Yes, I have a few thoughts on this,...

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Posted by BrianSmith on April 23, 2003 at 16:32:08:

In Reply to: Hmmm.... posted by JDP on April 23, 2003 at 10:30:26:

I am a firm beleiver in bowl spilling to generate humidity. But I usually will only saturate about 1/3 of the substrate (newspaper) and leave the remainder dry. But sometimes I accidently spill more and sometimes more than half the substrate is soaked. I still leave this and it is usually dry in just a few hours. I maintain high temps for my pythons unless it is the breeding rooms during breeding season, and the newspaper dries rather quickly. In some of the smaller cages like 4x2 foot floorspace, some of the species I keep are notorious for tipping their bowls over. All my blood species do it, my dums do it frequently, a couple of my naughtier retics do it. When this happens I will sometimes leave it for a single day period. Never more though as this can lead to bacteria-infested water and then on to belly rot or other topical ailments. As I generally keep my cages spotless I am not concerned with a 24 hour period of total saturation. But to anyone that does not keep their cages pristine and there is the ocassional pee or poo that was left there, I would not suggest anything of the sort. Bacteria multiplies at a geometric rate and if the cage is "well seeded" with bactria when it is saturated with water then one is asking for trouble. As an alternative to water spills I would suggest that one buy water bottle misters at their local garden supply or feed store. They are cheap and very effective. I usually go around all the cages in all my snake rooms with two such bottles misting all the bedding and walls of the cages, as well as all the surfaces around the rooms, such as drapes, walls, cages, doors, celings, etc. This builds up a very decent level of humidity and in conjunction with my hot vapor humidifiers my pythons are never lacking in humidity. Hope this helps. Sorry so long.

:Im not real sure you would want your snake to be sitting in stagnant water? I mean my anaconda LIVES in her water but burms arent like that. Anybody got any thoughts on letting standing water in the cage?

::Im too poor to afford towels (not really), but this is what I do :)

::Around shed time, I just dump most of the water bowl. Throughouly soaking the inside of the cage. The combination of the heaters and light will make the water quickly start rising. This tends to make the entire cage between 90-100% humidity. Within a day or two the cage is pretty much dry again and I do it all over until the shed is over with.

::Just make sure that if the water doesn't evaporate within in two/three days that you CLEAN IT UP, as it can start to stink, mold, and cause problems.

::-Randilyn

:::What I do for my 11' female is I take a bath towel and fold it up (like its hanging on the rack in the bathroom) and I wet the top two layers thoroughly. Not soaked just nicely damp. Put it in the cage and most times the snake will lay on it. Remoisten with a spray bottle daily and your burm (or any snake) will shed nicely. For small species I use washcloths or even smaller (BPs), folded up toilet paper in their hide box. Works great.

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