High humidity and "humidity spikes" have not been clinically linked with respiratory infection in Ball Pythons. Instead of looking at the humidity spikes, we need to look at humidity DROPS.
This species requires a high humidity to thrive. 55% is the MINIMUM acceptable humidity in which this species should be kept. This means that if the animal is kept lower, osmotic pressure causes them to lose water with literally every breath as their bodies cannot handle the dry. The ideal humidity for this species to thrive is 65% and higher, though we all know that microclimates are the way to go ;)
The reason the myth that humidity spikes cause RI is so pervasive, has nothing to do with the spike at all- it has everything to do with the DROP that new keepers try to fix by misting or quickly raising the humidity after it goes below 55%. When the humidity drops, the animal starts to dehydrate. Dehydration is dangerous because it reduces the helpful mucus coating that prevents pathogens from entering the lungs, causing respiratory infection.
Furthermore, we know ball pythons can withstand incredible high humidity. Not only does most of their natural range average out at 80% relative humidity or higher, their estivation burrows maintain extremely high humidity throughout the day. we also know natural acts that spike the humidity- such as rain- do not make wild or captive ball pythons sick. Additionally, adding new substrate causes humidity to spike quite extremely, and the snakes do not get sick from that either.
There there's nothing inherently wrong with misting, as many people mistakenly repeat. The issues are that sprayers often do not get cleaned properly, but more importantly, misting is not efficient. Typically it causes a temporary increase in humidity that does nothing to keep long term humidity stable, which is problematic in and of itself. The key is to maintain humidity higher than 55%, which is best completed by pouring water directly into your substrate. But if you feel like misting, mist away!
There is of course, one concern with high humidity: condensation and wet substrate. If an enclosure is not properly ventilated, it causes water to collect on top of the substrate, which will cause scale rot.
If we can teach humidity correctly to keepers, we can help their animals thrive and prevent people from silly fear mongering, like having them believe if their humidity is increased they will cause RI, when in fact, they NEED their humidity to be higher than just the minimum to AVOID RI.
Please help me in wrangling this myth so we can help new keepers get the animals the care they need.
This species requires a high humidity to thrive. 55% is the MINIMUM acceptable humidity in which this species should be kept. This means that if the animal is kept lower, osmotic pressure causes them to lose water with literally every breath as their bodies cannot handle the dry. The ideal humidity for this species to thrive is 65% and higher, though we all know that microclimates are the way to go ;)
The reason the myth that humidity spikes cause RI is so pervasive, has nothing to do with the spike at all- it has everything to do with the DROP that new keepers try to fix by misting or quickly raising the humidity after it goes below 55%. When the humidity drops, the animal starts to dehydrate. Dehydration is dangerous because it reduces the helpful mucus coating that prevents pathogens from entering the lungs, causing respiratory infection.
Furthermore, we know ball pythons can withstand incredible high humidity. Not only does most of their natural range average out at 80% relative humidity or higher, their estivation burrows maintain extremely high humidity throughout the day. we also know natural acts that spike the humidity- such as rain- do not make wild or captive ball pythons sick. Additionally, adding new substrate causes humidity to spike quite extremely, and the snakes do not get sick from that either.
There there's nothing inherently wrong with misting, as many people mistakenly repeat. The issues are that sprayers often do not get cleaned properly, but more importantly, misting is not efficient. Typically it causes a temporary increase in humidity that does nothing to keep long term humidity stable, which is problematic in and of itself. The key is to maintain humidity higher than 55%, which is best completed by pouring water directly into your substrate. But if you feel like misting, mist away!
There is of course, one concern with high humidity: condensation and wet substrate. If an enclosure is not properly ventilated, it causes water to collect on top of the substrate, which will cause scale rot.
If we can teach humidity correctly to keepers, we can help their animals thrive and prevent people from silly fear mongering, like having them believe if their humidity is increased they will cause RI, when in fact, they NEED their humidity to be higher than just the minimum to AVOID RI.
Please help me in wrangling this myth so we can help new keepers get the animals the care they need.