Tank Humidity

[mattoxcw]

What is a good humidity for a corn snake, and what is too humid? I know that most care sheets say that house humidity is fine for corns, but I'm having trouble keeping the humidity in my cage down....I woke up this morning, and the digital humidity gauge just read "HI". I also used a walmart heating pad, on LOW all night, but it didn't raise the cage temp any. I was using aspen bedding, so I believe that this may have acted like insulation against the heat. This morning, I cleaned the cage, and then put terry cloth towels in the bottom. Sorry for the long post, but I appreciate any help.

[tai_pan1]

Don't worry about the "Hi" reading. If it doesn't give you a percent reading, that could be anywhere from 50% or higher. Corns are native in the Pine Barrens and the humidty out today is probably in excess of 80%. The only time I worry about humidity is in the winter when it tends to get to low, then I mist my cages occassionally. You should try getting a uth rather than the heating pad. Niether will raise the cage temp noticably, but you just need to raise the temp of the substrate. If you feel the aspen, you'll probably notice it's a little warmer.

[mattoxcw]

I have the digital thermometer with in/out temps....should I put the 'out' temp probe down on the bottom, or near the bottom of the cage?

[tai_pan1]

Sure, that's how I keep temps on my incubating eggs.

[Invictus]

Corns can be found in any climate from sub-arid right up to swamp-like. The problem with high humidity is that they can develop water blisters, and the cage can mold easily. Do you have the heating pad under the whole tank? If so, you shouldn't. Only half the tank. Keep the water dish as far away from the tank as you can.