| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| DTM1210 |
Posted - 30/03/2011 : 22:51:48
I have been successfully providing my BRB the necessary heat and humidity requirements up until now and even though we are coming into spring, my schedule has gotten full and I need to use other methods. I've looked at all these retail sites and see this for temp control and that for humidity. Without having to go through buying, returns, exchanges, and poor products I wanted to find out what you guys use; what products work and which ones do not.
Thanks in advance. |
| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| LadySerpent |
Posted - 10/04/2011 : 22:54:25
I do use glass tanks on my BRBs and I find covering the screen tops with seran wraps or plexi glass helps with keeping humidity. What I use is a under tank heat mat and humidity substrates. Than, depending on the size of the tank... I put 1/4 cup of water on top of the substrates where the under tank heater is. When the screen is covered with plexi glass, it helps keep the humidity in. Be sure to not cover the whole tank with plexiglass. Leave a quarter of an inch for ventitlation. If you use seran wrap, poke a few holes for ventilation. Hope this helps. |
| Snakesitter |
Posted - 08/04/2011 : 18:29:04
David, if a fish tank is all you have available, go with it, but glass tanks are poorly suited for this species: they tend to insulate poorly, screen tops make humidity management difficult (even when covered -- though kudos to you for taking this step!), and Brazilians are a secretive species to begin with -- which glass walls do not fit well with. ;-) You may want to consider picking up a proper viv at some point in the future, and I think you will find this reduces your maintenance time at the same time it increases your animal’s out-in-the-open time.
For temperature, judging by the three heaters, it sounds like you are having issues keeping enough heat in the tank. If so, you might consider partly wrapping the glass sides in an insulating material such as Reflectix (a thin aluminum-colored substance sold at home improvement stores). This will have a nice silver lining (cough, cough) in that it will make your snake feel less exposed due to less transparent walls, and you may see him/her come out more often. Just be sure to carefully watch temps for the first few days if you do use this material, as the tank *will* retain heat better.
For humidity, daily misting is rarely needed if the setup is laid out well. There are two main components to humidity management: maximizing humidity inside the viv, and limiting its ability to escape to outside the viv. For the first, I provide a large, flat water bowl and position it partly over the heat to promote evaporation; a substrate that will retain moisture (paper towel, at least two squares per cage, but I use that for speed -- the moss/eco you use is perfect); and a moist moss hide. For the second, you’ve already covered a glass tank’s main weakness, the lid. With my setup, I generally need to mist only twice a week. But even with all these steps, the snakes make the final call. As CDN noted, animals will often adjust their position as they see fit to obtain the desired humidity. For example, I have one large female that has spent the last two and a half days (even since feeding night) soaking in her bowl.
While I also agree with CDN that dripping humidity all over a viv is a bad sign, Brazilians are much more tolerant of high moisture -- and seemingly much more resistant to scale rot caused by humidity -- than most other species. For example, the inside of my moss hides usually *do* have condensation running down the sides -- and the animals seem to love that.
I hope this helps, and feel free to ask if you have any more questions. |
| CDN_Blood |
Posted - 08/04/2011 : 11:41:54
Over the years I've found the easiest way to maintain humidity is to let the snakes do it themselves by providing a water basin large enough to submerge in. Even during a moult or with a full belly, they'll track it down and use it. It's not unusual to see one soaking for hours, days or in some cases (more aquatic species like my Bloods) for weeks.
So much of this depends on the outside environment. Those with electric heat in the house may find snakes will soak for days. A space heated by radiators may find the snake not soaking at all.
Personally, I use the large water basin idea combined with occasional spritzing for the odd animal in a more open-top enclosure. It always freaks me-out when I see a snake enclosure with so much humidity that it's dripping from the sides. That's usually asking for trouble with respiratory issues and belly (or scale) rot, so again, I side with caution and opt for self-control where humidity is concerned, but that's just me  |
| DTM1210 |
Posted - 08/04/2011 : 07:16:21
Ceramic heater, (2) under tanks (he's in a 20 gallon), temp/hygro unit in one (daily misting). Sphagnum moss on top of eco earth for substrate.
I keep temp and humidity good. The lid is a screen lid but is covered to keep humidity right. |
| Snakesitter |
Posted - 05/04/2011 : 00:01:41
If I might ask, what methods do you use that will need to change? Do you currently use a thrmostat, for example? The more data we have, the more we can help. :-) |
| gingerpony |
Posted - 02/04/2011 : 21:24:01
i use a Habba-Mist.......it's a bit disappointing  i'm just glad is was a birthday prezzie rather than something i spent my own hard-earned cash on! |
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