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Frustrated (humidity)

TripleMoonsExotic

TripleMoonsExotic

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So it's that time of year again and my heat is on. I have blower heat or something and it makes my entire house very dry (so much that it bothers even me) and I can't think of a simple solution to keep humidity up where it needs to be. My husband tells me that he thinks the humidifier connected to the heater isn't working, so until he gets around to fixing it (hah hah, in another 10 years), I need to do SOMETHING.

I never have any problems with the other animals, just the BPs! Spraying twice a day, big bowls of water...It's driving me crazy! Unless I move the BPs into the reptile room (they are currently in displays in my living room), I can't run a humidifier. Should I just bite the bullet move them and setup a humidifier in the reptile room or is there another possible solution for me?
 
I have the same issues once the baseboard heating goes on. Summertime I am fighting to keep humidity low, winter i am fighting to keep it up.

What I do is just simply use some spagnum moss in a little dish on the warm side. I get it damp with warm water then wring it out so it is not sopping wet. I start witha little bit, then see what that does. if humidity needs to be bumped up a little more, then add a little more. If it is way too high, i take some away

the only downside to using moss is you have to make sure it doesn't mold, but it stays damp for several days. I check my moss every other day to every third day. I have never seen it mold, but I do replace it once a week.

this is easier then having to spray several times a day. I'd say give it a shot if you dont want to have to move the BP's. If this doesn't work for you for some reason( i dont see why it wouldn't), then my suggestion would be to move the snakes into the snake room.

Best wishes!!

Janet
 
Yeah, "baseboard heating" sounds familiar. That might be what my husband said it was called. I like the idea of using moss to help humidity. I'm sure they'll all make a mess of it, but if it keeps the humidity up, that would be great! I use Cypress Mulch for their substrate, do you think it would be ok just to put the moss in a corner without a dish? I figure they'll be pushing it all over the place at night anyway.
 
See, I use newspaper, so if I don't use a dish, the newspaper would then get all wet...LOL

Since you use cypress mulch, I dont see why just placing it on top of that would be a problem- with newspaper, the moisture would just absorb out, but with my experiences with cypress mulch, it holds the moisture better, so you shouldn't end up with a big circle of wetness on half of the cage...LOL

My snakes mess the moss up on occasion, but i haven't had it cause any issues other then a mess. My snakes tend to like to tip their waterdishes more then play with the moss LOL.

:D Glad I was able to offer up some help!!

Janet
 
You could...

Do what I do. I take everyone out of their enclosures once the heaters click on and soak the cypress in a five gallon bucket for about an hour, squeeze it out good and place it back in.

I don't worry about belly rot as it dries out so quickly anyways. After a good thorough soaking you should be able to mist as usual, cypress won't mold and after the soak you won't have to use as much water to mist as it won't be soaking it up as fast as you put it in.

It also gives me time to really give the enclosures a good cleaning. I sometimes give the critters a bath too while they are in their plastic tubs. Most of mine seem to enjoy it, the ones that don't I give a warm damp towel to crawl around in.
 
Wow, Maggie. You do that EVERY day?
I'm going to try the moss this week and see how things go (I had a bag left over from when I did my crested setup anyway). If that doesn't work, I guess I will have to resort to pulling out the cypress and soaking.
 
OH NO...

If I did that every day I'd go nutty(er)! I just do that when I click the heat on and that seems to give the cypress that 'just bought' consistency so it will hold the moisture better for misting.

Ever poured water on really dry ground? It runs off until the ground has soaked up some of it. That is what I do to the cypress; by soaking it you open up the fibers so it will absorb and hold the moisture like you want it to.

Sounds like a big pain, but in the long run it will save you time...and you won't be pulling your hair out!
 
Stephanie, what kind of displays are you using for the BPs? And what are you using for heat?
 
They are custom made wooden cages created by my husband. Picture attached when they were first built 2 years ago. There's a long screened vent at the back toward the top (which you can't see in pics). During the day they're heated with a single Halogen light hooked up to a dimmer and during the night they're heated with a piece of 11" Flexwatt (hooked up to a Thermostat of course).
 

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Well, as I'm sure you know, even singly, long screened vents or heat lights can sap the humidity out of an enclosure (nice looking units, btw). All the same options that would apply to a tank apply - covering off part of the screen, skipping the heat light in favor of the tape, humid hides, etc.
It's just one of the many things we have to deal with here in the NorthEast...at least it isn't a hurricane :) .
 
I've been having the same issues, but for some reason, it seems to be worse this year than in years past. I don't think the heater has been running any more than before, so I'm not sure what the reason is.

I use newspaper in all of my racks, and have been toying with the idea of switching to using aspen (since I always have that on hand) for substrate, I wonder how well that would hold humidity as opposed to the cypress? It's got to be better than newspaper, but hate the thought of making a change and throwing those still eating well off feed this early in the season.
 
My only suggestion would be t get rid of the light bulb. That will be your number one killer of humidity. Running the heat tape is all you need for heat. If you want light for display, get flouresents.
 
I went with the halogens because I couldn't find ANYTHING as far as flouresents that would work for this. If anyone has a suggestion for where to get something that looks nice that would work, I'm all ears! :)
 
Ace Hardware...

or Lowes (Home Depot, ect.) carry these 18" fluorescent that you can mount under the kitchen cabinets and whatnot. I'll try to get a pic of how I have them mounted in my display cages.

They throw out very little heat and the snakes don't bother them. They have a plastic cover so the animal doesn't come in contact with the bulb so they can't dislodge or break it. So far none of my kids has been able to get that cover off and they put just the right amount of light, not too bright.

They cost me around 15-18 dollars, if I remember correctly.
 
One thing i do every winter in my snake room is i put a bowl of water inside my heating vent in the room. It really makes a difference in the room. That way the air outside the cages aren't pulling moisture from the cages. It may not work well in a bigger room like a family room but it may be worth a try.

Rick
 
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