Columbian rainbow boa questions

[musicmaker2476]

Hey everyone i just recently got a columbian rainbow boa, he is about 4-5 months, one problem im having is that most of what ive read says he needs at least 70% humidity, and i can barely keep it above 50%, he is curently in a front locking cage with vents in every corner, is there anyone that can give me some recomendations on how to keep this cage at the right humidity.

[reptileguy3]

Welcome to the forum Musicmaker2476. I hope that all of your questions and concerns can be cleared away.
I too own a colombian rainbow boa. What type of bedding do you have? How big is the enclosure?

[musicmaker2476]

im using bark right now that a friend gave me, and its about a 20 gal tank, im thinking about putting some moss in it but i want to make sure that my problem isnt due to the huge vents this cage has. this is the first time this snake has been in a cage this large he is used to a 10 gallon that he was in before

[musicmaker2476]

im a creater of sorts so i am looking at creating a way to add a mister inside without having to spend 50 bucks on one, oh yeah and a friend that breeds king snakes told me that i might not want to feed him live because he is small and he may get hurt, im more worried about him becoming really aggressive, oh yeah and im feeding him hoppers at the moment

[reptileguy3]

Well if I were you I would take out the bark and get coconut husk. It's safe, cheap, and holds humidity very well. I use it for mine and it works wonders. A twenty gallon isn't really that big of a cage, just wait til he starts growing. Do you know what size cage you're going to get for him once he gets bigger?
Well you could feed your snake live easily. It's a baby, therfore he should be eating baby rats which can not hurt your snake. I wouldn't really worry about him becoming an aggressive snake too much. Just make sure to hold him plenty.

[musicmaker2476]

yeah i have two cages from when i had a huge saltwater fish collection and the first is a 60 the second is a custom 170, so i was figuring to put him in the 170 with a really nice setup after a while

[musicmaker2476]

is that coconut husk same thing as coconut bark?

[Jinx08]

I use coco soft for my ball python and when you mist it every other day or like once a week your humidity should go up! Also I have a red light I also use for heat/basking and if you put that over the water and cover that half of the cage it will up your humdiity as well! I also have a UTH and if you put the water dish on top of the subrate/UTH that will up your humidity as well! Hoped I helped some and good luck!

[musicmaker2476]

hey guys thanks for all your help, ive rigged it up right now to where the humidity stays in about the 63-65 area, but on a more serious note, i have a very urgent question, this morning i was holding him and he made a weird noise next thing i know he had a bubble coming out of his nose, it popped a second later, after that at wierd angles he would make a weird noise, its hard to explain, i explained the situation to a king snke breeder friend of mine and he says that he may have a upper respiratory infection, what is the chance that this is a little fluke thing because he is in a new environment, and a second question, i woke him about 30 minutes ago to show him to a friend and he bit me, i set him down gave him a second to relax went to go pick him up and he attempted to strike again, now i know he is hungry and im gunna rush to the store first thing tomorrow to feed him, i then pulled him out with leather work gloves on and he didnt strike, but he didnt move as much as he usually does when i hold him. so is the reason he struck because he needs feeding? (OH YEAH the owners i got him from use to feed him in his cage if that makes a difference.)

[SNOWBUNY]

rainbow boas need increased humidity 63-65 is a little on the low side you should have it over 70. when the humidity goes down they make a weezing noise, that some might mistake as a uri, the noise means they are becomeing dehydrated the bubble was probably waer trapped in his nose. try to get the humidity up and see if he keeps weezing