| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| nyoka |
Posted - 12/07/2010 : 11:04:46
Hi all this may be in the wrong place but have a few concerns about my setup hurting the general welfare of my royal . Who is a 5yr old female about 5ft long.
1) temps seem to be ok hot end 91-94f cool 81-86f
2) Humidity a problem i am constantly misting but fail to maintain above 35 on digital hygrometer goes up to 65 as soon as misted but drops within an hour i have a container full of wet moss near the heat source
as without that drops to 30%RH. heat source 250watt ceramic on pulse heater in a 4ft viv.
i have read that this can be insufficient ventilation but also read too much ventilation. I have only had the Royal for 7 weeks but she is yet to eat and thought this could be the problem as well as a stressful move etc. She has shed all being badly and required help, any and all advice would be much appreciated.(:D) |
| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| spor |
Posted - 14/07/2010 : 20:44:59
yeah as you say one large mouse for a five year old royal really is a bit small. at that age if she has been feeding well i would have thought she should be on at least medium rats. or several jumbo mice. |
| nyoka |
Posted - 12/07/2010 : 23:36:07
Hi thanks for your replies i am using a beechwood chip substrate, so will try mixing with aspen as for records from the previous owner im afraid i dont she does look healthy and is alert so took his word for it that all was well. Thanks for putting my mind at rest i will just keep trying to feed her on a weekly basis, on large mice as that is what i was told she was eating, which seems a bit small as that is what i feed my 3yr old corn snake, still if she takes one of those it will be a start and i have seen on this forum a food to weight ratio which i will follow once she starts. Thanks again my reply is late as im a shift worker |
| spor |
Posted - 12/07/2010 : 19:51:47
with the damp hide there she should be able to gain the extra moisture when needed. i would stop misting as the constsnt opening of the viv and spraying of cool water i would say is stressful and the constant jump in humidity would not be great. when i first starting keeping snakes i was all concerned about the humidity as well but soon notice that it was all ok they shed fine and were not suffering from any dehydration. what i also noticed is. that even the digital hygrometer can be faulity. Even though i am not over concern with the humidity I still have digital hygrometers in 4 of my viv .sets ups more or less the same and yet 2 meters read 25% one is 31% and one is 47%. i know you mentioned she did not have a good shed but that may be own to the move. do you have prevoius records from her last keeper to know what or feeding and sheding habbits have been in the past? |
| Welly |
Posted - 12/07/2010 : 17:58:16
I have been in your boat and not too long back.
What substrate are you using? I used repti bark, which just sapped all the humidity out the air. I moved over to half aspen half repti bark and that helped. Fully aspen and it's fine.
I must confes i have a humidifier hooked up to a humidyity controller but since moving over to aspen and allowing a good amount of ventalition it has done the trick and the humidfier hardly comes on. I have had 2 perfect sheds since.
I also have a bigger than usual heat mat that goes under her water bowl as well as her hot spot and that helps
Don't panic it has taken me since January to get it fully sorted. |
| Kazerella |
Posted - 12/07/2010 : 13:48:03
Same here- I do have a dial hygrometer in the viv, but don't check it unless she's in shed.Room humidity is ok.
Plus if you have only had your Royal for 7 weeks then she might not be eating because of the stress of the move. In my experience Royals take ages to settle in, so just keep trying and eventually she'll eat  |
| Blackecho |
Posted - 12/07/2010 : 13:16:53
I think that yes, the constant misting is likely to stress her a bit. I don't monitor my humidities at all, room humidity is generally fine. |
