[Mojo]

Hi all,

I'm getting conflicting opinions (from rep shops) on humid hides - should they be located at the warm end, or cold end? (or even in between????)

Also, does sphagnum moss have to be treated to get rid of any nasties before using it??

(p.s. snakes are a cali king, hoggie n ratsnake)

Thanks

 

[lynne1]

i was told to put a hide at either end. then they can take the pick of the two.

 

[Mojo]

Yeah, will be using two hides, but one with a moist 'filling' such as sphagnum moss to aid shedding etc - two of the snakes are hatchlings, so wont fit 3 hides in their box lol

 

[NNY]

You dont need a moist hide for kings.. they live in quite dry conditions..

 

[lynne1]

when my wee corn was shedding i just dampened the warm end. do not know if i am right or not but he shed no problem. have not had him long though, so maybe someone should let us know if this was right.

 

[Mojo]

Aren't they recommended for hoggies tho?

 

[rossthedon]

hoggies live in dry desert like areas so they dont need to be humid either. my hoggie doesnt even use his hide as they are burrowers anyway and just lie under the substrate

 

[lynne1]

what about the corns. did i get it wrong!!!!

 

[mark67123]

Not too sure about dampening the warm end - but definitely not a good idea if you have a heat mat in there!

I don't bother with humid hides for corns, kings, etc, unless they've had previous shedding problems.
As long as the snake is healthy and the viv temps aren't way too high (and so lowering the natural humidity too much) you shouldn't need a humid hide for a corn.

 

[Mojo]

Thanks - anyone wnat to buy a job lot of sphagnum moss? lol

Seriously, thanks for the info

 

[lynne1]

right, thats great thanks. what about the water. i have water dish sitting half on half off the heat mat. should i move that or will it not make a lot of differance to the humidity?

 

[Snakes r grreat]

I would move the water dish off the heat mat so that the water doesn't get warmed up too much for the snake.

 

[lynne1]

right. am away to do that now. thanks.

 

[Duzzie]

Hoggies do apprecaite a humid hide when shedding. My male has just started to slough so i put a humid hide to help him shed, that was 2 days ago. I haven't sen him out of it yet. Had a look at him tonight, seemed as happy as a pig in shite. His eyes are so cloudy they look white, very deamonic.

Duzzie

 

[rossthedon]

i mean in general hoggies like dry, while shedding all snakes need humidity usually just misting them and the tank with a spray bottle is enough.
my hoggie, comm boa, and burm are all ready to shed, its a nightmare as the boa is nearly blind with milky eyecaps and hes a bit grumpy!

 

[Dexter]

I have snakes for quite sometime now, and I never used humid hides for mine. As long as they have a good size water bowl available and they get sprayed when they are going to shed, they seem to be happy.

Never asked them though :roll:

 

[rossthedon]

some rainforest species need really high humidity, like my columbian rainbow boa needs between 80-90% humidity which is hard to maintain in a large viv so a really humid hide is a good second.

Also, does sphagnum moss have to be treated to get rid of any nasties before using it??

depends where you got it, if it was from a garden centre yes, but from a pet shop should be ok though i usually boil it or chuck it in the freezer for a while, either method works well at sterilising anything

 

[NNY]

The only snakes of mine which have humid hides is my royals and they have them all the time.. definitely love the hides when shedding and ill always find the shed in there after. I used to sprap my kings at every shed but they haven't needed it at all... had perfect sheds from all of them without any aid... if they do have slight problems then I will give them a quick spray but thats it.

 

[Duzzie]

Hoggies do apprecaite a humid hide when shedding. My male has just started to slough so i put a humid hide to help him shed, that was 2 days ago. I haven't sen him out of it yet. Had a look at him tonight, seemed as happy as a pig in shite. His eyes are so cloudy they look white, very deamonic.

Duzzie

My male hoggie has now shed so doesn't need his humid hide by he seens to like it in there. Here is is just coming out for a wander. The pics just to show that hoggies will use a humid hide.

Duzzie

 

[rossthedon]

yeah right you stuffed him in there against his own will and hes escaping by the time you got your camera lol