[bexwatkinson]

Hi all

Just bought a new 2ft viv, wooden, looks lovely, except I cant see through the bloody windows coz they are all steamed up!!

We are using orchid bark as our BP kept getting aspen in her mouth and I know orchid bark heightens humidity... How do I stop the windows steaming up? I dont want to have to drill holes in my new viv... Its not an overly large water bowl...

I really like watching her when shes out in the evening but I cant see and its bothering me muchly!

Thanks in advance

 

[hellocharlieboy]

you say drill holes! does it not have vents already?- if not it needs them

where is the water bowl?- move it to a cooler part of the viv

what are the temps?- are they too high/turn them down

change substrate
: victory:

 

[bexwatkinson]

It has 2 circular vents on the back wall. The water bowl is as far away from the hot end as possible.. Temps are... well.. Thermostat is set to 26.
And no. I like the orchid bark

I am thinking maybe the heat mat is a little toooo big. How much of the viv should the heat mat cover?

 

[Ultraviolet]

The issue is your orchid bark, it's too damp.

you need to either leave the doors open for a few days, if you have something to house the snake in in the meantime.

Or take out the orchid bark and let it dry out. Then your condensation issue will be gone : victory:

 

[markhill]

Its the bark, when its new its quite damp.

It'll dry in a day or so

 

[Ultraviolet]

It has 2 circular vents on the back wall. The water bowl is as far away from the hot end as possible.. Temps are... well.. Thermostat is set to 26.
And no. I like the orchid bark

I am thinking maybe the heat mat is a little toooo big. How much of the viv should the heat mat cover?

Heat mat should cover about 1/3rd of the viv.

Do you have a thermometer, or are you relying on the dial on the thermostat for temp readings?

If you don't have a thermometer, you have to get one. Thermostat temps are not accurate : victory: (ingnore this if you have a seperate thermometer)

 

[mbrown1303]

I had the same trouble with orchid bark, takes 2 or 3 days to dry out.

 

[pied pythons]

26 isn't hot enough for a royal, wants to be around 32C in the hot end...

 

[pied pythons]

if you're set on using Orchid Bark I'd recommend drying it out in the oven - also helps kill off any bugs that may be in it - if you haven't done so already.

Really want to get the humidity level down fairly promptly before your royal starts having issues. Too high a humidity could increase the risk of (if not bring on) a respiratory infection...or blisters, scale rot etc...

Until you've sorted the humidity issues out I'd stick to newspaper (at least until the orchid bark has been cooked/dried out).

Again, as has already been said, ensure you use a digital or infrared type thermometer to be certain that the temps are right. Thermostat dials aren't always callibrated properly, so even if you have yours set at 26C, it may only be heating to 24C, or even 28C (etc - you get the jist).

And as previously said, 26C is too low anyway really...wants to be around 88-90F (32C) at the hot end and around 77-80F (26C) at the cool end.

If your thermostat is callibrated properly and the hot end is only 26C, the cool end will be, essentially, far too cool.

Hope this helps

 

[Ron Magpie]

Mind you, the orchid bark will dry out in a few days anyway, whether you leave it in or not.

 

[mcszot]

the best method for steaming up glass in viv is:
1. use paper towel to collect all water and dry up.
2. take new, dry paper towel and put 2-3 drops of dish washing detergent on it.
3. spread detergent on glass with towel prepared before.
4 make sure that detergent will cover whole glass leaving nice film.
5 DONE

Im using this with my GTP viv where humidity is building up pretty high after spaying.
Cheap and so good
cheers
Al

 

[Jczreptiles]

As long as yuo don't keep spraying it it will dry on its own and will not be damp long enough to cause any health issues. As already mentioned baking new bark has many benefits as well as drying it out, putting a dry towl inside in one corner will help pic up much of the moisture in the air to dry it out quicker.

 

[viva-la-escort]

i had this exact prob dont panic i took all the bark cooked it left to dry over nite and put back in viv problamo solved try newspaper whilst doing this

 

[Roseanna]

I agree with everyone else.It's the orchid bark.
Maybe Leave it to dry a few days before using it : victory: