Radiant Heat Panels And Boas.

[JoleneVissers]

Hey, I'm considering ordering in a custom PVC terrarium and was wondering what the best heat source would be for my boa. I know that the radiant heat panels are efficient and was wondering if would produce to much heat for him or if they can be controlled. The guy didn't say much about it when I had asked. Any help would be great =).

[Tekpc007]

i have a a hog island boa and a jungle carpet python , they are in vision 433 cages that is 48x28x28 . I have a 24 x 12 pro heat panel in it thats 88 watts and also a UTH that is a 11x11 that is under one of his hides. they are both on 24.7 , and controled by a herpstat 4 . You must have a thermostat for both , if not they just run as hot as they can get . I set mine to 88 and it makes a nice ambient 78 with a cool spot of 74 . they come out morning and night and sits on the shelf under the RHP where it is about 90F and loves it. after a meal they will sit there for 3 days , day and night . After that the boa goes either the cool or warm side hide and comes out to soak up heat under the RHP at will. the python choose a branch on the warm or cool side. RHP's work well , but its good to still have a small UTH I think , and you must have a quailty thermostat to control them , like one that would fail in the off position . Talk to whoever you are buying them from and see what they recommend for your cage size.

[JoleneVissers]

The setup we're looking at is 4'x2'x2', It will be a PVC one from Cornel’s World Terrariums. We're talking to him a bit about it but I just figured it would be good to get more first hand information from other snake owners who uses them already to get a better idea on how well they work compared to heat lights and UTH.

[Tekpc007]

4x2x2 should be between 60 and 120 watts , depends on room temp . Mine is 74F ambient room temp. I orient the panel lengthwise starting closest to one side , so there is ample room for a cool side hide. A shelf or branches helps too so you can set the RHP lower and the snake can move as close as it likes. I'll go get a pic of my vision setup and post in a few minutes.

warm side hide is on the left side , UTH is under that.

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/9149/sam0420j.jpg
http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/6152/sam0425x.jpg

[Terranaut]

I have my boas in a 6x2x20" with a rhp at one end. No uth. On a house thermostat for a baseboard heater works great. Snakes can bask on the hide or go in the warm hide or cool hide. My air temps are mid to high 80's at one end and high 70's at the other. The top of the warm hide hits 92 when the panel is on. I am real happy I went this way.