Newbie Please Help!!!

[wroughtinflames]

hey... so yeah.... i just got my first snake the other day... she's a Central American Boa... and i'm having problems... the setup i have her in isn't really working i think... her enclosure is full of condensation and every time i pick her up to handle her she's FREEZING... the heating pad is on but i'm not sure if it's strong enough... the thermometer says it's hot enough but she's always on the other side of the enclosure away from the heating pad.... she's only about 4 months old i think... my roomie has a snake as well and has had many so he's helping me but i'm really worried about her right now... she hasn't been fed yet because i'm trying to let her get use to the surroundings... (he's also a member of this forum)... if ANYBODY can help me PLEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEEEEE.... i'm in bad shape boys and i'm worried about my baby...

[BoidKeeper]

Need more info.
What type of cage is it?
What are you using for heat?
What are you using for a thermometer?
Why is it full of condensation? Is it the substrate, are you spraying the snake? No air flow etc?
Cheers,
Trevor

[Cruciform]

What's the ambient temp in the room, and the temp on the heat pad/cool ends inside the tank?

If the room is quite cool the end farthest from the heat pad will collect quite a bit of condensation. And if the gradient from hot to cold is too sharp because of the colder room temp, and the hot spot is too hot she'll sit in the colder area most of the time.

At least this is what I encountered when moving my animals into the basement. Your mileage may vary.

One thing you could try is putting layers between the pad and the enclosure. Just increase the thickness of the layer over the length of the pad area so smooth out the gradient, and give them more choice on where to rest.

I'm *not* an expert though, this is just what I've been working out on my own.

Good luck :)

[wroughtinflames]

The cage is a rubbermaid about 2 1/2 ft wide, 1 1/2 ft tall. There are ventilation holes cut around the top.

We are using a Natures Heat under tank dry heater for a heat pad.

For a thermometer we have a small round thermometer that messures from about 70* to about 100*.

We are not spraying her, and we are using Aspen. The problem could be that there isn't enough air flow, so we are going to go back and add more holes for ventilation.

The room is pretty cold. She was never actually burying in the aspen before though. When we woke up this morning, she was freezing, so we put her back on the side where the heating pad is and kind of buried her a little with her head still sticking out. Now she has completely buried herself and is still in relatively the same place though she has spread her body out a little.

Sorry if I left out anything important.. I'm Jennifer, Kevin was the person who originally posted. We bought the snake together.

[BoidKeeper]

For starters get rid of that thermometer and get a digital one that is meant for outdoor/indoor use with the probe sensor.
You need to know exactly what you temps are both over the end with the heat pad and the end with out the heat pad as well as in the room both during the day and at night or you may end up with a sick snake. I do not let my snakes get cooler than 75 at night.
Aspen is fine but if you are not spraying and the snake has not spilled it's water bowl you should not have excessive humidity.
Picking up a copy of the boa constricto manual is a good idea too.
Cheers,
Trevor

[Cruciform]

Try switching to newspaper for a bit, and see if it helps.

With aspen you might miss some water spillage or urine that could be contributing to the humidity issue.

[djnzlab]

HI,
Most health related problems are finally related to lack of heat and in the correct amount,
I realize your on a budget but a real reptile cage may be the best fix for your snake.
I personally dont care for fish tanks so I would look for resonable plastic cage with heat installed the best for the buck is probably the boaphile plastic and he pays shipping to your door.
All you need is a thermostat and a decent digital thermometer.
Doug


Check this out, most fish tanks will cost a lot to fix up..

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http://forum.redtailboas.com/index.php?board=7;action=display;threadid=4011