Brumation conditions: Dry, humid or wet?

[ConcinusMan]

No biggie. They still move. Just very slowly is all. I don't usually keep mine in darkness either, when I brumate in the garage. There's still light coming in the window. Doesn't seem to make any difference.

[Stefan-A]

Asspen. Guess in which end the water bowl was.

[guidofatherof5]

Black mold? Not good.

[ConcinusMan]

Aspen always does that to me really fast if it stays wet and it only takes a few days. Cold only seems to slow it slightly. This is exactly the problem I was talking about long ago when I saw people were brumating their snakes on wet aspen. Then Stefan basically told me it doesn't seem to happen to everyone else. Well, what do you say now? This is the exact reason why I said wet aspen isn't a good idea. I just checked on my brumating snakes recently and around the dish where the aspen was wet, I had a fuzz garden growing and I just checked it 5 days ago and it was fine. I get that not all fungus growth is going to be harmful but if the harmless ones can grow, so can the harmful ones. . I don't think the above pic is "black mold". It's likely mildew but even that bugs the crap out of my respiratory system when it starts spewing spores in the air. ANY fugus spores have the potential to cause an immune response and irritate the respiratory system even if they aren't a particularly toxic species. I'd just rather not have any growing especially in a mostly enclosed environment like a plastic tub.

[-MARWOLAETH-]

I used oak leaves no mold grew even though the container was kept damp for a few months.

[guidofatherof5]

I wonder if tannic acid would be a concern?

[Stefan-A]

This is exactly the problem I was talking about long ago when I saw people were brumating their snakes on wet aspen. Then Stefan basically told me it doesn't seem to happen to everyone else. Well, what do you say now?

That wasn't aspen and this wasn't wet. Come to think of it, this was set up pretty much according to your stated preferences.

[-MARWOLAETH-]

I wonder if tannic acid would be a concern?

I doubt it because people keep tadpoles in cups of oak leaf 'tea' and amphibians are far more sensitive to PH than reptiles are

[ConcinusMan]

...this wasn't wet.

Perhaps not at present but aspen only does that when it gets wet and if that's the side the water dish was on then it obviously got wet at some point.

Come to think of it, this was set up pretty much according to your stated preferences.

Yes, and I said this was preferred by me over brumating in a container where all the substrate is all wet. Still prefer this. The whole point being they aren't forced to sit on wet substrate. They still have the choice to sit in a water dish and inevetably that side gets wet. Sometimes the snakes will prefer to burrow into the wet substrate especially northwesterns so I let them. But I monitor this setup and make sure most of it is dry, and replace the wet stuff if it molds and it always does.

[Stefan-A]

if it molds and it always does

Which is what I've been saying for years. Aspen is garbage.