Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey, what is a good humidity level for a baby eastern? When at home, I'd mist the cage every so often to keep things comfortable. Now I've moved back to school and my apartment's A/C broke down, so my room is quite the humid hide (if only I was going into a shed...it would be great). The meter in the cage reads between 70 to 80% humidity throughout the day. Is that a good level? Is that too much?

As long as your enclosure has excellent ventilation, the higher ambient humidity will not be a problem; in some ways, it will be beneficial to a snake like an indigo that comes from a fairly humid climate. In some ways, I would rather err on having humdiity levels near what you are providing than an environment that is too dry. But, as I mentioned, good air flow/ventilation is critically important for long term health. Good luck. Rob

Good. I figured (based on where they come from) that that level of humidity would be good. The cage is pretty well ventilated, but I may get a little desk fan to put above it.

Although I do not have any easterns I do have tropical Drys and Spiloties. I use a humidifier on a timer. It kicks on twice a day morning and evening for a half an hour each. I also use a small fan to keep the air moving. By having humidity that spikes and then drys out, I get no mold or mildew. I have had good sheds and no respratory problems. I have been using this method for five years with excelent success.

I'm sure your baby easterns like the higher humidity. They come from a higher-humidity region of the world.

I prefer to keep my room on the dry side. I have experimented with humidification. Since I use a bedding which is part pine shavings, when the humidity gets higher than fifty percent, wood mites start to grow on the pine shavings. In most circumstances, they don't hurt the snakes. But they become so abundant that they can cover the surface of the water bowl with floating and drowning mites. That just bugs me.

I also prefer that the snakes fecal waste dries out. I use a bedding which I term a "composite bedding" which is very effective and allows me to go for longer periods between cage cleanings (before you all hypercleanliness nuts jump on my back, why don't you wait and I will post the method soon OK?). In moister situations, the snakes waste stays wet longer, and can spread around the cage and onto the snake as well.

The only disadvantage to drier air is that one out of twenty of so sheds is incomplete, and I have to peel off a little shed, or an eyecap scale. This doesn't bug me.

Robert Bruce.