Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I understand newspaper is the preferred substrate. I use it as well, but I'm having a hard time keeping humidity up, especially now that the air is dry in my house.

I saw some posts here that suggested using mulch for holding humidity. My question: isn't there a concern of mites when you introduce mulch, or even moss?

how do you prevent these critters? Would a damp washcloth do the trick, instead? would it stay warm enough in the tank, with a UTH and lamp?

thanks
Muggle

A couple of quick questions. What is the humidity level in the tank? What size and type(glass or rubbermaid) of tank do you have? If the humidity is between 40-60% you're ok. To raise the humidity level you can mist every other day or add a larger or another water bowl to increase the surface area of water. Also to keep humidity in, I've read you can cover 2/3 of the top of the tank. If you're using both an UTH and heat light source, you make be drying out the air in the tank too much. I use a UTH only, set 88-90 degrees.
If you're considering using cypress mulch, check out this URL.
http://www3.sympatico.ca/skarpik/Terrarium.html
"To prevent the introduction of mites and other parasites into the terrarium, we microwave the cypress mulch on high for 3 minutes before placing it into the tank (of course, allowing it to cool sufficiently..."

I don't have a hydrometer, but we have had consistently bad sheds. I'll be getting a meter soon, but have to guess until then. I have a glass aquarium, but have covered the sides with a towel to keep in heat, and 2/3 of the top (screen) are covered as well. The temps were too low for daytime with just the UTH, so I have the lamp on during the day.

I love the idea of nuking the mulch. ingenius!

Thanks a ton!
Muggle

I too have a glass tank and use a sliding screen top w/ lizard liner substrate (green felt carpet like). I put duct tape on most of the screen and installed a TropicAire Cool Mist humidifier w/ air pump to keep humidity up. My humidity stays at 64% w/o misting or anything. I use an UTH on warm side and a red bulb on cool side (otherwise gets too cold).

Before this I successfully kept humidity up by misting daily and covering the screen with a wet towel that I soaked twice a day (and wrung out before putting on tank top).

HTH

Consistently bad sheds are probably due to low humidity. If you enough room in the tank, try raising humidity as per previous messge. In the mean time, contact Big Apple Herpetological and order an "analog hygrometer". Their about $8-$9. I just called and they are currently out of stock but are ordering more. Have them put you on back order. I've ordered many products from this company and have been very happy with them.
http://www.bigappleherp.com/bigappleherp.storefront/3e599e020a07c43c271d424d361a05c9/Home
1-800-922-7753

go to petco you can get them for cheaper and you get Hydro/Thermomter for 8 dollars.

that's a great deal. thanks for the info

I've seen these, and someone once suggested one from Radio Shack for a good price. Just had to wait for payday (which is tomorrow). Feeding the kids takes top priority, but I knew the humidity was low.

thanks for all the great input! I love these forums!!

Muggle

Regarding mites in shredded and chipped wood products, I was plagued by them constantly and so stopped using them at all for almost two years. I’m no entomologist, but I’m referring to what I call grain mites. These don’t parasite snakes but can explode to huge numbers in a humid cage environment and be a real pest. I suspect that sometimes when people talk about seeing very tiny red critters crawling rapidly around, they actually have these and not snake mites. I also wonder if some people just don’t see these things at all. I mean, the smallest age classes practically require a hand lens to see.

Anyway, for the snakes I keep which like to burrow, there’s just no really good substitute for these wood products, so I broke down and got some SaniChips recently ALONG WITH a can of Provent-a-mite. I treated the entire bag, then let it sit for a few days before beginning to use it. The jury is still out for me on whether or not I’ll eventually have to treat individual cages, but it’s nice to have a miticide I feel reasonably safe using.

By the way, I use unprinted paper for my ball pythons and just accept that I have to spray down parts of their cages during the winter. If the are not frequently disturbed, their hide containers usually maintain a decent humidity.

-Joan

I do 2 things and I use paper towels when they are small and sani-chips when they are large.

1st, cover the top. I keep mine in plastic sweater boxes with just some holes drilled into the lids. Reducing the airflow in the cage will dramatically increase your humidity.

2nd, use a larger bowl for the snake to soak in. The larger the bowl, the more humiditiy. I haven't had a shed problem in over a year with 20 ball pythons. You can also put your water bowl over the heat so it evaporates faster if the above suggestions don't do enough.

Rodney

I have a pretty good size water dish for her, but since I gave her a hide only a few weeks after we got her, (I didn't know anything yet, but I have learned, and corrected that problem), she just won't come out. I have seen her out about once every 3 days or so. I'm sure she comes out when I'm not looking, and I change out her water every 2 days. I can see that the level gets pretty low, so I am sure some of it is evaporation. I have it close to the lamp that is on during the day, and under the covered section of her lid. I misted her last night, and while she hated it (I removed her hide, misted her and her cage, then replaced her hide right over her), I felt better knowing she was getting some moisture.

thanks for all the great input!!!

Muggle