Hi Everyone. When I got my first snake(Albino Corn - Lucy) I had probs with humidity resulting in bad shedding. I googled this D.I.Y. solution and hope it will help all those in need:
Homemade Humidifier
(this model is suitable for 20g or 91qt MAXIMUM)
This homegrown humidifier is useful for raising humidity when needed without sacrificing air exchange. I used this solution frequently when I was still housing in glass (unnecessary since switching to Sterilites), most often when sheds were impending.
Required Supplies:
Bottle – I prefer the Gatorade type bottles since they have a nice volume and a wide enough cap to get both holes and connections set up easily. Exercise your creativity here so long as you know the lid will hold a good seal.
Air pump – you’ll want one rated for a 30-60 gallon tank in order to be able to push enough air to achieve humidity. They are available in most Wal-marts and of course pet supply stores and come with either one or two outputs. This example uses a 2 output model.
¼” air hose – in this example I used about 6 feet in all but you can adjust it to your needs – just remember that excessive lengths will make the pump work harder and it will not be as effective.
Air stone – available in many shapes – most have ¼” attatchments to match the standard hose.
T-way connector valve – necessary for combining the twin outputs from the air pump.
Required tools:
Drill with 7/32” bit – the holes drilled in the plastic lid will wind up a hair larger and the ¼” hose fits through nice and snug. I’ve tried other methods and everything else is simply more prone to bleeding air – just harder to seal well.
Glue gun or silicone – for sealing around the lid holes once you’ve got the air hoses in.
Something to cut the air-hose with.
Directions:
1) Cut two lengths of air-hose approximately 6” and attatch them to the outputs of the air pump. Depending on how rigid the hose is using shorter lengths may casue creases or kinks in the line and impede airflow.
2) Connect the two free ends of the air-hose to the t-way connector along the “top” of the T as illustrated below. If you have an air-pump with only a single output this is unnecessary.
3) Drill 2 holes in the top of the lid as illustrated below. Take care not to mangle the lid with a clamp as it might compromise its sealing ability. Be careful with them thar power tools.
4) Cut two more lengths of air-hose. The first needs to reach from the air pump to the top of the bottle and the second needs to reach from the bottom of the bottle to your enclosure. Plan to allow enough room. You do NOT want this unit sitting very close to your enclosure. In fact I would not recommend it even sit on the same surface your enclosure is on as both the pump and the bottle will thrum and send vibrations through whatever surface it is on. Needless to say this kind of constant disturbance would be very stressful to your herp, especially snakes who will pick up all those vibrations through their belly. I put mine on a shelf which sat near the enclosures.
5) Take the hose which will connect to the air pump and thread it through one of the holes so that about 1 ½” of hose is poking out of the bottom of the lid. Take care of this hose first – it will make it easier to work on the second one (see illustration next step for clarity).
6) Apply your hot glue or silicon around the edge of the hose where it meets the bottom of the lid. Make sure you get enough on there. Right after you’ve applied it pull the hose from the top about 1/8” or so. Hold the lid and hose steady while it sets – you don’t want it to wiggle around and dry leaving gaps.
7) Apply the silicone or glue around the hose where it meets the lid on the top side. Do not pull the hose through like you did on the previous step. Hold it steady and let it set again – this side is a little more crucial for this. Allow a little time for it to set thoroughly.
8) Take the second hose – the one which will run to your enclosure – and thread it through so that the end of the hose will reach almost the bottom of the bottle.
9) Apply silicone/glue around the bottom of the second hose and as before tug it about 1/8” from the topside. Hold it steady as before and let it set.
10) Seal the topside of the hose where it meets the lid and again let it set.
11) When the silicone/glue has set attach the air-stone to the bottom of the longer hose.
12) Fill the bottle so theres about 4” of air left at the top. Hold the lid steady and thread the hose in. When ever you are putting the lid back on it’s important to rotate the bottle and not the lid as this rotation will twist the hoses and likely either kink them or loosen your airtight seal.
13) Attach the longer hose (that feeds to the air-stone) to the free end of the T-way connector. If you get the hoses reversed the other end is going to be spewing water all over. Plug it in and check it out. Viola – you just made a humidifier.
All thx to Smulder from BP.net for this invention.