Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 6 foot burm just shed last night, but she shed in little peices and only about 25%. Is this normal or should i let her go for a swim in the bathtub to get the rest of her skin off. I was also told that this was a problem due to no humidity in the cage. I keep her in a large enclosure that doesnt have a screen top so what ways can i create humidity within the enclosure.

There are a number of variables that will result in a low humidity. How tall is your cage. I always recommend a cage no taller then 2' because the added height just increases the difficulties in maintaining the humidity. Also, how many ventilation holes do you have. You might need to cover a few of them. The key to humidity is creating. If everything in the cage is perfect but you have never obtained proper humidity levels then it isn't going to get there by itself. Mist the snake with a water bottle (I use a pressurized insecticide spayer with water to mist with). Mist the snake several times over the course of a few days and see if this helps. You can also place the water bowl over the heat source. Also what type of substrate are you using. If you use newspaper, dampen the majority of the cage and as it evaporates it will increase the humidity. Hope this helps a little, Todd

I would certainly let your burm take a little dip if at all possible. The skin should have come off in one piece.
Go to your pet shop, and by a hydrometer to measure the humidity in your enclosure.
Anything below 60% should be considered not enough. I usually shoot for 60%-70%...higher for my BRB's. And there are time when I cant keep up with humidity loss.
If your snake will soak, by all means let it do so. Get a misting bottle, and mist your snake and enclosure a few times a day.
The skin should come off in one piece.
Install your hydrometer, and from here on, keep your humidity regulated.

Bob

My enclosure is prolly about 20" high and i use 3/4 ply wood for the top. I drilled anywhere from 40-50 holes in the plywood for air. I use repti bark substrate. When spraying above my snake he usually hisses and twitches as if does not approve. would spraying down the actual substrate help

The normal below is the one goin through the shedding problem

I don't think the comforter has enough water to help. JK.

As Todd mentioned using a garden sprayer works well but remembering to do it and often enough is a pain. You can easily connect a watering timer to the garden sprayer and a misting kit from BARRS that will mist the cage automatically at whatever time or times you desire. It's great. The garden sprayer holds enough pressure to spray for at least a week without pumping it and holds enough water for over a month before refilling. Sprayer $20, Timer $45, misting kit $15, Hose end $1. Total is roughly $80 and you'll get a nice mist.

If you wish to do this and need help, let me know.

DZ

thats exactly what a friend suggested, to take one of the misters of my patio cover and hook it up to my snake cage.
Thanks for your suggestion

Here's the pic I just posted today of my misting system. See the cage gallery for a closeup of how to connect it if you need.

DZ

Spraying the substrate will certainly help. I keep mine damp.
Not wet, just damp. As Capt Hook said, use a misting system.
I use two methods.One is a pump type bottle that holds about a quart of water. Easy to handle, and yes, hiss or not, I do spray my snakes when they begin to shed.
As far as a misting system. I use a Zoo Med Habba Mister.
Works great. And Half the price of a misting system.
I think I paid around $44. You can even find them on ebay.I have two, and can move them from cage to cage as needed.
They have their own built in timers and mist duration settings.
A fogger will work as well.Adds great effects around Halloween time.lol.I've used foggers with some success. Works better for my BRB's that really need humid air.
Anything you can do to add moisture is a plus. The important thing is that you do it.

And I went back and look at the pic of your burm.
I dont care how pretty your comforter is. Placing them atop a comforter that looks like water will not help. They need the real thing!...lol
Try plugging some of the holes on your enclosure.
That may help as well.
Love that pic...Ya know. I dont own a normal burm, and the more I seem them...hmmm

im gonna stop by petco tommorow and im gonna look for that habba mister either that or im gonna rip some misters off my patio and do something custom. And also can anyone reccomend a product that reads humidity levels well

you can use a humidity gauge to read the humidity. Im sure petco will have one.
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1.0 Albino Green Burm
0.2 Normal Burm
1.1 Java Retic

i went to petco today and the man there reccomended that i try putting down some moss in the enclosure so i bought 8 quarts of moss and put it in one of the corners of his cage, and was told to spray the moss along with the substrate and the humidity will rise and most likely stay above the 60% mark. Two questions 1. Do burms like moss in their enclosure 2. Is there such thing as too much humidity for the snake