[Humidity] 80% Humidity too high?

[TribalMethods]

Hey guys, long time no talk

Sorry I have not been more active. I've had a lot going on.

I just moved into a new house and the air is more dry than my previous homes. I have been using a humidifier on low for my own well-being. For months now I have been using sphagnum moss on a plate under my snakes RHP to keep her humidity between 50-70%. However, with the humidifier running, her humidity is staying at 80%.

Is 80% dangerous for them? (Costa Rican Boa's?)

Thank you, I hope I will have time to be a lot more active again. I miss this forum

[acephantom903]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

I'd see about reducing it a tiny bit. Boas can get scale rot unlike blood pythons. 80-100% is fine for short periods (like shedding week) but I wouldn't keep it like that 24/7.

[TribalMethods]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

I'd see about reducing it a tiny bit. Boas can get scale rot unlike blood pythons. 80-100% is fine for short periods (like shedding week) but I wouldn't keep it like that 24/7.

I should mention she is being kept on paper towels. So the substrate is not wet. You still think it's possible she could get scale rot?

[bcr_229]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

I wouldn't think she'd get scale rot on paper towels as long as she's kept clean.

Also you could just run the humidifier for only a few hours each day, maybe turn it on when you go to bed and turn it off when you get up. Or put it on a timer.

[Pandorasdad]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

Or put it on a timer.

^^^This^^^

80% constant humidity is too high. You want to try to keep it between 50-60 as a constant.

[TribalMethods]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

^^^This^^^

80% constant humidity is too high. You want to try to keep it between 50-60 as a constant.

Thank you, your advice does not fall on deaf ears

I moved the humidifier away from her cage, and that has made her humidity drop to 62-65%. Just a tad higher than normal.

I like to keep it running on low basically all the time when I am home. The natural level is 28% in my room, which is way too dry for me. And when I get her out, I don't want her to be exposed to such low levels. With it running nearly 24/7 over the weekend the highest it gets (in my room, not hers ) is 48%.

Luckily she was not exposed to 80% for very long. Only 2 days. As soon as I noticed it was too high, I reached out to you guys. And I did thoroughly check her out last night for both RI's and scale rot. She is fine

[Pandorasdad]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

And when I get her out, I don't want her to be exposed to such low levels.

Small time periods for handling shouldn't affect her much. I wouldn't worry too much over that.

Kudos to you for being so on top of your environment. That's one area of snake keeping that is most often ignored.

[acephantom903]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

It also depends on where you are measuring the humidity. If you measure it on the cool side, a higher percentage isn't that bad. High percentage on the warm side is more than needed. In my cage the warm side humidity sits at about 55% normally and cool side sits at 68-70% normally. There is the same amount of humidity in the air on both sides but because warm air can hold more, the percentage is lower.

[CloudtheBoa]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

Nope. I keep all my boa's humidity as high as I possibly can without creating condensation. When I was using hygrometers, my humidity was almost constantly 70-80%, 60% at its driest. Been doing this for 5.5 years so if it caused RIs I'd expect to have encountered it by now. This winter is unusually dry, though, so I'm guessing it's probably sitting at 50-60%. Everyone is still shedding whole pieces but they're getting bent scales and their skin is a bit baggy. Can't wait to turn these space heaters off.

So long as things are soaking wet and you keep everything clean I don't see why 80% would be a problem.

[Pandorasdad]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

I don't see why 80% would be a problem.

Because that much humidity coupled with 80 degree plus temps is the butter zone for mold growth.

[CloudtheBoa]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

Because that much humidity coupled with 80 degree plus temps is the butter zone for mold growth.

That...isn't necessarily true at all. Whether or not you experience mold growth depends on a lot of things. The type of heater you're using (RHP, CHE, heat tape, etc.), the bedding you use, ventilation in the enclosure, the actual room's heat, whether you're running a space heater or not, etc.

I personally have had little experience with mold growth. In the enclosures with ambient heat (CHEs, RHPs, heat lamps) I've never seen a speck of mold, ever (again had some of these set ups for 5.5 years). In the enclosures I heat with heat tape, yes, I've encountered mold. But, these were tubs housing BRBs and not boa constrictors, and I've completely eliminated mold growth by mixing cypress mulch or another similar wood chip-like bedding. The chips/mulch air out the bedding enough that it dries out before any mold grows. I've had several tubs set up for several months at a time without any mold growth yet.

I don't really see this being a cut-or-dry issue, it takes more thought than "provide X humidity" and you're golden.

[bcr_229]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

Because that much humidity coupled with 80 degree plus temps is the butter zone for mold growth.

Yep. With my BRB's at 80% humidity I quickly learned not to use any natural wood décor - plastic hides and fake plastic plants are your friend!

[Noelle7206]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

Yep. With my BRB's at 80% humidity I quickly learned not to use any natural wood décor - plastic hides and fake plastic plants are your friend!

I also agree...while not a fan of plastic, we all have to pick the best thing for each application, so I use some plastic hides too, they just aren't subjected to much heat. And being mostly a colubrid-keeper these
days, they're housed in glass tanks with plenty of airflow anyway.

[Pandorasdad]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

plastic hides and fake plastic plants are your friend!

Yeah, I'm not too worried about natural looking decor. I use big purple plastic guinea pig hides and cat litter trays.

[TribalMethods]

Re: 80% Humidity too high?

Yep. With my BRB's at 80% humidity I quickly learned not to use any natural wood décor - plastic hides and fake plastic plants are your friend!

I paid hundreds of dollars to buy the right type of wood decor that can handle 90%+ constant humidity without molding. It's expensive because it's hard to find.