War on Humidity - April 15th, 2026
I've been fighting a war on humidity for my Indonesian blue tongue skink since I first got her in July 2024. They need 60-100% humidity. The area I live in naturally has 20-40% humidity.... so it has been a struggle. I've tried all the common solutions. I decreased air escape by adding silicon mats on top of her tank, I have very deep 5-6 inch soil to hold in humidity, I dump water into the soil daily. But still its never really been enough. Her humidity stays at 40-55%. I have cracked 60% on many occasions, but it was always through really unsustainable means. I kept wet towels on top of her tank that needed changed daily; This fell apart whenever I went to my partners house for 4-6 days. I would pour incredible amounts of water into her soil; This risked scale rot from her constantly touching wet surfaces.
But... I think I've finally got it...... Tonight I mixed in sphagnum moss into her soil. I soaked the moss before and also after.. Boom, consistent humidity jump up to 60%. I didn't even add that much because I didn't want to disturb her too much. So tomorrow I'll take her out and add even more.. and it'll hopefully grow even higher. I am so thrilled that the humidity has stayed so consistent the last 6 hours, because usually when I try humidity solutions they start reverting after an hour or so. I really hope this can be the long term fix I've been looking for.
I have felt pretty shameful about my struggle with humidity since its gone on so long, almost 2 years. I know that might make me a poor owner in some people's eyes, and I understand that. But I also know that I'm doing a much better job than her previous owner. She was kept on aspen at 15-30% humidity for 15 years. Even though I haven't reached the perfect temps, her scales have gotten significantly more hydrated & healthy since I got her. She was fed the same mix of collard greens & dog food for a decade. I give her a varied diet and she's now tried every food under the sun. She used to be held less than once a month, if that. Now she comes out weekly and has greatly improved her socialization. I know I haven't been perfect, but I am always always always trying new things to improve her care. I also didn't choose to get her. I mean, I obviously agreed to take her in (she was a friend's childhood pet), but I was never planning to get a species with such high humidity. I didn't even know she was an Indonesian when I got her - since she was being kept so dry, I assumed her to be an Aussie. I never would've gotten this species if it wasn't rehomed from someone close to me.
Spotcleaning - March 26th, 2026
Spotcleaning has never been a huge hassle for me.. My ball python poops & passes urates very infrequently, about once a month. My blue tongue skink and milksnake are a bit more secretive about their poops, I don't find them half the time til their monthly tank clean. But my baby uromastyx?? Ohhh she is a poop MACHINE. She eats everyday, so I am removing lil poops and urates every single day. The urates really surprise me like wow you actually get all this water from your food? I briefly gave her a waterbowl as some people recommend but she just ran through it, dragging sand, and I didn't want to risk tailrot, so I removed it. On top of how she always tears up her food dish and leaves greens scattered as far as the eye can see, shes really fighting to keep me in the reptile room!
Herbivorous Diet - March 25th, 2026
Planning the diet for my uromastyx, Spinach, has been such a wild ride.. When I first looked into uromastyx diet before I got her, I saw kale listed as a staple by multiple people. Turns out kale can actually cause thyroid issues in them very easily! I was told by the reptile store owners to never ever feed her cilantro after I told them I included it in her diet plan, but apparently its totally fine to have once or twice a week. It was HEAVILY emphasized to me by every uromastyx care guide I looked at that they Need seeds or lentils in their diet to help digestion.. but every place listed different amounts. Some people insist on always keeping a seed bowl in the enclosure, others say its required once a week, and others say more than twice a month is too much. Like okay! I've just found it to be such a headache trying to figure out what I should & shouldn't feed Spinach..
I had a similar headache when learning about the diet of my blue tongued skink. I saw extremely contradictory claims.. When I first got her, I saw people saying "Never ever feed any sort of lettuce to skinks, it simply has no nutritional value due to being mostly water. Use spinach instead". So I used Spinach more than lettuce (she still got lettuce on occasion, just caus its a vegetable thats always in the house). Recently though I was reading a post where someone specifically emphasized how they DONT use spinach, in a way that acted like it was the most well known & agreed upon fact to never feed spinach to a skink... I was baffled!!! I checked the care guide of that community and they indeed said to never ever use spinach with skinks - the exact opposite of what I heard 2 years prior.
All these little discrepencies don't matter ultimately.. Many people have fed their uromastyxes kale or blue tongue skinks spinach. What really matters is the variety. If I was only feeding my animals kale, it would be a problem, but by giving different greens each week, I don't really have to worry about it even if something I give is slightly subpar. It just feels really stressful when you've been feeding your animal something and then suddenly you find a post that says "DONT feed KALE to your UROMASTYX, it will DIE of HYPOTHYROIDISM" just after giving them kale twice this week!
Trust - March 25th, 2026
It is really nice to realize just how much my animals trust me.. I was reading a reddit thread the other day where many people were saying they'd never seen their ball python drink in front of them, which devolved into other species too. Boas, milks, corns, etc. And it was like wow... Literally every animal I've ever had has felt comfortable both eating & drinking in front of me. The only animal I had a bit of trouble with was my milksnake Omelette, who I didn't see eat probably for the first year of having him, but he is not that shy anymore at all. My baby uromastyx Spinach I was sort of expecting to take a while for her to eat in front of me, but it happened within 2 weeks of getting her. Maybe I just spend a lot more time in the room with my reptiles than others? Bc what do you mean your ball python has never drank in front of you..
My ball python finally got his first respiratory infection after having him for 6 years and has had to get a shot every 3 days. The shots don't bother him at all, he has enough fat that he doesn't even notice. But I was out of town one weekend and my dad had to administer the shot, to which my dear Tuna was quite afraid.. Apparently he refused to unwind from his ball and was exuding a lot of force to stay in that position. I did not have that issue a single time I did his shot.. He always unwound instantly and started slithering around my bed without complaint. I also learned at that vet visit that my ball python is extremeley well socialzied (as long as I am present, at least) bc the vet commented on how he was the easiest snake she had worked with in the last year. Anyways, its just good to know that Tuna associates the sight & smell of me with safety!
I spend a lot of time thinking about my reptiles, how to improve their care, what I love about them.. And I feel really annoying talking about it to my friends constantly, so I made this reptile specific blog page. Click on the side bar to see each mini ramble.
My animals
Tuna the Ball Python - 6 years old
Burger the Indonesian Blue Tongued skink - 16 years old
Omelette the Milksnake - 4 years old
Spinach the Uromastyx - 7 months old
deceased, but will be discussed
Fishstick the Leopard Gecko - 2012 to 2026 (14 years)