Omg my poor baby spilt his wayer bowl and the humidity jumped to 90% i immediately cleaned it up and may have to look into velco to hold the dish. I immediately wiped and cleaned his enclosure and rebuilt it i added a paper towel tube in he seems to like that. Im so worried im doing everything wrong and not being a good snake mom. I think im gonna get some screening and make a ventilation window to let out more moisture from everything i have read is that rosy boas do not do well with humidity above 60% maybe i should buy a dehumidifier for my living room as well?
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If you have Walmart where you live, just buy a small washbin and cut a hole in one side. Perfect hide if you heat and round the edges. That is what I use for Kai and Willow right now. I have never had an issue with them.
Also about the humidity, make sure your water bowl is not over the heater. It must be on the cool side or it will get really gross and evaporate fast bumping the humidity high. You can drill holes in the sides and top of the tub if you are that worried about the level of humidity. Personally, I try to limit the number of holes that I add as this as an area where heat leaves also. The best way I have found to do this is to cover the entire enclosure with a dark colored sheet and removing most decorations besides the bare minimums. After that I slowly add holes in the sides first, like one on each side at a time. And only add holes after you notice that levels havenât lowered into a desired level after four or five hours. I would definitely stress that you donât do anything drastic. I have fallen into that trap before. I added way too many holes in Willowâs first tub and ended up coving them with tape (on the outside lol).
You arenât a bad snake mom, just need to get your tub set up properly. We all have been there lol 
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Yeah since this is just temporary housing for the quarantine so im not to concerned about the looks only that he is being treated the best i can. His permanent housing will be more beautiful and and more fulfilling and enriching for him. He is such an explorer already i know he will be a great family member.
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Lol, I added a lot above 
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I drilled a couple holes and the humidity dropped to a more acceptable level. I may move his hide to be half and half so i can put water further away from the heat. Im sure ill make more mistakes as time passes. My inverts are easy compared to my snakes, heck my kitty is easier except when she yells at me
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Everywhere i read i hear rosy boas cannot tolerate humidity im finding it tough to retain the heat but eliminate the humidity. I think im finding the size tub compared to his size difficult to really separate out the hot side and cool side.
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Itâs okay, water bowl spills happen. A short time at higher humidity isnât going to harm him. My blood python is notorious for knocking over her water bowl as she climbs in and out of it. Any time I notice a huge spike in her humidity, itâs either because sheâs spilled her water bowl or peed a bunch. You cleaned it up as soon as you noticed, which is all you can do. These things happen! Not the end of the world.
I have found that my blood python knocks the bowl over a lot less since I started using a wide, heavy ceramic bowl. I think the one Iâm currently using is designed for cats or small dogs, you can buy them cheaply from any pet shop or online vendor, and it seems to be heavy and sturdy enough that it doesnât tip over easily.
@lumpy gave some good suggestions for managing humidity. If youâre trying to decrease humidity, Iâve found that what works best is to make sure the water bowl is away from any heating elements and to add extra ventilation on the top, especially in the section right over the water bowl, so the moisture that evaporates from it will more easily escape rather than being trapped inside the tub. Though as lumpy said, be careful not to overdo it! I also got a little over-zealous with the soldering iron on my blood pythonâs baby tub and ended up having to cover up some of the holes.
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Rosy boas are native to my part of California, and while the humidity here is usually pretty low (at or below 50%), there are times when it spikes significantly higher, so my guess is that rosies can tolerate higher humidity at least in the short-term.
It can be harder to achieve a good temperature gradient in smaller enclosures. How large is the heat mat youâre using? Ideally it should cover about a third of the bottom of the enclosure, and should be placed on one end of the enclosure, not in the middle. That way the heat is concentrated in a relatively small area on one end, which allows the other side of the tub to be cooler. Is it possible your heat mat is too large for the tub? And if the humidity is still too high, you can try adding more ventilation holes (especially in the top/lid on the end with the water bowl) and/or using a smaller water bowl. As I recall, rosies donât really need/want to soak (though someone correct me if Iâm wrong on that), so you donât need to worry about him being able to fit in the bowl, and the more surface area the bowl has, the faster the water will evaporate, thus increasing humidity. Smaller water bowls = lower humidity.
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Youâre doing fine. The ânew snake parent jittersâ will pass before long, and youâll be able to relax more and enjoy your new family members more. We have definitely all been there! Your questions and your willingness to listen demonstrate that you truly care about your snakes. Thatâs lovely!
@jawramik is right, water bowls do get spilled. The important part isnât the spill, itâs your timely cleanup. (Heck, I have a couple who would cheerfully spill their water every day if I hadnât thwarted their evil plots. It took a succession of water bowls to find the right one for each individual, but we got there.) Your beautiful baby isnât going to be harmed by a brief spike in humidity. It does rain in their native range, so theyâre able to handle that temporary change from their ideal.
Maybe remembering these two things will help you get past the nervous stage more quickly. First, the species is very successful in captivity. That means they thrive in a range of conditions and husbandry practices; excruciatingly precise, specific conditions arenât needed. Second, youâve successfully kept a variety of other creatures with many different needs. Youâve done your snakey research so thereâs no reason to expect that you wonât be successful with your boas, too.
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I have an 8x12 heat mat on a 28 qt tub. I put it at one end of the tub. I have 4 rows of air holes i put in the lid. I turned the lid around to put over the cool end. Im going to put his bowl in the cool end as recommended. I feel as his heat is only about 76 which is a bit to low. Hopefully this will up the heat in the hot end. I appreciate so much all the help and advice ive been getting. Ill keep monitoring his enclosure regularly even after i get the temperature /humidy levels under control. Im not going to assume that because my thermostat says 85° that everything is ok.
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My thermostat says 86 but my laser thermometer says 81° over the hot spot i flipped my lid around and will attempt to tape a few of my holes i drilled. I found drilling from the inside only leaves the plastic on the outside which i peeled off so both sides are flush. I used a wood bit to drill the holes.
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I think the size of the heat mat sounds okay. Iâm bad at visualizing measurements, but I think thatâs similar to what Iâm currently using for my blood python (I know my heat mat is 8x10, but I canât quite remember what size her current tub is). If it covers less than half of the enclosure, you should be good. And most snakes donât need a huge gradient, they just need to be able to get away from the hot spot so they can cool down a bit when necessary.
76 is probably okay for the cool end, but Iâm guessing his hot spot should be a little warmer. You might need to increase the thermostat by a few degrees. But increase the thermostat slowly, like by a degree or two at a time, to make sure it doesnât get too warm too fast.
And remember, as @caryl said, rosies are a hardy species, so while there are certainly ballpark parameters to aim for, a little variance isnât going to be the end of the world for these guys.
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You can use tubs or tanks to quarantine. Uth with a tstat is perfect. I have used tanks, tubs, and racks to keep snakes long and short term. Iâve used mats, tape, and panels as a heat source. All are viable options in any combination. Whatâs going to make the difference in success or failure is your concern and focus. You care and you overthink. Chances are you are going to prevent problems and recover from them when they occur. Most of the info in snake keeping is vague. There are very few absolutes. I could give you all the advice in the world. Itâs only going to be valid if you are my next door neighbor. Advice changes region to region and home to home based on products used. Best advice I can offer is keep using your concern, your eye for detail, and your striving for perfection as you gain practical experience. Donât get lazy and donât get over confident that you got it all figured out.
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Lol, one of the first lessons I learned. If im giving them fresh water daily I donât need to give them a full bowl. Or even half a bowl. Bowl design comes into play too. I like low, wide, shallow. So if and when they lay in it there isnât enough to overflow or spill resulting in a huge shift in the dynamics of the enclosure.
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Yes, this is an excellent piece of advice! I also found I had much fewer spills and water bowl mishaps when I only fill the bowl about halfway. That way it doesnât overflow if they climb inside it, and spills are a lot less likely if they push substrate (or themselves) under one side so it ends up sitting sloped rather than perfectly flat.
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Great tips and advice from everyone thank you. I am definitely listening and learning.
I made suggested changes and i almost have the heat/humidity closer to what is recommended. I used my laser thermometer this morning and i was at 83° i increased the temp 1° doing this very slowly, i donât want my baby to get stressed or injured.
Yes i love all of my animals very much and my animals are my family. Im very committed to their health, safety and happiness. I do regular wellness checks and record in my planner if they ate, the heat/humidity (if required) i do any spot cleaning etc. I hope i donât disturb my animals by doing a live check since my animals canât tell me if something is wrong.
Thanks again everyone for all the encouragement and advice i do appreciate it.
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Now that i have dialed in my tubs heat and humidity my boy seems very content he goes where he wants crawls around the tank, rests in the hot side then goesin hos hide when he wants. Thanks everyone for all the help!
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