ATB heating and caging questions

[rynwilliams]

I am going to be purchasing a 30longx30highx18deep viv to house a single atb, i am going to be getting a uv light and heating the viv with a ceramic bulb. What watt ceramic would i need to heat the viv? Also with ATB is it ok to put a baby straight into this type of viv or is it best to start the snake in a small viv then put into a larger when the snake grows.

[Velvet Science]

Arboreal cages have their own personality, due to so many limbs, ventilation, cage furniture, ect., so exact wattage is hard to give. If it's ceramic, probably around 120-150, but since you'll be just as concerned with humidity and airflow, which are all interelated, you'll likely have to play with all three factors before your create an optimum environment.
No snakes require UV light, and none less so than a nocturnal species like the Amazon- but it shouldn't cause problems either. It may even bring out their colors, as Greg Maxwell claims they do for GTPs.
As far as cage size goes, there is no right and wrong, but i can lay out the pros and cons for you of keeping a little tree boa in a big cage.
The pros are: tree boas really appreciate a variety of climbing limbs. They will generally spend their time either on the ground (usually in the day), or at the highest point of the cage (at night), so put the majority of the limbs at a high range, rather than midlevel. As a footnote, ATBs seem to prefer to rest with at least 3 points of contact on their climbing limbs, so a forked branch, or even a tangled mass seems preferable to the ATB than the single tube that the ETBs and GTPs so elegantly throw their coils around.
So the babies like big cages, and big cages give you more room to be creative with furnishings- but the first drawback is access. More places to hide can mean less observation time for you. This is more than just a petty drag, as it can potentially jeapardize the health of your ATB as you're less likely to catch anything that's amiss. Another glitch: without loads of climbing apparatus, your 30" of heighth is dead space, but if the cage is big and filled with all those cool vines that showcase your ATB so well, you may also have trouble cleaning the cage floor, getting to the water, or even the snake itself.
I can tell you that i have some very functional (sterile) habitats, and some very large enclosures that i break my neck to keep real nice. I ceratinly enjoy the nicer looking one's more, and am naturally inclined to observe their inhabitants more than the others. This in itself is yet another "pro" to large, ornamented cages, as i again catch what's amiss before the problems evolves.
Both types of cages serve a purpose- both can maintain a healthy animal. Best to you in whatever you decide...

Tyler
Velvet Science Reptiles