HELP! my CAGE GOT condensation on it

[seksyjinke]

help im scared my snake might die because its too cold/hot...

i got the heating matt @ 30 degrees on the right hand side corner of the case.. which is about 25-30% of the case..

i have got 14 little holes on the lid at the non-heated end... the hole sizes is very little but large enough to put the tip (metal part) of a pen into it.. its exact measure ment is 1.5mm (used a drill piece to drill them)

now i notice some condensation/ steamy watery stuff on the non-heated end....

what does that mean? is that normal?

my case is plastic...

panic attack >.<

 

[mungus]

Thats where the snake has done its business.
Little bit more ventilation [ more holes ] normally works.
Make sure you use a digital thermeter to give you the correct temps in the tub, especially on the floor of the hot spot / area, as 30-32 degree's will do the trick.
Aleks.

 

[user 18163]

Is your water dish on top of the heat mat?

 

[seksyjinke]

business as in poop?

no poop there..

but there is water underneath the vents...not under heater

im just scared the matt has heated up the case so much its cooking my baby.... thus the condensation is occuring...

help

 

[Slytherin]

It could be moisture from the water container evaporating due to the warmth, where is your water located, if its located over the heat mat then I'd say that is the likely cause. Imho, as long as the snake has a warm spot (30-34deg) to go to and a cool end (no higher than 26deg) to retreat from it, it will be ok.

Where is the snake at the moment, is it on the heated end or at the cool end?

 

[seksyjinke]

at the moment...its under a hide which is on 70% of the heating side...

 

[Renagade]

it should be fine, just put more ventalation in your enclosure. i've seen it in winter before in small click clacks. what temps do you have hot and cool? icsolate the warm area so you get more of a gradient and put the water bowl in that part.

 

[Chimera]

Very common in Winter for plastic enclosures. Because of the small size of these enclosures the warm end still has an influence on the cool end temperatures raising it up to 10 degrees above room ambient in Winter. With that sort of temperature difference even the slightest amount of humidity will condense on a thin layer of plastic.

If you are only seeing this around the water bowl I wouldn't worry, if it is across the entire cool end of your enclosure you may need to increase ventilation. If you are worried about the effects of the humidity on the snake then check, re-check and re-check your temperatures at various times of the day and make sure they are not getting too cold. This would be more likely to onset an RI than slightly raised humidity. You could also get a hydrometer to sho how much humidity is in the enclosure, these are quite cheap.

 

[seksyjinke]

i will be putting more holes in the lip just to be sure.. and also get a thermomitor to check the warm and cool area often

 

[RCW74]

In my limited experience it has happened a bit to me too. Seems mostly related to snake urine - generally a telltale slightly coloured patch and accompanying odour, not always in conjunction with poo.

Try putting the water bowl on some thicker paper - keeps it a bit more isolated from the heat in the cage. I also just wipe down the enclosure and generally this works until the next wee

 

[diprotodon]

how are you checking temps? what temp is the hot end if you have the cash a non contact thermo gun is a great investment in my oppinion if i added up the amount of thermometers i would need it would be far more expensive than the one non contact thermo gun but is around 130 mark for the one i got Iknow major breeders that dont use them but for me has been well worth the investment

 

[Jungletrans]

Happens when they have a swim then roam around leaving water everywhere , as it dries it will leave condensation on the walls .

 

[seksyjinke]

thank you for all ur replies...

i have spoken to simon (seller) tells me drill bigger holes for ventilation, he gave me a drill piece and told me to go through my original holes and also drill few more on the side of the case where the heating matt is so that it wil circulate.

i have also bought a thermomiter that is suspending itself on the side wall right above the matt (but not touching) it currently reads 24.6 degrees, but my matt is addjusted at 30 degrees with a thermostat connected to it...

my question is... should i adjust the matt so that the themomitor reads 30-31 degrees.. or leave it as it is?

thank you

 

[diprotodon]

the gauge on the thermostat is irrelavent the only temp important is the temp inside the tub the problem is that type of themometer possitioned that way is reading ambient air temps and not necessarily the temp of the floor so i would start buy putting the probe on the floor directly above the heat matt and then adjust until the probe is reading 32 to 35 degress.what type of thermostat have they sold you?

 

[seksyjinke]

the gauge on the thermostat is irrelavent the only temp important is the temp inside the tub the problem is that type of themometer possitioned that way is reading ambient air temps and not necessarily the temp of the floor so i would start buy putting the probe on the floor directly above the heat matt and then adjust until the probe is reading 32 to 35 degress.what type of thermostat have they sold you?

one from a pet shop...

exo-terra brand... it gives max and min and normal readings...

 

[diprotodon]

do you have a thermostat and a thermometer or just a probe thermometer

 

[seksyjinke]

i got a heating mat that comes with a built in thermostat

and a digital thermometer with a probe

 

[Dodie]

You want the thermometer probe to be where your snake has contact in the tub, not on a wall to read ambient air temp.

 

[seksyjinke]

You want the thermometer probe to be where your snake has contact in the tub, not on a wall to read ambient air temp.

thank you... i have the probe of the termometer almost touching the bottom of the case where my baby is sleeping on.. its currently reading 29.6 degrees... but thats not touching in bottom.......... so i imaginge the bottom would be a little higher and around the 30ish

 

[diprotodon]

make the probe touch the floor of the tub so its reading the actual floor temp and adjust the matt until it reads 32 on your thermometer good in my oppinion that he has sold you that type of matt is it a reptapets australia im interested in this product myself post some more pics .Once you have put probe on the floor i reckon reset the thermo so you can check the min and max temps just hold button in for about five seconds until all readouts are the same