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wolfspirit
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
5741 Posts |
 Posted - 19/01/2009 : 13:31:10
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Just reading the post on the water bowl and wanted to get some feedback on humidity levels in a 3x2x2 viv? Reason i am asking is becuase there is a shop not to far from me who told me 60% and then another with a lady who has lots of knowledge told me the only humidity that Royals should have comes from the moss box..
So what should it ideally be?
Thanks
Anne |
"No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from
now and make a brand new ending."
-- Source Unknown
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2009 : 15:53:05
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Hi Anne, I honestly do not measure the humidity for my Royals, they always have access to a moist hide if they want it.
Most people will say 50-60% humidity (which is about normal humidity in England). |
 
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matty18714
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2016 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2009 : 16:26:05
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| I dont check the humidity for mine either, but a bath and a moss hide when I notice shedding symptoms works fine. |
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dazb
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2847 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2009 : 17:12:30
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| i have hygrometer dials in mine and use a digital hygrometer to check those are right. my normal room humidity is 50-60% so i dont really do anything to sort it. just move water bowl from cold side to middle to raise it for shedding. |
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Gingerpony
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2663 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2009 : 20:49:25
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| i use a dial hygrometer too, they're pretty naff but are good enough to notice any drastic changes. if you have your central heating on all the time the normal room humidity can drop but you can counteract that by repositioning the water bowl as dazb suggested. |
Dumerils boas, BCO hybrids, Sinder Hypo boas, cornsnakes, ratsnakes, Day Geckos
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wolfspirit
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
5741 Posts |
Posted - 20/01/2009 : 09:56:24
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| Thanks for the responses, i have not measured it either, but i asked because i am now using a ceramic for heat and i was told they dry the air...but again he has a moss box should he need it...and the only time he has used it was when he shed... |
"No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from
now and make a brand new ending."
-- Source Unknown
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dazb
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2847 Posts |
Posted - 20/01/2009 : 17:20:44
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| i know the ceramics heat the air where as the mats dont so not sure how that effects humidity. just building a viv stack and gonna be using ceramics so i will let youknow how i get on. |
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wolfspirit
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
5741 Posts |
Posted - 20/01/2009 : 20:24:14
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Well my little boy seems a lot happier with the ceramic heat than he was when i was using a heat bulb, the heat feels nicer to and i prefer it being on a pulse as well...
I like this set up much better |
"No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from
now and make a brand new ending."
-- Source Unknown
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skyechi
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
30 Posts |
Posted - 21/01/2009 : 09:57:00
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| This is very interesting you do get so much conflicting advice I was told to spray her viv down heavily every day but this just didn't seem right to me a complete novice. Some places I have been their Royal have been in very wet/humid containers so as a new comer it is difficult sorting out hat they do really need this forum to me is invaluble. My next hurdle is feeding her too as how long does it take when they have been moved. Very challenging but the best and most interesting animal I have ever kept. My girl likes to sleep on full view she uses all her viv and like to sit in high spots looking sooo pretty. So I figure she must be happy. |
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 21/01/2009 : 10:10:56
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| If you consider that Royal Pythons originate in Africa, the humidity isn't high there. Other species such as Boas from South America will obviously thrive on a high humidity. |
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anatess
Sub Adult
USA
669 Posts |
Posted - 21/01/2009 : 18:00:52
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Living in Florida where room humidity can swing from 80% in the summer/fall to 20% in the winter, we find that humidity does affect the royal python. We try to keep it around 50% (which I understand is normal room humidity in the UK). A ceramic heat lamp will greatly impact humidity depending on the wattage. Okay, last October, when I first got my ball python, the humidity in the room was 75%. From what my snake vet told me, this can be too high for everyday setting and could potentially cause respiratory infection. I have a glass tank enclosure with an under tank heater for belly heat and a 100 watt ceramic lamp with a rheostat on one end of the tank for ambient temps. My house is set to 80 degrees in October (still hot in Florida) so the ceramic lamp is dialed down. I couldn't turn up the wattage on the lamp to balance the humidity because then it gets too hot, so I put a fan in the room, made sure it doesn't create a draft in the tank and that brought down the humidity. Then in late November, temperatures dropped outside, so we cycled our house temperature down to 72, so I had to turn up the ceramic heat lamp on the tank which sucked humidity down to 20%. The temps remained the same. The snake stopped eating and for the first time shed in pieces! It took me a while to fix things (about 3 weeks) until I got humidity back up to 45% (the most I could do). The snake started eating 3 days after the humidity stabilized. So, yeah, I'm pretty sure royals (or, at least MY royal), is sensitive to humidity. The hide box in the cool side has moss in it that I would sometimes spray down. But, I did not want the snake to have to choose between temperature and humidity, so I got rid of the moss in the hide. Okay, so this is what worked for me after 3 weeks of experimentation: I covered 3/4 of the top screen with tin-foil taped down with duct tape. I replaced the Aspen substrate with twice-milled Cypress. I put the waterbowl smack dab in the middle of the tank (half of the waterbowl is on the UTH). I put 2 of my bird's ceramic food cups in the tank filled it up with moss and made it very wet. That did it. Sometimes I have to spray down the cypress if it gets lower than 45%. But, most of the time, I don't have to.
Be careful with wet stuff in the tank - moist stuff = breeding ground for bacteria. Too wet substrate = scale rot.
If you have money, get a radiant heat panel instead of a ceramic heat lamp - it doesn't affect humidity much. But it's expensive. |
        
Snake owner since Oct 2008, so yeah, I'm no expert.
0.1.0 pastel royal
1.0.0 spider royal
0.1.0 albino royal
1.0.0 bumblebee royal
1.0.0 yellowbelly royal
0.0.1 wild-type royal
1.0.0 normal western hognose |
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wolfspirit
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
5741 Posts |
Posted - 22/01/2009 : 18:23:28
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I looked at Ceramic Radiators online, are these the same as your heat panels? does anyone on here use them?
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"No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from
now and make a brand new ending."
-- Source Unknown
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Gingerpony
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2663 Posts |
Posted - 22/01/2009 : 20:36:39
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| AHS, Reptile Radiators and Aztec Cassettes are all worth looking into (especially as the price varies quite widely for the same wattage) i'm looking into getting Reptile Radiators installed in the 4ft stack. one thing i've heard, only about AHS but it could well apply to all, is that the built in guard can get quite hot so a secondary guard might need to be fitted. |
Dumerils boas, BCO hybrids, Sinder Hypo boas, cornsnakes, ratsnakes, Day Geckos
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wolfspirit
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
5741 Posts |
Posted - 22/01/2009 : 21:54:30
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It is something i will look at, i have a spare viv here..lol...it is 3x2x2, i was saving it for when my royal gets bigger, but i am sorely tempted with a Rosy boa now added to my list of wants, they are gorgeous, not as gorgeous as Royals, but still nice, anyhow back to the radiators, i am deffo thinking of one for the bigger viv..
what is an Aztec cassette? i will google it in a mo.... |
"No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from
now and make a brand new ending."
-- Source Unknown
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ryzi
Yearling
United Kingdom
129 Posts |
Posted - 22/01/2009 : 23:09:31
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| not sure what an aztec cassette is but i have a AHSsystem in mine and its fantastic would strongly recommend as for the 2nd guard no need 1 it doesn't get that hot and 2 i find that royals dont climb much any way |
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 22/01/2009 : 23:11:45
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| You should try telling mine that, thought I'd lost one the other day until I spotted it curled up around the wire for the bulb! |
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ryzi
Yearling
United Kingdom
129 Posts |
Posted - 22/01/2009 : 23:13:29
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| lol mine has a lovely big logbranch to climb on but never seen her on it |
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lee2308
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2597 Posts |
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Gingerpony
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2663 Posts |
Posted - 23/01/2009 : 19:28:47
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quote:
Originally posted by lee2308
mine loves his branch,allways on it and can stay on without falling off now 
that's progress for a royal! |
Dumerils boas, BCO hybrids, Sinder Hypo boas, cornsnakes, ratsnakes, Day Geckos
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wolfspirit
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
5741 Posts |
Posted - 23/01/2009 : 20:25:17
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| Where do you get your branches from? i have looked at ones when i am out with my dogs, but dont know what is and is not safe for them to have in a viv...i am not paying ten quid for a squidgy little thing to go in his viv... |
"No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from
now and make a brand new ending."
-- Source Unknown
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Gingerpony
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2663 Posts |
Posted - 23/01/2009 : 22:35:12
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avoid firs or anything with sticky sap. pine and cedar are definitely toxic.
i found quite a few nice branches while out walking the dog, strip the bark off them, bake them in the oven for an hour if they'll fit, if not soak them in 10% bleach solution overnight - that kills any nasties before you put it in your viv. |
Dumerils boas, BCO hybrids, Sinder Hypo boas, cornsnakes, ratsnakes, Day Geckos
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