Supplemental heat

[Linds]

I was wondering just how necessary this is for brb's, since they cannot tolerate temperatures above 85 very well, and seem to enjoy being kept much cooler than that anyway. I have heard of a couple people that have recently started to house them at room temp with no supplemental heat. I was thinking of giving it a try with my rainbows since I like to keep my room at around 78-81 degrees anyways. What do you think?

[Grant vg]

I used to do that for months with my bp's since room temp was 84 or so...so i didn't feel the need to heat them cause i have heard of ppl providing just ambient temps...
One thing though,,...they usually dont grow as fast, since there isn't a hot spot so food doesn't get digested normally and i also noticed that although i was feeding them at regular intervals, and appropriate sized meals...there was signs of obesity....---> lateral lines within scales....most likely since there wasn't an adequate heat source to properly aid in digesting.....
Not sure if this relates to BRB's but id take it into consideration....

[Darren Hamill]

Linds,

I personally don't agree with keeping BRB's as cool as some people recommend. Yes can tolerate cooler ambient temps and no they don't generally bask at high temperatures but I would still suggest keeping their gradients moderate.

When BRB's are young I believe this is the time when to warm of temperatures could cause problems like dehydration and regurgitation. They should be kept very humid and slightly cool. IMO... 78-82 F works best.

Adult BRB's fare better at slightly warmer temperatures of 80-83 F with a basking spot of 86-88 F. I find that if adults are kept any cooler it seems to take to long to fully digest their food. BRB's do have a slightly slower metabolism (then average boa ssp.) but that's only by a few days depending on the size of the food item. Also like Grant pointed out, they grow much slower than you would expect. Most insular <i>Epicrates</i> grow very slow with the exception of the mainland forms and some larger insulars.

Insulars are another story when it comes to temperatures however but that's another long post. :0)

I hope this is useful to you. Best of luck.

Thanks,
Darren Hamill
http://www.hamillreptiles.com