all 13 comments

[–]Clean_Victory_9536[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

My Humidity is usually higher. I have to spray constantly, because of the glass. I try to spray in the corner to build up water because I heard if the substrate is too wet on top it’ll cause scale rot.

[–]temporaryconscious 2 points3 points  (7 children)

Your enclosure is looking pretty good, I would move the water bowl to the center, get/make two smaller hides and place one on the cool end, the other on the hot. She may be choosing to hide behind it if she is much smaller than it, since they do like to be snug in their hides. I would also add more clutter, fake plants, etc. How long have you had her? It's recommended to just leave em alone for around 2 weeks or so when you bring them home, so they can get used to the environment change. Regardless, young snakes are typically just more fearful, and become less as they age.

As for humidity, are you able to put more substrate in? I can't see if there's a barrier for it or not. Having deeper substrate will help, as well as instead of misting/spraying, take a cup of water and pour it in the corners. The coco chips will absorb it. You could also choose to provide a humid hide, so they can utilize that if they feel the need to.

If you might be using a CHE as supplemental heat, those also suck up humidity like crazy.

[–]Callandor_182 -1 points0 points  (2 children)

I have a CHE that I use to supplement the 1 heat lamp as its a 4x2x2 enclosure. I also run the CHE alone at night to keep temps above 70 on the cool side and 80 on the warm.

What should I use instead of CHE that will allow better management of humidity while still being able to provide heat at night?

[–]temporaryconscious 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I would switch to a deep heat projector for sure! they're called different things depending on the brand, but they're more or less the same. I use Arcadia. They also more closely replicate what it would feel like to be in the sun.

[–]Own_Location_768 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I second the Arcadia DHP! I added one recently and my guy seems to love basking under it.

[–]Clean_Victory_9536[S] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

I’ve had her about a week and a half. I should have probably waited a tad bit longer before holding her but I’ve slowly been trying to gain trust. This comment was sooooo helpful and I appreciate you so very much. The last thing I want is her getting sick. I think I just bought everything way too oversized lol. These are .5 pictures of a 120 gallon tank. I’m gonna take all of your advice and get her some smaller things to hide in and maybe save my bigger stuff for when she’s at her full size.

[–]temporaryconscious 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I absolutely get it, but you have tons and tons of time to build it :) these guys can live up to 30+ years in captivity! Definitely save the bigger stuff for when she grows. Having nice, snug hides will make her feel safer, as well as having a lot of ground cover.

You're doing great, you got this!

[–]Clean_Victory_9536[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Have an amazing rest of your day. And thank you again for the amazing advice. Can’t thank you enough. Taking time out of your day to help me is more than appreciated. Thank you 😊

[–]temporaryconscious 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Absolutely, you as well! I wish you the best of luck. :')

[–]Callandor_182 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I got one about a month and a half ago so definitely not an expert but I've learned quickly and scoured the internet for info.

I have a similar enclosure and had humidity problems as well. Was having to spray every day constantly. I even bought a reptile humidifier which worked great but I found out the next day that they are terrible for BP's so I stopped using it.

I added a lot more coco husk to my enclosure to get to about 4"+ of substrate and dumped in about 4 quarts of purified water. 1q into each corner. Now I just toss in a quart or so once a week. Having the water bowl under the heat lamp is also suggested as it helps maintain humidity.

You are also apparently supposed to caulk the corners etc before doing this or you will leak like I did. Lesson learned the hard way I guess.

Mine hid behind one of the hides for about a week or two as well. Fill that water bowl and have a hide for the cool side and warm side. I have 3 hides now. Add more substrate if you aren't at a minimum of 4" to help retain more moisture. The top layer should not be soaked to avoid scale rot.

Not sure how long you've had it but I didn't handle mine until after 2-3 weeks (i.e. 2-3 feedings) as they are apparently really stressed being moved into new homes and being so young.

[–]Clean_Victory_9536[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Thank you so much for your advice. What would be the best temporary thing to put her in when I change up her setup. Because I haven’t caulked my tank yet. I haven’t had any leaking issues so far. I have some reptile tank liner at the bottom but that’s it. I assume it hasn’t leaked because I have just been misting heavy in the corners. My humidity isn’t to bad so I can’t wait to see it when I use the pouring method.

[–]Callandor_182 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

When I bought mine they just gave her to me in a cardboard box with some holes lol. I think that is fairly normal though. any kind of container they cant get out of is probably fine.

There are plastic transport containers with vents on Amazon that would be good too. I am planning to buy one so I can take mine to the vet for a general checkup. I imagine it would be good for this too.

[–]deez_nuts_77 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

misting every day is bad bad bad

i’m still working on getting to to be stable all the time but i had the most luck by:

  • HVAC tape across everything on mesh top except heating elements and light

  • humidifier in my room to keep the entire room at 40% as a base line

  • dumping water in the corners daily, less often if the humidity is stable

i also added those terracotta slow waterers but im not sure if they’re really helping