Heat Problems

[CewlCat]

Hi Guy's / Gall's

I am a first time snake owner to be (23 rd dec) I bought a beautifull boa constrictor after a lot of research Pebbles is 1 month old at this stage, I also got a basic starter kit with the animal. The type of curious guy that I am , I could not wait to get the vivarium home and experiment with it. This is a small wooden viv with glass slidding doors size is 1.0m X 0.4m X 0.5m high.

So I have set everything up and now find that the the temp at night reaches a max of about 69 F and the max during the day only 78 F this is with two heatpad under the substrate that was provided (astro turf) a green thickish carpet like substrate. So this is where I ask for your input, should I add a Basking lamp, Ceramic Heat Emitter or a infrared lamp to solve the problem?
???
Wont this size viv be to small for CHE? I dont want to injure Pebbles or roast the viv. Please give some advise it would much appreciated. I would realy like things to be perfect when Pebbles arrives.

Thanks for the great site!!!!! Keep it up

Seasons Greetings! ;D

[Guest]

Re: Heat Problems

I would deffinitly get a CHE or a basking lamp, though preferably a CHE.

[sparhawkt]

Re: Heat Problems

You can get che's with differnt wattage outputs and while i definitaly reccomend you get a che you do want to make sure that you buy the correct wattage size for your cage and hook it up thru a thremostat or reaostat.

the hawk

[Doug]

Re: Heat Problems

HI,
And welcome to the forum, This is great testing the cage before the boa comes home. Please review the care sheet about ambients and feeding they are downloadable now to your pc for you to either print or save as reference.
 Now your cage if you go with an internal che you must have covers over the che or it may burn a nosy snake.

 And with every heat source in my cages I have a thermostat tied in with its sensor 1 inch from the floor.
 Here's a post about heat called problems with a forty critter tank, this could apply to any cage.
[ftp]http://www.redtailboas.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=board7&action=display&num=10 38532033[/ftp]
Che's heat ,red lamps,white  lights all have one disidvantage they can create and updraft that  can pull moisture out of that cage creating a very low humidty.
 I like the over head heat mats that only create warmth with that infared heat, i would stil tie every thing into a thermostat.
I did this by plugging a power strip into the thermostat and all my over and under heat  into the strip.
 Most heat mats donot use that much wattage. Che's can really generate alot of heat and use alot of power. The only way I would use a che is inside a wooden cage with a  wire cover and thermostat.
  doug

[Larry]

Re: Heat Problems

Where are you measuring the temps? The air temp may be low but the surface temp might be higher? Either way, a CHE is probably a good idea.

[Jacy]

Re: Heat Problems

cwm40.gif I got my heater from pro-products. It's great. It attaches to the top of your cage. My cage is quite large and it manages wonderfully. You have to call them to order it so that they can fit the appropriate size and wattage to the size and type of cage as well as the animals requirements. I love mine and so does Phantom! s9.gif

[CewlCat]

Re: Heat Problems

That's Cool, I think my problem is solved, bought a CHE and everything seems fine, the cooler end of the enclosure is about 82 - 84F and the basking area is the range of 90 - 94 F, but I must say that the humidity is quite high about 70 - 80% do you have any comments on the humidity, is this to high?
8)