Greetings from Eugene, OR

[Huge Noob]

Hello everyone. I'm here because my son just saved up and bought his first snake!!! He saved up his own Christmas money and bought a young Brazilian Rainbow Boa.

I'm now becoming acutely aware that the advice we got on that species from the pet shop was far from accurate.....Fortunately I have some experience in snakes and reptiles...I kept them actively when I was younger. I do not have experience with a snake like this one, which leads me here.

From some online research over the last few days, I have adjusted the temp so it sits about 80-85 in his cage through the day. I have taken a lot of steps to try and keep the humidity up. I have added a 'damp hide' to the cage and the snake is spending a lot of time in there, so I think it's working.

I'd love to hear more tips, tricks, advice, etc. The humidity situation is better, but I do not think it's ideal just yet. I'm at work now, I'll post pics of what we've done soon.

I look forward to learning about this beautiful snake and making sure it grows up happy and healthy.

[SnoopySnake]

Welcome! Can you post some pics of the enclosure? I would keep your hot spot at 82, no higher. Temps shouldn't get above 85 and above 90 can very easily be fatal.

[EL Ziggy]

Welcome and best wishes.

[Huge Noob]

Welcome! Can you post some pics of the enclosure? I would keep your hot spot at 82, no higher. Temps shouldn't get above 85 and above 90 can very easily be fatal.

I will when I get home, I'm going hom for lunch today so hopefully I have time.

I'm certain that both A. The setup is better than it was and B. It isn't ideal yet.

It's a 10 gal aquarium with a screen top. I have wedged a piece of parchment paper under the top to trap humidity, and poked a few holes in it for airflow. There's a large waterbowl on the side of the tank away from the heat, I have a humidity gauge that I did calibrate, and both an under tank heater that's always on, and an overhead blue light on during the day. The damp hide is full of cypress mulch and spaghum moss and resting on the heat pad.

Thanks!
-Noob

[prairiepanda]

A 10 gal won't last you long with a BRB. You'll find that bigger enclosures are easier to set up a temperature gradient in. How big is he?

Also, regarding humidity; what are your current high and low humidity readings, and what kind of substrate are you using? Humid hides are great, especially when a snake is getting ready to shed, but if he spends all his time in there then the humidity outside the hide must be too dry for his liking.

[Huge Noob]

Pictures! These are the first few

[Huge Noob]

A 10 gal won't last you long with a BRB. You'll find that bigger enclosures are easier to set up a temperature gradient in. How big is he?

Also, regarding humidity; what are your current high and low humidity readings, and what kind of substrate are you using? Humid hides are great, especially when a snake is getting ready to shed, but if he spends all his time in there then the humidity outside the hide must be too dry for his liking.

Yep, I am planning on getting a max of about 6-8 months out of this. The snake is small, he's about 16-18 inches long and about as big around as a nickel at the widest point.

I agree, I think the humidity is too low in the cage. Substrate throughout the cage is Cypress Mulch, the humid hide is a mix of Cypress mulch and Sphagnum Peat Moss.

When I mist the crap out of the cage and close it up, I can hold about 85-90% humidity for several hours. After that it drops off.

I'm thinking my next purchase should be a fogger? Is that a good / bad / unnecessary idea?

Thanks!
-Noob

[Huge Noob]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/11055297_10205813241708641_2282483196358469854_n.j pg?oh=c7a5e647d2d4ea81ea7e31b2c178bbd6&oe=55B6316D&__gda__=1437306642_f28b3f46c0c635dc9c9d08198ea4f01 6

Picture of Dave the Snake....my kid is a natural comedian and thought 'Dave the Snake' sounded hilarious.

[SnoopySnake]

Ok, so you're going to want to completely ditch the heat lamp..these guys like cooler temps... Heat mats can get very hot when not controlled so two very good things to have are a thermostat and IR temp gun.

Here's a good inexpensive thermostat:Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat for Heat Mats (http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPRTC-Digital-Thermostat-Heat/dp/B000NZZG3S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427234385&sr=8-1&keywords=hydrofarm+thermostat)

You should get a thermostat before a fogger, and if you ditch the heat lamp you shouldn't even need a fogger. Lamps really dry out the air, and these guys also don't really like the light either. Cypress mulch is fantastic. I personally with switch over to a large Rubbermaid tote as they hold humidity great and if you get one large enough it'll provide more flor space for more hides. Nice looking BRB. :)

[Huge Noob]

Ok, so you're going to want to completely ditch the heat lamp..these guys like cooler temps... Heat mats can get very hot when not controlled so two very good things to have are a thermostat and IR temp gun.

You should get a thermostat before a fogger, and if you ditch the heat lamp you shouldn't even need a fogger. Lamps really dry out the air, and these guys also don't really like the light either. Cypress mulch is fantastic. I personally with switch over to a large Rubbermaid tote as they hold humidity great and if you get one large enough it'll provide more flor space for more hides. Nice looking BRB. :)

Right now with the Light AND the under tank heater, temps are in the mid 80's. It's Oregon, it's cold here...So, maybe around June or so I'll need that thermostat, but by then It'll be getting close to new cage time anyway. I plan on going a bit nuts with the permanent setup. :)

If I keep the current setup, lose the heat lamp, what do I do if the temp isn't warm enough? Maybe add a 2nd UTH?

Thanks!
-Noob

[SnoopySnake]

Right now with the Light AND the under tank heater, temps are in the mid 80's. It's Oregon, it's cold here...So, maybe around June or so I'll need that thermostat, but by then It'll be getting close to new cage time anyway. I plan on going a bit nuts with the permanent setup. :)

If I keep the current setup, lose the heat lamp, what do I do if the temp isn't warm enough? Maybe add a 2nd UTH?

Thanks!
-Noob

You still need the thermostat. UTH's cat get ridiculously hot and high temps are not good for these snakes. Have you checked what the ambient temp would be without the light? Mid 70's is a good ambient temp, you just need a basking spot thats 82, which would be the heat mat. How are you measuring the surface temp where the heat mat is?

[Huge Noob]

You still need the thermostat. UTH's cat get ridiculously hot and high temps are not good for these snakes. Have you checked what the ambient temp would be without the light? Mid 70's is a good ambient temp, you just need a basking spot thats 82, which would be the heat mat. How are you measuring the surface temp where the heat mat is?

If mid 70's are ok, with a 82ish hot spot, then maybe the heat mat alone would work. It's a small one, the smallest size zoomed one.

I know this is probably an inefficient method, but it's one of those little stick-on-tank thermostats, just lying on the substrate. never took the backing off, just set it on the ground right near the UTH.

One thing, that tupperware hide is sitting on the heat mat, like I moved the substrate out of the way and set it right on the glass. Should that be re-arranged? There's about 2" of substrate inside that hide.

Thanks!
-Noob

[SnoopySnake]

If mid 70's are ok, with a 82ish hot spot, then maybe the heat mat alone would work. It's a small one, the smallest size zoomed one.

I know this is probably an inefficient method, but it's one of those little stick-on-tank thermostats, just lying on the substrate. never took the backing off, just set it on the ground right near the UTH.

One thing, that tupperware hide is sitting on the heat mat, like I moved the substrate out of the way and set it right on the glass. Should that be re-arranged? There's about 2" of substrate inside that hide.

Thanks!
-Noob
Ok, so what you have is a thermometer... Those kind of thermometers are notorious for being wrong, they also take air temps and not surface which is why an infrared temp gun is good. You can get one at a home depot. I'd get a digital hygrometer/thermometer. The thermostat actually controls how hot the heat mat will get. You'd be surprised how hot they can really get.

[Huge Noob]

Ok, so what you have is a thermometer... Those kind of thermometers are notorious for being wrong, they also take air temps and not surface which is why an infrared temp gun is good. You can get one at a home depot. I'd get a digital hygrometer/thermometer. The thermostat actually controls how hot the heat mat will get. You'd be surprised how hot they can really get.

Ooops, yes I typed thermostat but I meant thermometer.

I just found an IR Thermometer 'gun' on Amazon that is highly reviewed, so I'll kill the light, buy the IR gun, and post what I find.

Thanks!
-Noob

[jossh27]

My uth went over 100°f! i couldn't figure out why my snake never wanted to use his warm hide, until my stat arrived... Indeed they can get hot

[prairiepanda]

Dave is a cute little guy! Sounds like you're on the right track. Definitely need to get a thermostat onto that heat mat though. I also agree with the plastic tub idea; when it comes time to upgrade him from the 10 gal you should definitely go for plastic. Much better for humidity. Unless you'd like to invest in a nice PVC enclosure, but that could wait until he's close to adult size.

[Huge Noob]

Dave is a cute little guy! Sounds like you're on the right track. Definitely need to get a thermostat onto that heat mat though. I also agree with the plastic tub idea; when it comes time to upgrade him from the 10 gal you should definitely go for plastic. Much better for humidity. Unless you'd like to invest in a nice PVC enclosure, but that could wait until he's close to adult size.

The current plan is to house him in the ten gallon for about 6 months, maybe a max of 8 months. Then build / buy a full size cage that will be his forever home.

Currently my thought is a cage with wood trim, plexi / lexan side panels. I have a woodworking friend I am going to try and bribe with beer or something to help me with it. Something along the lines of this - http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo66/TheSnakeGuy/Cage%20Build/RevisedCageBuild.jpg

[sharthun]

Hey and welcome!

[Jrich]

Just out of curiosity I took my ksb out of his tank and plugged the heat meat into the wall instead of the thermostat and after about 2 hours the thermometer read 115 degrees F. No way so I checked it with my temp gun and it was 115 yet again.

[Huge Noob]

UPDATE -

I ditched the heat lamp, replaced it with a compact fluorescent (just so I can see the snake and cage). The humidity is holding much better. I basically sprayed everything down in the tank two days ago, and it's holding right near 90% humidity.

The IR thermometer arrived. I took readings all over the place, basically every exposed surface I could find in the tank. The coolest thing was the water bowl sitting around 67F, the hottest thing was inside the damp hide reading at 80F. The surface area immediately around the hide was mid to high 70's all around. Most of the cage seems to be around 75-78F at the surface.

Still no thermostat on the heat pad...I dunno what's up? It's not anywhere near 100 degrees...maybe I got a bad one or something? The damp hide is resting directly down on the glass right on top of the UTH, and it's 80F in there. I took a reading of the UTH itself, like from under the tank, and it's sitting at about 140F.

The snake likes the hide, he barely comes out of it.

So, that's every bit of info I can think to give. If there's anything i'm missing please tell me! I'm feeling much better about the habitat for this snake now, thanks to everyone for the guidance and advice. Especially Snoopy, thanks...getting rid of the heat lamp really helped the humidity, and if it's 75-80F right around the habitat, I guess it wasn't needed at all!!

[prairiepanda]

Sounds great! I would still get a thermostat just to prevent dangerous failures or heat spikes if the ambient room temperature increases, even though the current temperature is fine. You should try uncovering some glass under the substrate and point the temp gun at that, just to make sure Dave won't get burned if he decides to dig.

Other than that, it sounds like you'll be good to go until he outgrows the tank! If you're going to go directly from the 10gal to an adult enclosure, just make sure to provide lots of extra hiding places so he won't feel too exposed. If you're building the adult enclosure out of wood, keep the humidity in mind! If you don't use the right coatings on the wood, or miss a spot, the humidity will destroy it. There are many threads here about DIY wood enclosures, so you should check them out and see what has worked, and what hasn't!