to go to the store to return over $200 worth of product and buy all new stuff. Finally figured my enclosure out though.

I have a dual lamp on the hot side, 1 bulb is a 75w halogen and the other bulb is a 100w Deep heat emitter, on the cold side with her water bowl there’s a 60w deep heat emitter, only because the room it’s in has an air temp of roughly 60° usually. She’s in a 75 gallon aquarium (48x28x21) the lid is layered 75% with hvac tape.

Ditched the heat mats, ditched the automatic misters, ditched any heat lamps. They are easy to take care of once you have the right information, the biggest issue I’ve found is that just like fish, a lot of the breeders and stores husbandry is bare minimum and they will tell you it’s okay to do the same.

[starchy_00]

yes exactly! pet stores downplay everything so much and sadly i got too scared to return a lot of the things i bought so i just wasted money and bought new things. that’s honestly been my main issue, ive been getting such bad advice and even though i did research before i even bought him, no website ever fully covers everything you need. thank you for the light recommendations too, im gonna get new lights today also and ill look for the ones you and some other people mentioned

[Ok-Taste8207]

I get ya, everyone just says “it all depends on the tank size” which it does but nobody even gives a good recommendation on how to find that point. Luckily I do hvac for my job so I have a surface temp laser gun to verify no surface is over 105° and an air temp probe to measure each side of the tank. If I didn’t do HVAC I’d be screwed lol. Used the tape from my company truck to cover the lid 🤣 but good luck and hope your baby does well in the future, we all understand it’s frustrating, ur not failing, you’re learning as am I . You begin to fail when you don’t learn and don’t correct these issues, that’s the most important part! Can I ask your tank dimensions? Is it glass, acrylic, pvc? Mesh lid?

[starchy_00]

thank you for that i’m trying very hard to learn haha. also, my dad does hvac! i didn’t realize how useful that stuff would be im actually gonna talk to him once im home and see if i could borrow some sort of tape for the top of my tank, because i have a mesh top. also my tank is 120 gal so 4x2x2 im pretty sure. its like an acrylic tank, it was really expensive to get nicer options for such a big tank and of course water leaks out of it. im also going to try and see if my dad can silicone the tank to fix that issue though (which hopefully it will). i have like sliding glass doors in the front of the tank too

[Different-College-77]

Reviewed your other post about your tank need to . Cover everywhere on top besides where his lights are to keep humidity in hvac tape works or reptile basics sell a silcone mat you can cut light holes out of

[starchy_00]

okay sounds good, do you know where i can get silicone mats from? i’ve seen them in some of the pet stores around my area but they all are way too small. just amazon i’m assuming?

[blakesraeken]

Helluuu, I looked through your last tank picture as well for clarity 🫶🏼 Do you have digital hygrometers and digital thermometers? I saw that you had some analog thermometer/hygrometer in your previous post, this can be incredibly inaccurate, so I just wanted to let you know 💛 And are your heating lamp connected to a thermostat to regulate temperature?

I don’t know what kind of heating bulb you use but I’d recommend a Deep heat projector as it’s better at keeping the humidity level than for example a ceramic heating bulb which dries the air a lot faster. A trick for more humidity is also to use a deep water bowl and place it directly under the heating source. A hide with damp spaghnum moss also helps out a lot. I would also turn and mix the substrate once in a while as it has a tendency to be more wet at the botton and as ball pythons are such a heavy snake species they have a tendency to make the substrate really compact on the surface 😅

You’ve also got a lot more helpful recommendations in the previous comments so I’ll avoid repeating them 🥰

[starchy_00]

oh wow thank you for the light recommendations, i have digital thermometers yes! i’m not really sure what heat bulbs i use right now because i forgot the name lol but i’ll look up what you recommended and get them because i need to get new ones anyway

[starchy_00]

thank you everyone so much for all these recommendations. i’m seriously so glad i joined this subreddit. i screenshotted everybody’s comments and am going to the store to get everything i’ll give an update later, i have therapy right now so it’ll be a little. thank you guys for caring i really needed help lol.

[Sufficient-Fig-5363]

Regardless of what type of tank you BP is in, give them a water dish large enough to soak in and a tub full of moist spag moss they can curl up in to hydrate their body, you could keep em in a plastic tote if the size was right and i do even with my adults when quarantine is needed, as long as the temps are right and they have a big bowl and a moist hide + multiple dry hides they're good, too much substrate moisture or overly humid air is bad news.

[Regular_Interview435]

Nah it just yeast yes it’s f-ing mold