Ron's Ball Python Blog

Old man winter is back again and he’s causing a lot of stir in our forums regarding the lack of humidity and what one can do to help increase humidity levels. Humidity is always a hot topic during the winter season because humidity levels oftentimes drop drastically during this chilling season. Before I talk about ways to help increase humidity, I need to first explain what humidity is.

Old man winter

What is humidity?
Humidity is nothing more than the presence of water vapors in gas. Water molecules move independently of one another and are suspended in gas. The number of water molecules present in gas can be expressed as humidity. When the air is warm, as during the summer season for instance, gas increases its capacity to hold more water vapor. When old man winter comes knocking on your front door, he brings with him colder air and as a result of this cold air, gas loses its capacity to store as much water vapors as it does during warmer seasons.

Water molecules in gas

Why is humidity relevant to my ball python?
When the air surrounding a ball python does not contain enough water molecules or humidity it becomes very dry. Ball pythons thrive when the overall ambient humidity levels are at least 65%. Lowered humidity levels contain less water molecules and the reduction of water molecules creates a problem during the shed cycle.

Low humidity will cause ball pythons to have very dry and incomplete sheds with patches of dry shed stuck to their scales. Leftover shed can be a serious problem if left over the eye-caps and possibly the tip of the tail so it’s very important to make sure the humidity in a ball pythons’ tank is at least 60-65%. Low humidity not only affects ball pythons, it affects us as well. Chapped lips in human’s increases substantially during the winter season because the air is cold and dry which causes many peoples lips to dry and flake. This is due largely to dehydration caused by the lack of humidity or water molecules in the air.

Incomplete or poor ball python shed

How can I help raise the humidity in my ball pythons’ tank?
We have an arsenal of anti "Old Man Winter" tools available to us in our toolbox. Lets take a look at just a few tools that we can use to help raise the humidity in a ball python’s tank:

Do-it-yourself humidifier: You can build a very inexpensive humidifier that will help increase the water molecules or humidity in your ball pythons’ tank. In a nutshell, the air-stone submerged in the water causes tiny droplets of water vapors to fill the inner chambers of the bottle thus creating high humidity within the bottle. This humid air is then forced out of the bottle and into your ball pythons’ tank. Many thanks to Reptile Evolutions for this useful homemade solution and to Deb, one of our wonderful forum moderators for the link to this project.

List of supplies:
· Drill
· Silicone
· Hose
· Pump (Pump shown is designed for 30 to 60 gallon tank)
· 2 Liter Soda Bottle or similar
· Air stone and blade (not shown)

Steps:

1. Cut two lengths of hose. One for cap to tank, one for pump to bottle. Drill hose sized holes into one cap and one into the side of the bottle, about 5 inches from the top.

2. Insert tank hose into cap, then silicone for airtight seal. Insert pump hose into side, feed through top, install air stone, feed back down to bottom. Silicone around side hole.

3. When silicone is dry, fill about half way with water.

Finished product. Put the reservoir someplace hidden, feed the hose from cap down into tank and place where desired, turn on pump. For increased humidity, use a smaller bottle or raise the water level. A larger hose to the tank, or more than one hose works as well. A half bottle keeps a 30-gallon's humidity at 55%. For more humidity, put a sponge inside reservoir. It will cause more humidity to build up inside, instead of the air escaping out hose without being properly saturated.

Cypress Mulch: Cypress mulch is an excellent substrate to use as it has tremendous water retention properties. Many other substrates tend to dry out fast but Cypress mulch holds a good amount of water and this water helps increase humidity levels in a tank.

Cypress mulch

Hide-box and Sphagnum moss: You can place a small Rubbermaid or Sterilite type plastic container in a ball pythons’ tank and fill it partially with sphagnum moss. You may have to cut a hole in the container that’s large enough for your ball python to enter. Please be very careful cutting the container and seek the help of a parent or guardian first if you’re a minor.

Your ball python can voluntarily enter the hide-box if it needs the extra humidity, especially when it’s in its shed cycle. Although sphagnum moss has great excellent water retention properties, you will have to mist or spray it with water from time to time so it doesn’t dry out.

Sphagnum moss

Larger water bowl: Using a larger water bowl and placing it near the hot spot in your ball pythons’ tank can do wonders for increasing the humidity. The water is warmed, thus causing it to evaporate and this evaporation aids with increasing the water molecules or humidity in the surrounding air. You might have to cover a portion of the top of the tank to help keep in some of this humid air. What’s the point of increasing the humidity if it’s escaping through the top of the tank and not sticking around long enough?

Large dog water bowl

Better prepared for Old Man Winter
I’ve shared with you just a few tools from our toolbox of how to increase the humidity in your ball python’s tank. You're invited to read my blog entitled Dealing with Poor Ball Python Sheds for more help on this topic. Feel free to visit our forum for many more tips and secrets on a variety of methods and techniques used to increase humidity during this cold winter season.

See you in the forums and put a jacket on, it's getting cold out there! :)