temp. problems

[DeviledDiablo]

sup everyone, i dun have a snake yet, but still plannin on gettin one. i have a problem though.. my house is ALWAYS cold :( and i was plannin on gettin a baby boa. i was actually plannin on gettin 2 heat pads for it ( because my house is so cold ) and have one runnin low on one side and one med on the "hot" side. would u guys think that would work? cause man.. I GET COLD in my damn house, so im pretty sure the snake would be worst lol
um im open for any good suggestions on keep a good temp. all day and nite ( mostly at nite ) i bought a 250watt lamp ( no bulb yet ) and was planning on usin that if needed.. but im juss tryin to figure out wut the best way to keep my snake warm ( once i do get him ) ill prob be keepin the baby boa in a 10 gallon glass tank.. and i have aspen beding for it alrdy.. plz suggest some things i would be able to do to keep my snake warm thanx

[Jeff_Favelle]

1) Aquariums are for fish.

2) 250W spot/flood lamps are for growing marijuanna.

3) No one can tell you if your two heat pad method will work which is precisely why the term "trial and error" was invented. Try it and find out and let US know how it goes. For us to predict whether or not your temps will be correct in YOUR house is next to impossible.

4) Kudos to you for asking quesions first and getting your boa later. I wish more people started out in thr hobby like you are doing.

5) Keep asking. Specific questions rule. I like how you didn't just say "how do I keep a boa?" Those questions never get answered because it would take a NOVEL to fully answer it. Specific, detailed queries are the heart of this site and its where the best info is revealed.

Best of luck.......:D

[DeviledDiablo]

hehe thanx.. but ya ive read tons of caresheets and stuff about it alrdy, now all i need to find out are the "fine print" infos =P so i think im rdy for the snake.. i was juss seeing if anyone else have any good heat keepin techiques to share =) as in, if mine doesnt work.. wut i would be able to fall back on.. u no. ya im kinda excited to get a baby boa.. i cant wait until it gets bigger.. i alrdy found a good cage plan to start buildin a 5 or 6 foot cage ;) but i do have could of other question in mind.. i heard ppl usin some special thermometres or wut-not.. um forgot the names of it.. but somethin about regulating temp.. ok.. heres wut i alrdy know wut to get for my boa.. cage, 2thermometres, screen wit clips, heatpads, lamp, beddin, hides, waterdish and tongs for feedin.. wut else should i have at hand? cage cleaners? (wut kind)


is the lamp that i got too powerful? and wuts wrong wit marijuana? :D ;) LOL

[BoAddict]

i keep boas just fine in aquariums
i use 1 heat pad but my place is usually warm
if you use aquariums tho id recommend using the wire lids they are virtually escape proof

[Jeff_Favelle]

Screen lids suck and lamps suck.

Ha ha, keep asking! :D

[HetForHuman]

also instead of using a heat lamp (bulb) you could try a ceramic heat emitter, to bring up the ambient temp in the cage.

I myself have never tried one but i heard they can work quite well...

Also if it is used inside the cage make sure the snake will not be able to come into direct contact with it..

[Pontus]

get a temp controled heater and put it in the room and close the door it will hold a good temp thats what i do and my rooom used to get so cold and now it sits at 78 all year round

[DeviledDiablo]

ok i juss got 2 heat pads, i got it from sunbeam... and its the dry/moist kind... do i really need the "moist part of this? lol cause i spent an extra like 9 buck to get a lil piece of foam i think! wut kinda UTH pads do u guys get?

[MouseKilla]

Jeff,

You're right about aquariums being a pain but I think you may be leading this guy astray here. Everyone knows you can't grow pot with a 250W bulb, you're gonna need about 1000W for that. Are you sure you live in BC? lol!

As for the question aboot heat though I think Jeff was on to something because this becomes a caging question really. I would reccomend that you don't use an aquarium at all because they require you to do a lot of unnecessary extra work to keep heat in and humidity when it's needed.

A baby Colombian BCI will out grow a 10 g tank in 6 months tops (unless it's too cold or underfed or both) and within 2 years you would need to size up your aquariums several times. An adult requires a cage that has a floor space of at least 4 feet X 2 feet, that would be one big aquarium and I don't even want to think about getting an adult boa in and out of it let alone cleaning it. So at that point (which comes sooner than you realize when you buy that little baby) you're looking at either buying a big expensive pre-fabricated cage or building a cage yourself.

What I would do is use a 12" X 24" Rubbermaid at first then when you need to upsize build a custom cage at that point. If you can have a room that you keep at 80F using a space heater that would be ideal for ambient teps then you could just use a UTH or heat pad for the hotspot. If you can't have a heated room then I would skip the Rubbermaid step and go straight to a smaller sized custom cage that you can equip with a ceramic heat emitter to achieve proper ambient temps.

If you need them there are very good plans with lots of pictures in the Enclosures forum on this site.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Excellent post MouseKilla. :D

80F cool end (usually close to the ambient of the room) and 90-92F warm end. Heat pads in front-opening or Rubbermaid cages accomplish this the best.

1000W eh??? I suppose you fertilize EVERY day?? LOL!! :D

[rootkey]

Yea 1000W minimum, i dont know what kind of shrubs jeff is growing =)