Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I feel like out of every resource I have read on milksnake husbandry there is a large split on this issue. Lots of sources say that milksnakes should be misted once or twice daily and other sources claim that milksnakes should only be misted when they are about to shed and that humidity from their water dish is more than enough to keep them healthy. Some sources say that you only need to provide a water dish a couple times a week. Is there some sort of consensus on this matter? What do you all do for your milksnakes?

I prefer giving them a large enough dish to soak in and only misting prior to a shed. I also like to provide a "humid hide" just prior to a shed. Just a plastic container with the lid on and a hole cut in the top. Place either damp spagnum moss or damp paper towels inside. Just my opinion. I also like to keep the ambient room humidity in the 40-55 percent area.

I'm with Joe on this one."Humid hide"is the way to go and here is why I say that.
1: When you look for wild milk snakes in the dryer states out west they are found after or during rainy spells.When it has not rained for a while they go down deeper where its damp.
2: I have noticed that my snakes this time of year hang out on or in the water bowl.If I give then a damp and a dry hide they always go for the damp one.This time of year i pour about a ounce of water on my substrate(newspaper) every few days.I use heat tape and it drys things up real fast.
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"Wake me when its April"

Doug L

It depends on how you racks are built, where you live, and where you keep them. I like to provide a moist hide with almost all of my snakes. The keey being moist not wet.

I don't think there's ever a need to mist milks. A water dish big enough for them to curl up in and a humid hide during shedding time (though there's nothing wrong with a "full time" humid hide) is all they need.

Tim

I use paper towel as substrate with a hide full of aspen. Its easy to put a wet paper towel in one part of the cage and often the snake will coil up on or under it. This is easy to clean up after and easy to see if its dried up.

Looking at the thin skin of milksnakes, one can see how they may dehydrate easier than say a pituophis.

A great way to keep the cage humid if you live in a dry area is to limit ventilation, then provide a humidity source. A plastic food storage box with holes drilled in the lid to let humidity out is one method.

Here is another method I'm playing with - a bit of water under the pea gravel. The top of the gravel is dry. The water below provides some humidity. Snake is dry but humid. Kind of like the whole perlite thing for egg incubation - eggs stay dry but box is humid. Gravel needs to be cleaned alot though.

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Mark

Pretty cool Mark. I used that method for my daughters tree frog. The only problem was cleaning it. ARGGGGGG!! Wonder how that would work if used UNDER a layer of newspaper? Newpaper would prob. just fall apart I guess.

I've see people use those plastic under gravel filters for fish tanks under a substrate to elevate it above a small amount of water for frogs. I never used it and don't really know how well it works.
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