Humidity questions

I'm having some humidity problems with my 10 gallon. It's staying between 50-60% and I can't Mr. Pink to use his humid hide if his life depended on it. Any suggestions on how I can up it? I'm using the reptile carpet as a substrate, have the humid hide on the warm side and the water bowl on the cool side. Hot side is 93, cool side is 75. I do use a light dimmer for the uth to control the temp on it. He is shedding so I have been soaking him every other day to help him shed. I just placed a towel over 1/2 of the tank, so I can check tonight and see if it ups the humidity. Thanks for the suggestions. He is eating well too just to let you all know.

I would think the humid hide would be higher than 93 inside since the water attracts the heat and it keep building up in a closed space. I never use a humid hide. I just do a little mist before shedding and its always ok. Good luck. I would just move the humid hide if you feel you need it to the middle of the cage and put a differnt hide on the warm side.

50-60% Humidity Is Pretty Much Ideal. If You Want To Raise It Alittle More You Can But I Personally Wouldnt Go Higher Than 70-75%. Covering Half Of The Screen Top (if It Is A Screen) Should Help Hold The Humidity In You Can Also Put The Water Bowl On The Hot Side And The Evaporating Water Will Raise Humidity Too, But Just Be Prepaired To Have To Fill The Water Bowl Alittle More Often.....
Hope This Helped

Most of my boas wouldn't go near a 93 degree hot spot, so I am not surprised that your little Hog Island doesn't use a hide there. Try moving the hide to the middle, or even the cool side. Also, your stated humidity should not be a problem and the humid hide could be overkill...or at least unnecessary.

Why are you so concerned with very high humidity? The WORST mistake many boa keepers make is keeping them at constant levels of high humidity. High humidity and dampness will cause exaggerated bacteria levels and can be the cause of skin infections, belly rot, mouth rot, eye infections, shedding problems (sticky skin) etc etc.
I live in the desert and it is very dry here....I do nothing to raise the humidity in my boa cages and they thrive and NEVER have a skin or shedding problem. The evaporation from a large clean water bowl is all your boa requires and perhaps a light misting of warm water just prior to shedding if you like.

Originally Posted by M.Dwight

Why are you so concerned with very high humidity? The WORST mistake many boa keepers make is keeping them at constant levels of high humidity. High humidity and dampness will cause exaggerated bacteria levels and can be the cause of skin infections, belly rot, mouth rot, eye infections, shedding problems (sticky skin) etc etc.
I live in the desert and it is very dry here....I do nothing to raise the humidity in my boa cages and they thrive and NEVER have a skin or shedding problem. The evaporation from a large clean water bowl is all your boa requires and perhaps a light misting of warm water just prior to shedding if you like.

You forgot Respiratory infection, and Pneumonia. LOL

What you stated is how I keep mine ONLY when shedding. Otherwise it is more like 40-45% RH.

Rick

Originally Posted by crotalusadamanteus

You forgot Respiratory infection, and Pneumonia. LOL

What you stated is how I keep mine ONLY when shedding. Otherwise it is more like 40-45% RH.

Rick

YEP.....I meant to add RI.

The reason I was concerned was because he is going through shed right now and is having a poor time at it. I am going to soak him tomorrow to help him out but wanted to know about the humidity because I know sometimes poor shed can be related to humidity, among other things. I did adjust the temp on the warm side and have it now at about 86. I do know that too high a humidity will cause problems as well. I just want to find the happy medium. I did cover part of the tank and the humidity right now is reading about 67%. I will monitor it to make sure it doesn't go crazy. I will go about changing the placements of hides and everything as well too. Thank you all for taking the time to answer my questions. I'll let you know how it goes. I just want to try and avoid future shed problems if I can.

Originally Posted by techgirl

The reason I was concerned was because he is going through shed right now and is having a poor time at it.

Can you elaboorate on "poor time of it"? Unless he is shedding in peices, I would think he should do fine. Is he just taking longer than YOU would like? He should haze over, than clear up, than somewhere between 5 and 14 days, he'll shed. Some sooner, some longer. I've had both, but they shed just fine when they feel it's time to rid themselves of it.

Yeah he's shedding in pieces and it's been about 6 days since it's started. I'm used to my BP's shedding in one complete piece so I'm not used to this. I am more used to my leos having a problem with retained shed than my snakes. Thanks for asking about that. I never even thought about me being the problem with waiting it out. Just wanted to make sure I'm not being lackadaisical about this