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New Humidifier Set Up

Sesha Dec 27, 2006 03:04 PM

Since I've had this boa in my care, I have had to mist the cage, soak the substrate, and even had an aerator set up to bubble the water in an attempt to keep the humidity up. During the holidays I received an odd looking humidifier as a gift. It's basically an oddly shaped bowl with a tiny lid in the middle. The water is electrified near the "arc" and a rather eerie looking cloud of water vapor slowly flows over the sides of the bowl.

The top of the cage is wire mesh, complete with my very best friend--lid locks. We have a ceramic heat lamp that sits upon the mesh as well, but at a reasonable distance. There are some low branches for her to climb and I don't want her to get accidentally burned.

I have a towel that covers half of the cage, and on top of this towel is the humidifier. I've modified the bowl so that most of the water vapor trickles into the cage. For the past few days, I've seen her emerge at night to bask. Rather than face in the opposite direction, she faces the stream of water vapor. I'm happy that I can now turn off the aerator, as I'm sure that she didn't enjoy the vibrations one bit. I turn the humidifier towards or away from the top of the cage in an attempt to maintain a steady humidity level. For the past few days, the humidity as lingered around 70%.

Later on I will attempt to modify the humidifier (just the bowl--not the electrical components) so that it can reliably keep the tank at about 70% all of the time.

Replies (4)

reptilicus81 Dec 28, 2006 09:12 AM

What type of humidity guage are you using? I mist the cage once a week (mainly to keep breeding interests up) and keep a full water bowl in the cage. Dumerils should not be on a wet substrate unless you want belly rot. I keep mine at around 60% humidity. You do not need a humidifier to keep a dumerils...maybe a rainbow!
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3.17 Normal ball pythons
1.0 Pastel ball pythons
1.0 Plains Garter
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
1.1 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Mid-Baja Rosy Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
-----My list is too long, so I'll stop here!
*Amy*

Sesha Dec 28, 2006 02:37 PM

Yeah, I just had a reply from another forum saying that Dumeril's live in arid or semi-arid environments. If you know of some in-depth information about their natural environment in Madagascar that would be greatly appreciated. I chose this boa because it was recommended as a hardy and shy boa that could tolerate a few beginner mistakes.

reptilicus81 Dec 28, 2006 05:03 PM

Luckily, most snakes can handle beginners mistakes, as we all have to start somewhere. When I started out I was giving my ball python around 70% humidity and he developed a respiratory infection. We took him to the vet and she told us that most people don't realize how many infections snakes can get from an enclosure that is too wet. That was over 5 years ago, and since then I have done my share of research.

Dumerils are very endangered in the wild, and not a lot is known about their natural history. In fact it is illegal to export wild dumerils. Hatchlings and juveniles eat a lot of reptile prey before eventually switching to rodents. Luckily for us, most captive hatchlings are more than willing to eat rodents! I have one adult male who only eats chicks, but my girls love their rats!

I would keep your enclosure around 80-85 degrees on the warm side and 75-80 on the cool side. Create a hot side and cool side, so that the snake can thermoregulate. I have not had a lot of success using lights in the past as my snakes never bask during the day, but I'm sure the same effect can be created. I personally am a heat pad fan Keep a good sized water bowl in the tank near the heat source. Keep your substrate dry at all times. If you feel it necessary to have more humidity I would recommend creating a humidity box out of a tupperware. Cut a hole in it and place moist paper towel or moss. The snake will go into it when it needs more humidity.

Keep asking questions though and do lots and lots of research. Unfortunetly there is not a lot out there on dumerils, so I can see why you got confused with the humidity issue. But don't get discouraged. It is good to see that at least you care enough to try and find more information!

Good luck!
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---------
3.17 Normal ball pythons
1.0 Pastel ball pythons
1.0 Plains Garter
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
1.1 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Mid-Baja Rosy Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
-----My list is too long, so I'll stop here!
*Amy*

Paradigmboas Dec 29, 2006 11:36 AM

And good advise. Humidity kept to high is one of the most common novice mistakes.

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