Heating for Boas

[AnniesMom]

I am housing my boas in a temporary home until their condo is finished and the heating that came with their home, a waterbed heater, under the gravel, seems to be erratic, making hotspots instead of warming everything. Any suggestions for a better heating system for the cage? Its wood on all sides, wire front( yes, I know, the new one will be plexi-glass) and the top opens. I hope to get them out of there within a month at most, depending on how long it takes me to get the cage built. The cage is 4 feet long, 2.5 feet deep and 2.5 feet tall.

Thanks

[Linds]

Best way to heat boas is from the bottom. I'd use 11" heat tape for both the temporary enclosure as well as their permanent one. <a href="http://www.beanfarm.com">Bean Farm</a> is a good place to go for heat tape :)

[AnniesMom]

Thanks Lindsay! Does the tape have any problems sticking to particle board, or being under gravel? What about a fire risk? I'd hate to see a fire break out in my house, considering I'm a fire fighter and all LOL! Is that 11" long or 11"wide??

[HetForHuman]

The tape does not stick it is just plastic on the outside nothing else.

You have to wire it yourself, so it is up to you if you are comfortable with that.

and it is 11" wide and comes in 1 foot lengths or you can get 25 foot lengths if you want.

[AnniesMom]

Is it the same type of heat tape used to prevent wiring on the pipes of those unfortunate enough to live in a climate that gets a cold winter?? :) (I live on Southern Vancouver Island, Canada's Rivera, in temperature if not temperment)

[Linds]

I'm unfamiliar with the stuff used on pipes, but I'm assuming it is not the same since the stuff I am talking about is not CSA approved. It does however fall under the grandfather clause. You can attach it with aluminum foil tape or not at all (I don't fix mine to the cages, they jsut sit beneath). Assuming you wire it correctly and use some sort of control (ie- dimmer, thermostat, etc) there shouldn't be any fire risks. Its very east to use. I woudn't recommend using the clip covers, they are bulky and don't provide a good seal... I just use electrical tape.

[Lisa]

The tape is to be used outside the enclosure (from your post i'm thinking you're putting the heater in the enclosure under graval). You can get 11X17" heat pads from petstores that are prewired, all you need to do is plug them into your heat controler.

[AnniesMom]

Thanks Lisa. I was thinking that the tape went inside. My present cage is on wheels on a tile floor, and I wonder how well the tape would heat the cage?

I seem to have worked out the waterbed heater tho. It keeps that cage at a steady 25C and in the day the lamp goes on to bring it up a degree or two. Humidity gage reads 60 to 70%, which will go up when fall gets here and it starts to rail for 8months.