My newly acquired boa constrictor is currently in a vision cage that is 28" wide - 22" deep - 12" high. She was born in April of this year and is roughly 2.5 feet, I'd say, perhaps slightly shorter. She has 11 or 12 inch (I can't honestly remember) heat tape running along the entire back half of the enclosure as belly heat and has one of those commercial black plastic hides over her hotspot with a temp of 90 degrees being fairly constant (88 to 91 or so, depending on day vs night). She also has a large water dish that she can easily soak in, if she wishes. My question is about the ambient temp. She doesn't do a lot of wandering around and tends to stay in her hide (aka the hot spot) for the majority of the time. The ambient temp in the room itself averages around 72 degrees or so and in the cage is roughly 74 on the cool end. Is it too cold for her and that's why she is in her hide constantly? I've had her for almost two weeks now and she's eaten for me once so far. Other than heat tape I'm just not sure how to heat the ambient temp of the enclosure without rigging up a basking bulb of some sort because my room (where she lives) is already the warmest in the house (by far). Any thoughts? I'm reluctant to try a heating source that she could potentially come into contact with (such as a bulb of some sort) so other than using more heat tape I'm not sure what I could do. Could it be that its still a new situation to her so she's just a bit shy due to acclimation? Would love some suggestions, thanks!
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