Sponge/Foam to hold humidity in? ( crosspost in enclosure forum)

[ChristinaM]

I had a thought the other night.
I have alot of aquarium filter media ( so it is 100% safe for any animals really), and one kind is called a Polypad.....it holds water quite well.

I was thinking, of putting some on the bottom of Promise's rubbermaid, then a layer of news paper on top of it. I was thinking it may help keep the humidity higher, without spraying as often as well.

What do you think?
anyone done something similiar?

Thanks.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Beats me. The Rainbows I keep in Rubbermaids never have to be sprayed. I just use vent holes on the cool side of the bin, a nice sized water dish and a bunch of layers of newspaper. Not sure why you'd have to spray a Rubbermaid so much. An aquarium I could understand, but not a properly set-up Rubbermaid.

In fact, I don't even have a sprayer in the baby room, which are the only BRB's I keep in Rubbermaids. I just use damp newspaper and the rest takes care of itself.

Here's some pics I took in 2001 of the baby cages. Its pretty much the same now. I went lidless for a bit, but I found that sucked for baby racks. I'm back to having lids until they get to the 26.4L/42L Rubbermaid sizes. Then I go lidless. Although, Ian Muir makes a mean lidless baby rack for 5.83's. They are pretty nice.

The cages with high humidity are Rainbow babies, the cages without are Jungle, Ball, and Honduran babies (hence the aspen chips).

[ChristinaM]

Holy rubbermaids batman

I spray enough to keep the newspaper wet enough for a few days....I hate the smell of it. Something about the wet newspaper gets to me. So I'm trying to figure out a way to keep her humidity as it should be ( only reason I was thinking of putting one layer of paper on top of the media was because the pad itself may be too rough for her belly...don't know )

But, bottom line is, if I have to stick with stinky paper, then I will But if I can find a way to lessen the paper smell I would.

[Jeff_Favelle]

DAMP, clean newspaper smells awesome. It is totally clean. Its only after the snake urinates or poops that it starts to smell bad. I find it lasts maybe a week or two and then you change it. Try doing that with 120 BRB babies and you'll know how to spend a weekend in the late summer! LOL!

But it definitely shouldn't smell right away. Not sure why it does.

That is one of 5 racks. I gotta build 2 more this April. Just crazy let me tell you.

[ChristinaM]

hmmmmmmmmm. I wonder.....could I be soaking it too much and that causing it to smell..I will monitor that one.

Have fun in april....wow....I use those exact containers for mealworms LOL. a big whopping two of em. But then, I was shocked when I saw Simon's place....holy poo.....talk about containers. One never really believes it till you actually see it

hey, Jeff....if you by chance catch this one, could you show me pics of the brb I have, her parents? ( she was hatched July 23) Would love to see mama. thx.

[Jeff_Favelle]

July 23rd was RM1 x RF2. I will dig up some pics, no probs. Actually, the pic I posted of the Rainbow ovulating, was an offspring of the same pairing in 2001!!

You could definitely be making it too wet. I do it so the newspaper gets darker, but not shiny. Shiny means it has become water-logged, and will not absorb any more water. This would be a useless substrate, as no urine or excrements will be soaked up. And then the smell will b horrible. I just get it damp. I pour a little water on the hot side when I set up a new cage or re-clean an old one. The new set up lasts for about 2 weeks!

Simon has WAY more babies than I do! For sure! I would NOT want that dude's life in the summer! That guy is a work-a-holic!!

[Hamster of Borg]

Only thing I would be concerned about is that sponges, and the like, are a wonderful habitat for bacteria and mildew.

Ham

[Jeff_Favelle]

Only thing I would be concerned about is that sponges, and the like, are a wonderful habitat for bacteria and mildew.

Totally. They would be more work than they are worth. Warm humid environments are HAVENS for bacteria and other nasties.