r/ballpython • u/tattooed_pariah • 1d ago
Help a snake granddad
Hello Slither Fans,
So my daughter bought a ball python when she was a teenager, she's 25 now and has since joined the Air Force. Mom and I have been doing our best to keep him healthy and whatnot, but are having some humidity problems right now.
He for some reason LOVES climbing on anything inside his enclosure, so we can't just suction cup the sprinklers high up on the wall like they are advertised because he will climb on them, and knock them off then we get a puddle wherever they are newly pointed. A few years ago, I instead poked the sprinklers through the tubing gaps on top of the enclosure so he couldn't climb on them and they stay in place, but we're using coconut husk and it seems to never be moist enough.
I'm thinking about getting some misters like you would use in a garden (they use the same size tubing) and installing them in the top mesh of the enclosure similar to how a fire suppression sprinkler system would be in a building. just a row of like 3 sprinklers down the center (it's a 60 gallon tank, approx. 3 feet wide and 18 inches deep)
would this work? has anyone done something similar and have pictures? is there a better option for a snake that refuses to let anything stay attached to the walls? I also like the look of the systems with the 1 inch tubes that appear to create a fog, instead of sprinklers, do those work better?
Thanks in advance!
7
u/CrazyDane666 1d ago
Misters, sprinklers and humidifiers don't do enough to keep up humidity without risking scale rot. Make sure he has a deep enough substrate layer (a couple inches) and just pour water into the corner every few weeks. Works like a charm, super low maintenance, and means the humidity stays consistent
2
u/Practical_Mammoth963 1d ago
Pretty snake!
Misters aren't needed
See how there's a line at the bottom of the cage? That's the substrate barrier. Fill that puppy up with a nice substrate that holds humidity. I like eco earth mixed with forest floor.
Then you can pour water into the substrate (either at the corners or everywhere but put a dryer later on top) to keep humidity.
1
u/Vann1212 1d ago
Would strongly advise against using any kind of automatic mister or flogger, they can harbour pathogens and also make surfaces excessively wet, predisposing to scale rot. Same thing for sprinklers tbh. Do not use.
Since the vivarium has mesh on the roof, cover the mesh except for where the heat source sits. Foil, HVAC tape or a custom acrylic cover will work. Mesh top vivs are popular but unfortunately are terrible at holding humidity - I'd never recommend them for higher humidity species like royal pythons, absolutely useless at keeping humidity up. However, a lot of people who bought mesh top vivariums did find that covering the mesh makes a significant difference. I've never seen anyone successfully keep humidity up high enough for a ball python in one WITHOUT covering most of it.
With substrates like soil mix, cypress mulch or coconut fibre, pour water into the corners of the vivarium - this will soak into the bottom layer but leave the top drier, avoiding scale rot but still contributing to humidity by slowly releasing moisture. You can mix sphagnum moss through the substrate to improve the moisture retention. Making the substrate deeper will also help. Cypress mulch can also hold humidity a bit better than coconut fibre, so swapping may help.
Adding a humid hide won't contribute much to ambient humidity, but it's a useful addition for a focal boost during shedding.
You can also add a second water bowl, or swap the current one to one with a larger surface area.
It's not surprising he climbs on the sprinklers, a lot of them are keen climbers, and it's a bit of an old myth that they don't. I'd strongly advise using pretty much every other method than sprinklers.
Ceramic heaters also tend to dip humidity more than other heat sources. DHPs are also lightless, but don't drop humidity as much - and both fit a standard ES27 fitting. But you may not need to change anything about the heat source setup if you address other methods first. Especially that mesh!
1
u/tattooed_pariah 23h ago
We use distilled water in the mister system to avoid contaminants, but I get the concern :)
Currently I think the coconut husk substrate stuff is about 1.5 inches deep, it sounds like that should be doubled?
we did cover 3/4 of the top mesh with foil, the only exposed quarter is where the light fixture is.
Prior to the light upgrade yesterday, he was curled up and hiding in the back corner of the "warm side" never leaving it.. Right now, he's curled up under his hide on the cool side, so I'm counting that as an improvement that he's moving around his tank again..
I poured some water on the substrate in hot side, i'll keep an eye on it and see how that all goes.
Thanks again for helping an ignorant grandparent take care of their grandkid! haha
1
u/Vann1212 23h ago
Distilled water doesn't prevent bacterial growth, especially oligotroph genera such as Pseudomonas, Bactoderma and Mycobacterium. Mister are generally to be avoided with snakes, not just for potential pathogen reservoirs but for scale rot risk too.
Oh yeah, double it. 1.5 inches is pretty shallow. I use 3-4 inches. Adding sphagnum moss too will help hold humidity better. Switching to cypress mulch is still an option too. -(sometimes labelled "forest floor", but it should say somewhere on the bag that it's cypress mulch)
Covering the mesh will definitely help, though even with 3/4 covered, it'll still never hold humidity like a solid top viv, but that should still improve it a lot compared to the bare mesh. Honestly a 60 gallon is pretty small as a setup for an adult python, the recommended size is double that - if you're upgrading him I'd 100% recommend a solid top PVC viv. They can be pricy when new, but worth it - but they can also be found much cheaper second hand.
Pouring water into it should definitely help improve the humidity. You can manually mist a little too, with a spray bottle, onto the walls of the viv - it won't soak the surfaces.
Hope all the small adjustments help and the humidity is doing better.
And no problem, it's great that you're taking care of him and wanting to get things sorted out for him. All the best!
1
u/tattooed_pariah 1d ago
Yesterday i switched from a single bulb with a ceramic heater to this dual system. 60w ceramic heater on 24 hours, 100w heat/uva/uvb bulb 12 on/12 off.
https://imgur.com/a/NfKS3vB