Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i know the recomended humidity for a bitis nasicornis is 75% but is that very strict? for instance my humidity is 70% during the day and drops to 65% over night. my question is how acceptable is this? can this snake be kept at this humidity or must it be changed?i mist frequently and i just installed a ultrasonic fogger to roll some humidity through the cage and even with the coating of fog on the ground the humidity still dosent break 70%..i dont think my gauge is broke because when i turn on the computer fan in the cage the humidity will drop rapidly and it registers on the gauge so its gotta be working. but it realy seems thats the only possibility cause i know im doing every thing right and still the humidity wont go over 70%..heres the specs on my enclosure..it is 4ft long x 2 ft wide and 2 ft high..it is constructed out of wood that i painted white and it has a plexiglass front that opens up on hinges. the substrate is 2 inches of cypress mulch and has patches of sphagum moss throughout the cage..i have 2 very large hanging plants (no longer hanging) one on each side of the cage..and the ultrasonic fogger in the center rear of the cage..i have 3 water dishes placed around the cage to optimize drinking opportunities (including the one the fogger is in)..and still no jump in humidity..anyone hacve any idea y i cant fix it or can you please tell me if 70% is acceptable? thanks alot and sorry for the long post

My thoughts on this are basically, relax. If the animal is feeding & sloughing without problem, you are probably doing something right. The next good proof that things are right is breeding.

~~Greg~~

hey thanks the snake is eating like an beast but its pretty new to my collection and it hasent shed yet in my care. but he seems very very healthy and alert..im just worried cause i want to avoid any possible problems before they happen (respitory i assume because of humidity)

Like Greg stated, as long as its eating and shedding properly, its fine. I keep mine on cypress mulch and I mist the enclosure down twice a day. Dont worry so much about the exact humidity levels. Post some pic's of the snake if you can. Mine is from Uganda...IMHO the prettiest of all Nasicornis.

JS

I think that you should not worry too much about the precise humidity - 50, 60 or 75 %, or even more will all do and in my experience the snakes can tolerate quite a bit variance in this respect. What I find important in the context of nasicornis is that many of the animals are sensitive to stress. Moreover, it is a myth in my opinion that nasicornis like cooler temps since they live on the forest floor. We rather see that when given a choice the animals often sit right next to the spot.

Good luck

Klaus

Greg is right on. Klaus brought up an interesting point in that even though the literature suggests that these are "cool temperature" vipers, I, too, have found that mine will oftentimes seek out basking spots (that reach approx. 86-88 deg F.) for short durations. But, I am careful to provide thermal gradients away from the basking area that drop to around 72 deg F and, when they feel so inclined, they will also spend time there as well. That is why it is just so important that in most cases, we provide a thermal gradient for most captive herps. But as Greg mentioned, if the snake is feeding well, and, shedding in one complete piece, you're doing fine.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL

>>i know the recomended humidity for a bitis nasicornis is 75% but is that very strict? for instance my humidity is 70% during the day and drops to 65% over night. my question is how acceptable is this? can this snake be kept at this humidity or must it be changed?i mist frequently and i just installed a ultrasonic fogger to roll some humidity through the cage and even with the coating of fog on the ground the humidity still dosent break 70%..i dont think my gauge is broke because when i turn on the computer fan in the cage the humidity will drop rapidly and it registers on the gauge so its gotta be working. but it realy seems thats the only possibility cause i know im doing every thing right and still the humidity wont go over 70%..heres the specs on my enclosure..it is 4ft long x 2 ft wide and 2 ft high..it is constructed out of wood that i painted white and it has a plexiglass front that opens up on hinges. the substrate is 2 inches of cypress mulch and has patches of sphagum moss throughout the cage..i have 2 very large hanging plants (no longer hanging) one on each side of the cage..and the ultrasonic fogger in the center rear of the cage..i have 3 water dishes placed around the cage to optimize drinking opportunities (including the one the fogger is in)..and still no jump in humidity..anyone hacve any idea y i cant fix it or can you please tell me if 70% is acceptable? thanks alot and sorry for the long post
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

I forgot to make my additional point in the importance of keeping Bitis well hydrated via misting, and, providing a very shallow water basin in which the snake can easily put its head into. Many keepers make the mistake of putting in shallow pans but if its more than a couple of inches off the floor, they probably wont' use it. I try to sink my dishes so that they are even with the substrate. If using newspaper, which is perfeclty acceptable even for high humidity loving rhinos, build a gradual slope that leads into the dish. I will usually lift my rhinos and gabbies with a hook and gently nudge them into teh water just to make sure they are drinking (and every time I do this, they drink!).

>>Greg is right on. Klaus brought up an interesting point in that even though the literature suggests that these are "cool temperature" vipers, I, too, have found that mine will oftentimes seek out basking spots (that reach approx. 86-88 deg F.) for short durations. But, I am careful to provide thermal gradients away from the basking area that drop to around 72 deg F and, when they feel so inclined, they will also spend time there as well. That is why it is just so important that in most cases, we provide a thermal gradient for most captive herps. But as Greg mentioned, if the snake is feeding well, and, shedding in one complete piece, you're doing fine.
>>
>>Rob Carmichael, Curator
>>The Wildlife Discovery Center
>>Lake Forest, IL
>>
>>>>i know the recomended humidity for a bitis nasicornis is 75% but is that very strict? for instance my humidity is 70% during the day and drops to 65% over night. my question is how acceptable is this? can this snake be kept at this humidity or must it be changed?i mist frequently and i just installed a ultrasonic fogger to roll some humidity through the cage and even with the coating of fog on the ground the humidity still dosent break 70%..i dont think my gauge is broke because when i turn on the computer fan in the cage the humidity will drop rapidly and it registers on the gauge so its gotta be working. but it realy seems thats the only possibility cause i know im doing every thing right and still the humidity wont go over 70%..heres the specs on my enclosure..it is 4ft long x 2 ft wide and 2 ft high..it is constructed out of wood that i painted white and it has a plexiglass front that opens up on hinges. the substrate is 2 inches of cypress mulch and has patches of sphagum moss throughout the cage..i have 2 very large hanging plants (no longer hanging) one on each side of the cage..and the ultrasonic fogger in the center rear of the cage..i have 3 water dishes placed around the cage to optimize drinking opportunities (including the one the fogger is in)..and still no jump in humidity..anyone hacve any idea y i cant fix it or can you please tell me if 70% is acceptable? thanks alot and sorry for the long post
>>-----
>>Rob Carmichael, Curator
>>The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
>>Lake Forest, IL
-----
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

ok thanks alot for the help..i feel alot better that it dosent have to be exactly 75%...the snake is doing great but i was worried about problems in the future..

if you are still worried about maintaining adequate humidity levels you can soak if for a few hours once or twice a week. i kept rhinos for awhile now and have always soaked them weekly, this way they can drink all they want and it also helps with defecation.you might want to try it

Odin

thanks i do soak it once a week but that dosent have anything to do with the humidity in the enclosure. im not worried about hydration as ive seen it drink on many occasions.

the guage might be off. I have had them fluctuate and still be inaccurate. Sometimes they do not go up past a certain level when broken and sometimes the never fully drop. I would just double check. Either way it sounds like you will be fine if you don't have an extremely damp cage floor.