Help finding substrate in dry Las Vegas

[u/MassiveDrawer6252]

Right now I have my baby ball python on “compressed coco chip block” that I properly soaked in a bucket and broke up until every piece was wet through and through before then ringing out and putting into his enclosure. Even right away the humidity only was able to max out at 50% while rapidly dropping throughout the day (30% when getting home from work) so I’ve been spraying the soil to try and keep humidity up but it only lasts for a bit. After reading that constant wet soil can lead to scale rot now I’m just pouring a bit of water into the corners of his tank and now it loses humidity even faster . I’ve had him for close to a month and has refused his first 2 feedings and I have a feeling it has to do with this. Any recommendations for soil and other general advice for ball pythons would be appreciated. This is my first BP but not my first snake, my other snakes had much much less humidity reqs.

[u/MassiveDrawer6252]

Also adding to, tonight Is time to try and feed again so hopefully he takes it. If not I need to find a way to upgrade asap as that would be about a month of him not eating

[u/MassiveDrawer6252 → u/MassiveDrawer6252]

I also have more coco chip block and repti soil on hand if a mix of those both would be good

[u/DetailOk1043 → u/MassiveDrawer6252]

Absolutely! It's recommended to have a mix of soil (50-60%) and other suitable substrates (40-50%) coco chip is great. Personally I also have a bit of playsand in my mix (less than 10%). (I haven't researched this in a while so my numbers could be way off, this is just my guesstimation of whats been working for me)

When I'm cleaning and redistributing soil, I put about 25% to the side, fully hydrate whats left in the enclosure just a little wetter than I want it to end up, then spread the dry soil on top to prevent scale rot. Adding leaf litter can also create a good barrier between wet soil, but it also gets moved easily so it's more for aesthetics.

Speaking of aesthetics... clutter can actually help you out here!! Clutter if obviously important for the snakes mental health, but it can also help with humidity. When spraying my enclosure, I try to aim for the fake plants father than the substrate, as spraying the plants will help more with the arid humidity, instead of it all getting trapped in the soil (and potentially molding).

One last thing, I noticed you have a full mesh screen lid for the enclosure, which can be a major cause of your humidity dropping so fast. Covering ~75% of the mesh with aluminum foil and heat safe tape (keeping it away from the heat lamp, of course) will usually save a lot of headache!!

I really hope you get everything situated soon. I know even in Kansas it can be tough keeping my humidity stable, so I cant imagine trying to keep up in Arizona. Goodluck with the feeding as well!

[u/MassiveDrawer6252 → u/DetailOk1043]

Thank you so much for the in depth response ! Would you recommend I switch him over to a pvc setup of around the same size to completely eliminate the mesh top issue ? Along with the soil mix of course

[u/DetailOk1043 → u/MassiveDrawer6252]

Pvc would be ideal, especially since it looks like you'll have to upgrade him to an adult enclosure sooner than later (not sure how large this one is from the photos) But don't worry about getting it right away, he can still be perfectly happy in that one with the top covered a bit more :)

[u/MassiveDrawer6252 → u/DetailOk1043]

I already have a 40 gallon ready for the upgrade once he’s the length of this one (that also has full mesh top) so I can just cover the top of that one aswell and then once it’s time to upgrade to an even bigger one I’ll have time to get a pvc properly set up to what he’ll need. Thank you !

[u/JR_Writes1]

If it’s a mesh top you’re going to lose a lot of humidity that way and will need to block that. You might look into using an olla to help keep the humidity up, or going with deeper substrate like a bioactive with a deep drainage layer that can hold more water.

[u/DalekWho]

Is the top mesh? You need to cover it with hvac tape.

[u/SuperElevator4092]

Hey! So I’m in the Baker area of California, not too far from you, and our climate is extremely similar! I’m definitely no expert, and I’m still figuring things out with my own ball python, but I wanted to share what’s been helping me because humidity has been a struggle here too.

I’m currently using a 2:1 mixture of Zoo Med ReptiSoil to Forest Floor cypress mulch, with about 3–4 inches of substrate.

Honestly, one of the biggest improvements I noticed came from simply adding more substrate. I started with around 2–2.5 inches and completely underestimated how much of a difference increasing it to closer to 4 inches would make! It holds moisture significantly better, especially when I pour water into the corners to hydrate the lower layers while keeping the surface relatively dry.

I also covered most of my screen top with aluminum HVAC tape, leaving space around my heating equipment for ventilation and safety. More recently, I added insulation to the outside of two glass walls to help with heat loss during our colder desert nights.
I picked up some sphagnum moss to experiment with in certain areas as well, but I’m trying to avoid keeping the entire enclosure constantly wet.

It’s still a work in progress, especially balancing heat and humidity, but I’m finally seeing humidity readings around 70–80% on my cool side. The warmer areas read lower, which is expected because relative humidity changes with temperature.

I can’t say what’s causing your feeding refusals, but I completely understand the struggle of trying to get everything right in this climate. Just wanted to share what’s actually been helping me in case any of it is useful! 🐍

[u/SuperElevator4092 → u/SuperElevator4092]

Adding in - I have a 40 gallon full mesh top tank *** for reference

[u/SecludedEmotion]

Coconut is pretty good but you need to keep up on keeping it wet enough, I keep a heavy, dense towel on top of mine to keep the moisture in. Might also consider a humidifier in your room