sixx. wrote:is there anyway to increase the humidity? i don't want him to be in a bad environment. i don't know the temp/humidity because i just ordered the thermometer for his tank that you had recommended, and don't currently have one. what should i do bout the scales/eye cap?
also, yes here is the set up at the moment (please keep in mind im a new snake owner, and i'm still trying to get the ropes of how everything works and what i need to do for him!):
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any suggestions on what i need, and what will help with this would be lovely. i'm really trying my best to provide him with a good home. i really care about him.
No worries, I understand. :) We all start somewhere; just one step at a time. Yes, there are a few ways to increase humidity.
1. Bigger water bowl. Humidity is the moisture in the air, so a bigger water surface = more water evaporation = more humidity. It may help a bit, not necessarily worth doing if you need to increase humidity quite a bit.
2. Add damp sphagnum moss. Sphagnum moss is good at holding moisture (you want it damp, but not dripping) and it can help raise humidity if you spread it around the enclosure. However, it will eventually dry out from heat lamps/CHE/etc. so it might have to replaced every so often between deep cleaning.
3. Create a humid hide. Good option. It's basically an enclosed hide (except opening to come/go) with sphagnum moss to create a micro-habitat rather than making the entire enclosure humid (which isn't bad either way).
4. Humidifier. Not recommended, often creates excess moisture, not only raising the humidity, but also making the environment wet (where the former is the goal, but not the latter).
5. Misting. Usually the go-to for new keepers, but it's more like a band aid since the humidity--long run--isn't being raised (and it makes the environment wet).
6. Change substrate. Probably one of the best methods long term and overall. Some substrates are better at holding moisture than others.
My personal recommendation to you is to switch substrates. Aspen, what you currently have, doesn't hold moisture well, and it can actually mold if it gets too wet for long periods of time. Reptichip is my recommendation, although there are many options out there (which have their pros/cons). All you really need is a large tub or container to hold it. It seems a bit pricey up front ($26 on amazon), but it expands a lot more than you think. Here's a gif of some pictures I took of mine, comparing a dry block to a broken down one and a broken down block to aspen. The aspen I got for about $12 on petsmart/petco, the reptichip I got from a reptile expo--two for $30.
The damaged scales will eventually heal on their own, although it will take awhile (there may be something else you can do to help, but I'd like to ask a friend of mine first before mentioning it since I'm not 100% confident if what I'm thinking is appropriate for this situation). My first snake also got a bit of a head injury due to me trying to pull him out from under something (but it's usually a sign of something from with husbandry). I've had him for about two and a half years now, and while it's mostly healed, you can still see a bit of a scar (when I noticed his head injury, more recent picture--in deep shed though). For the eye cap, you can try a sauna. Basically the idea is to make a super humid environment and see if the snake can shed it off themselves. There's a guide here. If that doesn't work, you can dip a cotton swab in some warm water and GENTLY rub it over his eye (or hold it on/near his head and see if he'll rub it himself). If you're having trouble after awhile, you can put him back and try again in a few days so you don't stress him out too much.
As a side note, whenever he's too big for that enclosure and your'e ready to upgrade, I'd recommend an enclosure that's more long than it is high. :) It's fine to give your ball python opportunity to climb (good enrichment actually!), but they're terrestrial so they benefit more from being able to stretch out than to climb.
-fireflii