Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I keep on spraying the inside of my tank with water, but it keeps in dropping below 60% humidity. It stays above 60 for about 10 or so minutes..should i keep doing it until it finally stays around 60? or should i go buy a rubbermaid real quick and change over...ahh..so many questions!! thanks for all the help!

Do you have a screen top? If so, maybe cover it 2/3 of the way. Maybe even cover part of it with a damp cloth. How big is your water bowl, you could buy a bigger one. I know one poster said he has a hide with damp sphagnum moss in it.

I'm not experienced at all (not even a snake owner yet), so I'm just saying these things as general common-sense suggestions. Somebody correct me if any of them are glaringly wrong.

Just out of curiosity, where do you live? I live in Maryland, and I don't anticipate having too many problems with humidity because the ambient humidity here is usually pretty high as it is. I just plan on doing a couple of the things listed.

I used to live in Maryland..i've been considering moving back to maryland..but for now i'm stuck down here in Arkansas where it is always hot and humid outside...although it is cooling off a little bit.

Then you indeed have a BAD Ball Python cage setup. No additional spraying or work is usually needed for a properly set-up Ball cage. So that fact that its humid where you live and you are STILL having problems with humidity in your cage, leads me to believe that your set-up sucks lemons.

Post pics if you can. This can all be solved in 10 seconds with a good picture.
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I have my ball in a 20 gal temporarily until i'm done with my custom cage im building at the moment. I know aquariums suck for humidty, but im stuck with one for now. What I did was cover 3/4 the tank with a moist towel and the humidity rose from 45 to about 68 and its been steady most of the day. I really don't want to spray my aquarium too much because I dont my ball gettin respitory problems. I live in Chicago and its really startin to get cold.

So you're not "stuck" with anything.

can you get me a picture of someone that has a rubbermade set up? cuz what i'm thinking along the lines of is buying a 20 or so gallon rubbermaid, cutting a hole in, putting my heat lamp right there, and drilling a few air holes here and there. I'm an obvious newbie with not a lot of common sence..so i'd love to see a pic to get me started.

Get a heat pad, an under the tank heater, or heat tape. Heat lamps are for lizards and plants. NOT a subterranean snake that lives in rodent holes in its natural habitat!
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you really know how to mess with my head. why do soooo many tanks/cages even have them if they're unnecessary??? i've already got a heat pad on the bottom of the aquarium.

Why do so many people not change the oil in their car even though its bad for the car? Simple. They either don't care, or they don't know any better.

You need to get a heat pad under a low-ventilation cage and get one side to 80F and the other side to 90F. That's it. Not rocket science. Stop posting and do it! LOL! You're making me miss my Green Riders beat up on the Bombers!! Ha ha.

Post pics.
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Get rid of the tank. Thanks don't hold heat or humidity at all. They are typically awful unless you cover the top.

I just bought a 6 square foot precision cage for 125.00. The great thing about these is that they can be heated properly with a 40 watt bulb. The heating fixture comes built in for free. And they custom build every single cage so they can be suited to your needs. I have a very dry climate during the winter. So it'd drop to about 30% humditity. So to fix this I got only one vent installed compared to three. So go buy a good precision for 125, you'll love it.
http://www.ball-pythons.net

i spent upwards of 150 on the snake and all the accessories for his tank...so i'm a little short on cash at the moment. but i will look into it. Thanks

Use a sheet of plexiglass or plastic to cover 3/4 of the top - opening is on the cool end. Do not have any cracks along the seem. You will hold humidity for a longer period.
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Jay A. Martin

I live in Arkansas too. Check out Wal-Mart for a file box that made out of rubbermaid material. It has a snap-on lid. It's about the size of a 20 gal tank and great for small ball pythons. Just drill some holes in the upper sides and lid for ventilation, but not too many or you'll have the same problems with ventilation.

I know rubermaids are the best but their are ways to maintain a good aquarium. And personaly, I only have one snake and I like to actually see the thing, I love my baby girl! Anyway to maintain humidity I use an ultrsonic cool-mist humidifier (has to be COOL mist, not warm). You can buy them at walgreens for like 25 bucks. You just have to run PVC pipe from the humidifier to the tank. Then see how long and how often you need it to run to keep the humidity up and then put it on a timer. And you won't need to run it at night because when the temps drop the humidity will stay in acceptable ranges. i have 36 gallon tank so I have to spray like once a day too. But I think with a twenty gallon you should have no problem keeping a nice humid enviroment. i just got a digital camera today so I'm still trying to figure it all out but if you want some pics of the set up e-mail me at Luckiefool@aol.com and I should be able to send you one tommorrow. Oh and you'll still need to cover about 2/3 of the top. Hope this helps you, I know it did for me!

What brand/model humidifier do you have?

It's a Sunbeam made for Walgreens. I didn't a model number on it anywhere but it's item number 700-012, that might be it. And it is $29.95.

I visited Sunbeams website to get an idea of what you have. I understand that you use PVC to funnel mist into tank. Do you somehow close of the humidifier such that all the mist from the unit is funneled through the PVC into the tank? Or is only some of the mist directed into the tank while the rest disperses in the room?

Also, do you cover the top at all?

I'd love to see pics if you have any.

Thanks!

Forgot to post the link in case anyone is interested:
http://www.sunbeamhealth.com/products.asp?id=5

With ulrtasonic humidifiers their is about a 1 1/2 inch opening that has a nozzel on it. You remove the nozzle and it will just be a hole into the machine. Next you have to attach the PVC pipe to the hole and run it to your cage. I am running into some problems with my digital camera but I will try to get it working or scan some pictures in tomorrow. Also search the forums and there are some pictures of some other peoples set ups. I'll try to see if I can find them again too.

http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=207430,207430

Here is a link to picture with an ultrasonic setup. It's the blue thing on the left. mine runs from the floor with pipe going up to the cage but hopefully this will give you an idea.

Now I get it. I also found this pic: http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/index.pl?photo=4147

I think I'll reserve this for my Plan B. Right now Plan A seems to be working well (keeping my fingers crossed). I bought one of those Tropic Aire Humidifier and Air Exchangers. Covered most of the tank with duct tape and my humidity stays pretty much at 64%- no misting or wet towels needed. I just bought a larger air pump to power the set up so hopefully that may even increase it a bit.

Thanks for the pics. Nice to know I have a back up option. I really want to keep using the tank. At least now I know I can still use the tank and have a nice setup w/o too much hassel.