Over the past week I’ve gotten 3 emails asking what a humid hide is and how to make one. Since I have a few extra minutes today figured now was a good time to throw together a quick tutorial with instructions of how to make it. By no means is this the only way to make a humid hide but it works well enough. Also keep in mind that this is a small example. You’ll need to scale it to the size of your snake.

What a humid hide is

A humid hide is designed to give your snake an area of greater humidity than the rest of the enclosure. It’s especially useful when the snake is shedding and you need to bump up the humidity. It enables you to do so, but without having to figure out how to do it for the entire tank. When the snake needs more humidity it will go into the humid hide and it will come out when it doesn’t.

What a humid hide is not

It is not a replacement for proper husbandry. In other words you still need to maintain the appropriate humidity ranges in your snake’s cage. A humid hide is just something to give your snake a little extra when it needs it. If you have a snake which requires 85% humidity and you can’t get it above 60% you need to take care of that issue. The hide is great for an emergency, but it shouldn’t be the totallity of your humidity control efforts.

What materials do you need?

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Materials needed for making a humid hide

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You’ll need the following materials. All of them are easily obtainable and aside from the moss are common household items.

• Sphagnum Moss
• Empty plastic container (lid optional)
• Knife (or scissors) that can be used to cut the plastic
• Luke warm water

How to put it together

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   Cutting the opening in the humid hide

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   Once you’ve got all of the materials together start by cutting an opening of the appropriate size for your snake to get in and out. Try going with a smaller opening than you think is necessary. A snake is designed to fit into tight spaces and the smaller the opening the longer you’ll retain the humidity without having to add more water or moss.

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   Dry moss in the humid hide

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   Next take some of the moss and add it to the container. At this point everything is dry. I don’t usually pack the moss in, but some people do.

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   Wet moss in the humid hide

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   After adding the moss add some water to it. I add water until it fills up the container and then I let it sit there for 2 or 3 minutes.
4. Wring the excess moisture out of the moss. At this point I normally add another handful of moss and a little more water. Wait another minute or two and wring that out.

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   Humid hide finished

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   Add the lid and put everything into the snake tank. Depending on how you make it you may or may not find you need a lid.

There you have it the simple way to make a quick, inexpensive humid hide for your pet snake. The one in this example works well for a baby snake. As always if there are any questions or comments please leave them below and we will get to them as soon as possible.

Related posts:

1. 3 tips to help your snake shed
2. Hides for pet snakes
3. Regulating humidity for pet snakes
4. How to tell pet snakes are going to shed
5. Homemade snake cages

Tagged as: hides, how to, humid hide