Does anyone have tips on humidity with aspen? I’m seeing a lot of people using it, and i can’t find any downsides to it other than the mold and humidity…As for mold im not spraying the aspen down with water, lol… Guy thats been helping me with a bp i recently got uses it too, and just keeps a soaking bowl. Would this be enough for someone who lives in florida? I have a 55 gallon glass tank i put poster board around the back of to help him feel a bit more secure and a towel i have over the metal mesh to keep the warmth (its arranged so he still has some ventilation and so that the towel isn’t touching the dome for his CHE) for my boy with two rock hides, the bottom to one of my cats food tray for a soaking bowl because its nice and sturdy and long enough to fit him, lots of plants and foliage, a climbing branch, and a heat mat on the bottom placed under where his rock hide is. He likes his enclosure a lot, and he comes out every night, pokes around a little, gets a drink of water, and goes to his cold side for a little before eventually returning to the warm side and staying there the rest of the day (except for when he’s being handled). Is the soaking bowl really necessary for him and is there a different way to keep humidity with aspen, or is it just the soaking bowl? also, would a humid hide work (and which side should it go on?) instead of another rock hide, and does anyone have any tips on how to make one?
Also i should add, i have a brick of coco fibre left as thats what i used to use, but god is it messy… not to mention that he won’t eat in a seperate container and will only eat in his tank and that stuff will just stick to him AND the rat… was it maybe too damp?? Also heard that they can get it in their eyes so im a little on the fence about it and leaning a bit towards no…but if thats not right, please lmk :))
So what is the CHE for? I very rarely have a problem with humidity with aspen. I just move the water bowl closer to the warm side to up the humidity in case of shedding……
Also does your guy have trouble shedding? If not then the humidity is correct……
Edit to add: It’s not necessary to add the coco fiber imho……
My friend actually recommended it because she said the incandescent ones burn out real fast :)) And i haven’t had him long enough for him to shed unfortunately…and i’ve only recently switched to aspen so i can’t say the same for my other noodles. And alright currently his soaking bowl is currently on the cold side because i wasn’t exactly sure lol, and im in the process of rearranging everything as i picked up some more plants for added foliage. The guy i got him from said that i didn’t even need a soaking bowl but im not going to take jack from him because he had a bad shed that was bad enough he still has stuck shed ive yet to get off him 
its been relatively chilly and dry so im sure that isn’t helping, lol.
What I mean is, is it for extra heat? Because the under tank heater should be enough. Any over head heating is only going to cut the humidity.
I would suggest putting the soaking bowl in the middle of the tank and the water bowl on the cool side.
Since he hasn’t shed for you yet why don’t you just wait to see how he handles his shed.
As far as his stuck shed you can soak him in warm water for about 30 minutes and then let him slither through a warm wash cloth to remove the stuck shed……
I think that so long as you’re able to maintain adequate humidity without misting (which I’d imagine is not an issue in Florida), aspen should be fine. Issues with molding mostly happen when it gets wet, so just be sure to clean up any wet shavings near the water bowl and the like.
Though if you wanted to stick with coco husk with less mess, you could always use the larger chunks of coco husk instead of the fine “dirt” like EcoEarth. It’s basically like mulch, the chunks are too big to stick to feeders or get swallowed accidentally.
That really depends on temperatures inside the home. My bedroom is pretty cool (especially this time of year), so I use overhead heating and UTHs for both my snakes. UTHs wouldn’t be enough to maintain proper ambient temps on their own.
@sinclipse, if you want an overhead heat source that won’t dry things out as much, you could look into swapping out the CHE for a deep heat projector or a radiant heat panel. Those will provide heat from above without sacrificing humidity.
Ok you are probably right, especially since it’s a tank and not a tub. I have to change my mind set on this one! 
I’m just thinking how cold can it get in Florida as opposed to Indiana!
But the heating you suggested to use makes more sense than the CHE! 
I don’t use aspen at all for this exact reason, it’s dry, dusty and doesn’t maintain humidity well, and when you try to make it hold humidity, it gets moldy. It’s also weirdly sharp sometime and I don’t want that near their eyes and mouth. I know some people like aspen, but I can’t for the life of me figure out why.
I’d strongly reccomend switching to coconut husk, coconut blocks, cypress mulch, anything else. I personally use a mix of 45% eco earth coconut husk, 45% prococo chunks, 10% sphagnum moss. It’s the perfect mix of absorbent, humidity maintaining and soft
Yeah I’d try coco block./chunks. Aspen is just best dry, as far as I have seen so far. I live in a VERY dry place so I use coco chunk. It’s still a little messy but so is any substrate besides paper sheets, and so is aspen, and aspen clings to stuff so much worse IMO.
Hmmmmm. The SHREDDED aspen I use has no sharp pieces and it holds tunnels well for my burrowers. And I have never experienced any mold whatsoever after all these years of using it. Nor is it dusty.
But I don’t buy my aspen in bulk. I have seen some types that look like somewhat like curled pieces. Mine comes from ZooMed and it is very shredded. And expensive I might add. But it’s worth it because my all animals are thriving in it. So are there different types/kinds of aspen?
However imho, what works for one enclosure/tank/setup will not necessarily work for the next enclosure/tank/setup. Since my animals are in the “dreaded” tubs, aspen is perfect for them.
So I respectfully suppose”To Each His/Her Own.
But I would never advise someone to use something that I personally have had all those problems with that you stated above. That kind of aspen sounds like horrible stuff!!!
I like aspen for my sand boa because it holds tunnels better than anything else I’ve tried. I use the finely shredded stuff and find it very soft. I’m frequently digging through it with my hands for rousing games of “find the sand boa poop,” and have never felt anything sharp or gotten splinters. The bigger bits of shaved aspen (which I use for my chinchilla’s litterbox) can have some sharp edges, which is why I stick to the soft shredded stuff for the snake. (The chinchilla only stands on the shaved stuff briefly to pee on it, and she has pretty heavily calloused feet, so that’s why I feel comfortable using the cheaper shaved stuff for her, even though it can have some sharp bits. Just wanna be clear I’m not playing favourites between my critters. )
I actually find coco husk to be dustier than the aspen when it’s bone dry. But I love the moisture retention and resistance to mold, so it’s still my first choice for species that need some humidity.
So @sinclipse I apologize for the suggestion of using “aspen” when I should have specified “Shredded Aspen” since as @jawramik Jennifer has cleared up that there are different “types”.
Anyway, whatever works best for your setup is obviously what you should use! Keep us updated on everything!
The advance you received already sounds good. I used Aspen many years ago, and I don’t remember having problems with it. I currently use coco husk (in chunk form). With this I can water down and not have any problems.
As far as keeping humidity up, coco is probably your best option. You can spray it and even use it in a separate bowl with water to help humidity.
I did not see it listed, but what is the temp and humidity?
lol…ive never seen anything other than shredded aspen… thats what i use
yup! i’ve been doing that a bit, he got most of it off but theres a small bit left around his neck that hasn’t, but it isnt clinging on tight so he’ll either A get it off, or B it’ll just come off when he sheds lol.
hmmm, i was looking into those and it seems like i can’t find any that aren’t pretty dang expensive…i’ll have to stick to the aspen till he sheds and if that doesn’t work out too well i’ll try it out :))
also, i use 50 watt and it keeps the warm sides ambient temperature at 87, because i’m the same haha. I always have my fan on because i sweat like crazy. But i’ll look into those options. I’m always open to trying things, because i definitely want whats best.
@chesterhf I consistenly check tanks when i go to swap water, so i’m not super worried about mold, and as for the sharp pieces, the aspen i got was super super shredded down, almost like those sad little fries you’ll occasionally get from mcdonalds, LOL. No sharp pieces i could find, and nothing seems to stick other than those spots of stuck shed. The problem i had with the blocks was it was TOO humid, to the point that it was building condensation…Unfortunately that stuff that seems to be super humidity retaining does a bit too much because of the natural humidity in the air.
@d_y_python His humidity is currently at 53, warm side is 87 and only changes between 85-88, and his cold side is 78-80, usually staying at 78.
It sounds like your humidity levels are okay (I’m not a ball python person, but I usually see people recommend 50-60% for them). You might want to bump it up a little when he goes into shed, but you could probably do that without misting. You could move his water bowl to the warm side, and/or you could put some bowls of damp sphagnum moss in there.
If you notice the humidity routinely dropping below 50% or notice he’s not shedding well, then you might consider changing your overhead heating. A deep heat projector could be used with the same lamp housing you use for the CHE. (They’re more expensive than a CHE, but not outrageously so.)
Right, I’m more just worried about when he does go into shed and it isn’t enough. Plus its been dry so when it gets like this its good to know. I moved his soaking bowl to the middle and put some warm water in it to help raise the humidity a bit, so we’ll see how that works out. I also may just try to make a humid hide