Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am having trouble with keeping in the humidity in my boa's tank. Right now she is in a 55gal aquarium (i'm saving for a Vision tank soon) and her eyes have little dents in them and I heard it's because she doesnt have enough humidity in there. I want to know if I line the inside of her tankwalls with plastic wrap, will that help keep in the humidity??? Because I know that glass does nothing for humidity.
This is just until I can afford a Vision tank.

You are using a glass aquarium, right? They are made to hold water for fish. If it was made to hold water, it should be able to hold humidity. Nothing can be done to the walls of your tank to improve its ability to hold humidity. The key is in the type of lid you are using.

Right now I am using a metal mesh lid covered with damp towels and her skin still seems to dry out.

i live in LA and humidity is a bit of a problem here.... i use pet store sphagnum moss... mist it down once or twice a day... holds humidity in great.

hope this helps.

>>Right now I am using a metal mesh lid covered with damp towels and her skin still seems to dry out.

Get some plexiglas cut to the size of the lid and put it under the wire mesh with holes for ventilation of course. Or just cover 2/3s of the top with plexiglas.
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JMHO, FWIW, YMMV.

here's something I wrote a few months ago for the ultimate reason of creating a caging care sheet. This is only a portion and it actually details my setup w/ 20 gallon long cages, but the setup could be transformed into a 55 gallon (or whatever size you're using). The only note are the dimensions of anything I mention, just adjust them accordingly...
Good luck!
jb
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Newborns and Juveniles do well in the commercially available “20-gallon long” tanks. I recommend purchasing one with a sliding/locking top to ensure your new boa doesn’t escape. Many people frown upon these tanks because they allow heat and humidity to escape. However, with a few modifications to the whole setup, 60% humidity can be maintained within the cage with relatively little effort. I will describe the setup I use as an example.
- One 20-gallon long tank with a sliding screen top.
- One 8” metal reflector dome.
- One 60-Watt ceramic heat emitter (CHE).
- One 8”x8” under-tank heater (UTH), although in hindsight, I should have chosen something a little larger, perhaps a 10”x10” or 12”x12”.
- One sliding dimmer switch that controls both the heat lamp/CHE and the UTH
- Newspaper or Disposable Cage Liner as substrate.
- One upside down flowerpot filled with moist sphagnum moss all inside a plastic drain dish (note: you’ll need to enlarge the drain hole in the bottom of the flower pot so that your boa can fit into it – allow a little room for growth and for a full stomach).
- One regular water dish on the cool side of the tank.
- One Tupperware container on the warm side, just underneath the CHE and just on top of the heat tape (this warms up the water and creates humidity).
- One climbing branch.
- Two half-log hides, one just large enough for the boa to fit into securely and the other a little larger.
- A digital thermometer/hygrometer (temperature and humidity gauge). I don’t recommend purchasing the analog type because… well, they’re horribly inaccurate and fail frequently.
- One piece of plexi glass cut to the following dimensions: 18”x9.5”.
I have my metal reflector hood on the right side of my tank and the plexi glass covers the rest of the screen, which traps heat and humidity in. The UTH is on the underside of the tank where the metal reflector hood is. My Tupperware dish is directly beneath the reflector hood and my smaller half log is behind it. I have my flowerpot in the middle of the tank. My thermometer/hygrometer is stuck to the back of the tank in the middle as well because it measures humidity where the unit is at and it has a probe for temperature. The left side of the tank has the larger half log and the regular water dish. I have the climbing branch stretched from log to log with a third point touching the floor (or the flower pot) for stability.
The benefit of the clay (make sure you purchase a red clay flower pot) flowerpot is that it not only makes a wonderful hide, but it also is another humidity creating device. All you have to do is soak the flower pot in warm water for half an hour and moisten the moss and you have 100% humidity inside the pot when it’s turned upside down and it also gives off humidity to the rest of the tank which raises the ambient humidity above 60% for a short while. My boas ALWAYS use their flowerpot when going through a shed cycle and they never have to soak. A boa kept in a proper environment should not soak (of course, there are exceptions, but IN GENERAL, they should not). A boa generally soaks for three reasons, they’re sick, they don’t have an adequate hide, or the humidity is too low. So, if your boa is soaking, check your setup because something is wrong and that’s how your boa lets you know. The flowerpot kills two of those birds with one stone. The half log hides can also be soaked as well, as can the climbing branch. You should also have a cheap spray bottle to mist your enclosure occasionally. Remember, these animals are from equatorial regions, and sometimes rainforest areas, of Central and South America, there’s lots of humidity there!
The main benefit in my eyes of using a 20-gallon long tank is that my boas have always tamed down when kept in these setups. They see you all day passing by and there is also plenty of space to go and find a secure hide spot. However, if your boa seems to be aggressive and it strikes at the glass, you can tape newspaper to the exposed areas of the cage where your boa can see you and gradually remove portions of it over the course of many weeks until your boa gets used to seeing you.
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Jonathan Brady
My Kingsnake Photo Gallery

Awesome post JB...I use 20 gal longs right now
myself. Thanks for the good info!

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Jonathan Brady
My Kingsnake Photo Gallery

the snake's body. The water should be 80-ish degrees. Do this once a week or so, and the snake's skin will be nice and supple. Then, humidity inside the cage becomes less of a concern because the snake will be hydrated from the soakings. You still should cover some of the screen top anyway. I do this and keep the cage relatively dry. Dry cages are easier to keep clean. This is easy to do with one or two boas, and harder to do with many boas.
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Mark