Temps?

[JDouglas]

I am curious? What temps do you keep your BRB's at? I am asking because Jeff Clark has recently changed his care sheet to suggest much lower temps. 75-83F with prolongued temps over 85F being fatal. He changed it because too many people were putting their BRB's in small tubs and cooking them with hot spots that were too hot. I am wondering what temps other experieced keepers are keeping their temps at?

Our adults are kept with an ambient temp of 78-80F on the cool side with a very small basking spot of 95F when checked with a temp gun. Keep in mind that we use 3 1/2 foot tubs and the hot spots are created by 3 inch flexwatt at the very back of the tub. This makes the hot spot very small. For example if I shoot 1 inch over from the tape with the temp gun it is 85F.

If someone would try to use a light or a large piece of flexwatt to attain this much heat it would raise the ambient temp to fatal levels!

[Jeff_Favelle]

Which is why lights suck with Rainbows. It raises the ambient. Its the exact opposite of what you want. You should strive for a moist, humid cage that's an ambient of 78-80F with a warm spot large enough for the ENTIRE animal at arounf 88-90F. That is PERFECT. You will run into zero problems with a heat pad or heat tape of appropriate size. This way, you heat a small portion of ONE SIDE of the cage, and the rest gets colder as you move further away. Giving them the choice is the key. But its been proven that 78-80F cool, and 88-90F warm is a terrific gradient. As long as both sts of temperatures are accessible at all times.

[Jeff_Favelle]

It also funny you mention that, because my Rainbow babies go in the same rack systems as my Jungle, Ball, Boa, etc etc babies. But of course they can't take that kind of heat without refuge. So all I do is make sure the Rubbermaids with the Rainbows are pulled out a tiny bit (maybe an inch) and the vent holes are in the front. That gives my the 78-88F gradient I desire. It just took a day of playing around with a few empty cages to figure it out. But that's the key: figuring it out BEFORE you put the animals in!! :D

[JDouglas]

Hey Favelle we also use the same rack system for our BRB's, Carpets, boas, and Balls. Jared and I heat our rooms to 80F with a electric baseboard heaters hooked to a proportional thermostat. Thats funny we also put the vent holes towards the front for our BRB's. We use rheostats to adjust the hot spots exactly where we want them. Thermostats for each rack are only used as a back up in case temps go up they will shut down. I put our BRB's on the bottom because it is a couple degrees cooler(78-80). Here's a pic of one style of rack we use...
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/503/2806odienrack-med.jpg

We also have a few racks that look like this and I recenlty built one that will only hold the smaller tubs.
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/2/280632-med.jpg

I have turned down our BRB's hot spot to 90F because 95F was not neccesary although it caused no harm. I respect Jeff Clark's insight but I don't think that I will lower my hot spot to 83F? I am sure BRB's will do well at this temp but your's and mine are dong great how they are because we are providing a wide thermal gradient. :D I also understand the reasons why he is reccomending this... People are cooking their BRB's with lights and under tank heaters that are too large for the enclosure. With a hotspot of 83F it can cover the entire cage and would not be fatal. LOL

[Invictus]

Sorry Jeff, as always I have to disagree with ya. Surprised? :D

I have a melamine enclosure that uses a 40 watt light bulb housed off within the enclosure and a steel mesh underlay. The 40 watt bulb gets the ambient temperature at a VERY steady 82 degrees throughout the enclosure, with the area directly under the light only getting to 90. Maintaining humidity is not a problem in this enclosure either. According to what you listed as the ideal temperatures for a BRB, my cage, which does use a light, would be ideal.

[JDouglas]

According to what you listed as the ideal temperatures for a BRB, my cage, which does use a light, would be ideal.

It sounds like these temps and your enclosure would work for a Brazilian but I wouldn't say they are ideal nor would I reccomend a cage like this. IMO ideal would be a ambient temp of 78-80. This could easily be achieved by using a dimmer. This must be a nice sized cage to be able to produce a heat gradient like that. Do you have any pics of it?
Here is why I don't reccomend it...
Juvenile BRB's do much better in smaller enclosures. Would your same set up work on a smaller scale with a smaller bulb? I don't know... but I do know what does work. Most beginners will not build a melamine enclosure like you have described. This is why I don't reccomend using bulbs because I am fearful that someone will put a metal dome over a 10 gallon tank and make boa jerky. Neonates need 95% humidity and I have found that melamine doesn't hold up well in high humidity like tubs do. Another reason I don't like the idea of using a heat light is that BRB's are shy and like dark places. IMO the light would stress them out. Also the light goes out and night and you lose your gradient. From watching my BRB I have seen that they hide during the day and crawl around at night. It is at night that I see them go to the heat also. A ceramic heat emitter would work better but would be too powerful. OK now I'm rambling. To make a long story short with a little tweaking your cage would work but don't feel it is ideal.

Just my opinion and I am not trying to be a jerk.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Ha ha, my responce was typed partly FOR YOU Ken, so I was just waitin'!

Yes, of course it CAN be done, but I've done it both ways, and I get less headaches with the way I do it now. I also find it to be more fool-proof, so I advise people with less familiarity with Epicrates to use the method. But yes, it can be done many ways. I could probably get a wood stove and construct some sort of cage within a proportional distance to the stove, thus giving a good gradient, but it would be ideal.

Also, Rainbows hate light. Go try and find one in broad daylight in western S. America. Actually, try to find daylight PERIOD where these guys occur! LOL! Its .... how can I say this..... a JUNGLE out there! Not much throughfall of light making it down though mutliple canopies. Hence the reason they haven't evolved to be a basking snake. The opportunity never arises. Instead, they thermoregulate by conduction. That is, they lay on or touch warmer or colder objects than themselves to get to the desired temperature. Radient heat sucks for Rainbows.

But yes, it CAN be done. As can many things.

:D

:p

And JD, Clark KNOWS his Rainbows. I bet his 83F hotspot has proven to be successful as well. I wouldn't question it. Its hard to question his success. But I've also produced so many babies my way, that it would be very very hard for me to change my methods. I SEE the results, and its tough to go in the face of that and muck around with the setup. It would be like looking a gift-horse in the mouth as far as I'm concerned!!

Best of luck peeps! :D

[JDouglas]

I agree that Jeff Clark is the man when it comes to BRB's and that you shouldn't fix what isn't broken.

See ya,

JD

[JuliusSqueezer]

I've never managed to kill a rainbow boa..or even have one get sick for that matter. But I believe when that data that says "PROLONGED" exposure to anything over 85 will kill them. I have to believe it because I'm not willing to test it with my animals lol....I don't see any harm with a nice warm basking spot...so long as you make absolute certain that there is a good gradient down into the high 70s. I would assume that it's more important to make sure that the cool side stays cool, whatever that takes so that's what I've always strived for...I just use a heating pad...no bulb. I've never seen any of mine during the day time anyway unless I rake up the cypress to dig them out.