Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i got tired of explaining how to set up a snake tank to people who had horrible set ups and feeding issues, so i made this diagrahm to speed the process up.

i'm interested in some feedback, and feel free to share it if you like it.

I have had mold/fungus problems with animals having humid hide over heat.

I also am only using a water bowl in an enclosed container on the cool side now so that the interior stays dry but the humidity is elevated. There is no condensation on the cool side.
Again I'm keeping the hide DRY.

Others may have different experience. My opinion only.

This is in a cellar with hot forced air that has gone down to the 20s humidity wise.

what did you use in your moist hides? i never had mold grow with cypress, but have seen it in sphagnum moss.

Cypress.

>>i got tired of explaining how to set up a snake tank to people who had horrible set ups and feeding issues, so i made this diagrahm to speed the process up.
>>
>>i'm interested in some feedback, and feel free to share it if you like it.
>>

a bit to many hides in my opinion....

Pitoon
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why? aesthetics, or something else?

>>why? aesthetics, or something else?

yes, snakes need hides....but they also need room to roam around. unless you are using a super long tub/cage, i just don't see your picture set up feasible with tubs that are normally used in racks.

as for mold...anything that is continually wet, will sprout mold spores. spores are everywhere, they just lay dormant until the right conditions allow them the sprout.

Pitoon
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Homepage
My BLOG
2010 European Shows

this is for a pet setup or display tank, not for breeding racks. yeah not good for racks because of limited space.
the snakes can roam on top of the hides. and i change the damp substrate every week or 2 without ever seeing mold, cypress has natural mold inhibitors.

Even in a pet set up that is a lot of hides. Takes up a lot of floor space and at least doubles the amount of hides that need cleaned. All my humid hides are filled with soil similar to Pro Exotics monitor mix and I've never had mold issues. I don't think More than one such hide is neccassary and many of my cages don't have any hides since the snakes prefer to bury themselves in the substrate any way. I'ts a nice idea, but a little over complicated

I love the picture idea.

Regarding the hides - here are some ideas:

1. If you make the humid hide large enough and place about 1/3-1/2 over the heat and the rest not over the heat, you have a warm and (somewhat) cool moist hide in one.

2. If you let the humid hide dry out periodically, you get dry too. Simplifies the setup. Though no problem adding a second hide in the cool end of a display cage.

3. If the substrate is deep enough, it becomes the cool dry hide or warm dry hide (for snakes that will burrow under it).
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Mark

and...

4. the water dish can double as a dry-cool hide if it's hollow like a plastic dog bowl or something.

also the dry hides don't need to be a container, they can be a cave, piece of bark, flat rock or something like that.

thanks mark!

That will work but depending on the type of snake your housing you raelly do not need hide boxes under the heat. Natural instinct will tell the snakes when it needs to get out of the heated side and they will reside on the cool side and in the hide boxes there. Hope this helps and best of luck with your setup.
Snake and Lizard Enclosures

I get frustrated with the whole humid hide vs. Dry hide thing. For one, humid doesn't mean wet. Most reptiles don't want wet, they want humid and dry. Usually a tight hide accomplishes these seemingly paradoxically situation. I have found that "Retes" stacks have worked well for many many snakes. I use them for all my raise up boas and JCP's, and my hognose love them. If we're talking Kings, well that's what "Retes" stacks were created for. A stack of boards directly under, or over the heat source takes care of all your hide needs and leaves the rest of the cage for "roaming" room. Not to mention the stacks allow you to creat a temp gradient in a small cage that would be otherwise impossible.