Humidity

BRB Humidity

Maintaining the correct levels of humidity is a crucial aspect of maintaining Brazilian Rainbow Boas. Creating a humid environment is a fairly easy process but many beginners struggle due to inadequate research or poor husbandry advice. Here is my guide to creating and maintaining humidity. 

Heating

Humidity is the measure of water vapour in the air, and warmer air holds more moisture than cooler air. Therefore it is important that the enclosure is kept at the correct temperature.

Rainbow boas are not as tolerant of high temperatures as most other boas, serious neurological problems can occur if they are kept at temps of 32°c (90°f) for long periods. The temperature should range from 21°c (70°f) at the cool end, rising to no more than 30°c (86°f) at the warm end. The ideal basking temp should be around 28°c (84°f).

Misting

Misting the enclosure is the one of the best ways to increase the humidity and should be part of a 24hr cycle. The enclosure can be misted at least once per day, but not excessively. Simply drenching the enclosure on a regular basis will not increase the humidity; being constantly damp and warm will only serve in creating the perfect environment for bacteria and mould to grow.

Invest in a good quality pressure sprayer

Shortly after misting the enclosure, a build up of condensation will appear on the sliding glass doors; a good indication that the correct level of humidity has been reached. The condensation should remain for several hours or so and then begin to gradually decrease as the enclosure dries out. If you are finding that the enclosure is drying out to quickly then you may need to adjust the amount you are misting. Such fine tuning should ideally be carried out before you acquire the snake.

Here you can see the build up of condensation on the glass doors shortly after misting the vivarium

I usually only mist my BRB’s enclosure once day, but in the week prior to them shedding their skin I increase this to twice a day, to ensure good results.

In my opinion pressure sprayers are much better than electronic fogging machines for two reasons. For one a decent fogging machine can cost upwards of £50, plus the cost of running and maintaining it. You can buy a pressure sprayer for as little as £8. Secondly a pressure sprayer offers a more hands on experience and encourage keeper's to be more vigilant.

Humid Hide

I always recommend the use of a ‘humid hide’ filled with damp Spaghnum moss to be included within the enclosure. The humid hide will guarantee that your BRB will always have access to an area with near 100% humidity levels, no matter what time of the day.

You can buy ready made ‘humid hides’ made from resin which resemble a log or tree stump, but a decent sized one is not cheap.

A much more cost effective method of making a moss tub is to use a plastic container like a sandwich box. A plastic container may not be as aesthetically pleasing, but they do the job just as well as anything ‘shop brought’ and I’ve personally used them for years. Using a small craft drill you will need to cut open an entrance and drill some air holes evenly around the each side of the tub. It is very important to increase the size of the entrance as the snake grows, and to accommodate its increased girth after feeding.


Here is an example of one of my humid hides made from a plastic container
 

 Once the tub has been modified it can be filled with damp sphagnum moss and placed in the warm end of the vivarium. The moss can be sprayed with warm water every few days, to keep it moist (not drenched) and ensure the humidity levels stay high.

A humid hide being used by my male BRB whilst in shed

Substrate

Creating a humid environment also requires the correct substrate. Orchid bark, Cyprus mulch and eco-earth are all popular choices with many rainbow keepers and very good at holding moisture. The orchid bark can be mixed with damp sphagnum moss.

Extra care should be taken if you are housing your BRB in a wooden (melamine-coated chipboard) vivarium. Melamine does not react well to being in constant contact with damp substrate and will soon begin to warp and crack. Cyprus mulch and eco-earth should be avoided in this instance.

Helpful hint; Before adding fresh orchid bark to my BRB’s vivarium I always give it a quick 1 minute blast in the microwave. I do this for two reasons. Firstly orchid bark can harbour mites and their eggs. Secondly heat and humidity is lost whilst the enclosure is open and warm bark helps not only to reheat the vivarium but boost the humidity levels.

Place the bark in a microwavable dish and spray lightly with warm water before microwaving it

Ventilation

The ventilation in the enclosure should never be sacrificed in order to make it humid. Simply covering up all of the ventilation will cause the air to become stale and will interrupt the humidity cycle.



A plexi-glass covering screen

That being said, excessive ventilation such as the mesh screens found on glass and plastic vivarium's will need to be modified, as these enable too much heat and humidity to leak out of the enclosure. The best solution for this problem is to make a plexi-glass (plastic) screen for the mesh. Plexi-glass can be cut to any shape or size using a Stanley knife and a mini craft drill. You can even improve the appearance of the plexi-glass by covering it with a wood effect sticky back plastic.
 

A Plexi-glass screen complete with wood effect covering