Hey folks,
Well in the never ending quest to do it right the first time, I have setup my boa tank using a UTH for heating. Hot zone is 90-95, ambient temp is 80-85,( per specs in the Boa Constrictor Manual). I use a 50 watt infrared for ambient heat supplement on the cool side,a UV bulb 75 watt on the hot side (upper half above a perch) and a small UTH for the hot side set to max at 95 during daylight hours, night time (with the UV light turned off temps at the floor measure in at 90 degrees) Temps are constantly being monitored, both upper and lower levels, on both the hot and cool sides. Humidity ranges from 43% to 50%. Large water dish is positioned midway in the tank and is changed for fresh water "daily" without fail. I do have an ultra-sonic fogger to increase humidity as needed but so far I have not used it in the Boa setup. The substrate is white paper towel only. I am being very picky with this setup as my boa has regurged twice on me and yes I have waited two weeks between feedings. The last attempt at food so far seems to be successful, three days passed and still no regurging. Much as I don't like doing this the last feed was a live juvenile mouse as he has been stubborn on F/T. We'll work on that one, once I get a clear answer on the heating. Incidently the Boa Manual condones the use of UTH..
and then I read this ....
excerpt from boa-constrictors.com
We strongly discourage people from using ground heaters, especially those with a high wattage, because the snakes lay on them and dry out. We have received several calls from people seeking advice, because their python was having a bad shed and looking very wrinkled. These people swear that the humidity lies above 60%. Right, but not immediately on the ground heater! Measure that spot sometime, and you will be very surprised: 35% or less are no rarity. Unfortunately, the snakes love these spots, because they are nice and warm. They are simply too stupid to realize that resting on a strong heat pad or heating cable is slowly but surely killing them.
The ground heaters they are mentioning are not the Hot Rocks, as they had already discouraged their use. They continue in the article to say that they have thrown out all their heat pads and now use heat lamps exclusively..
What about belly heat for digestion? ....
So now I am confused.
The big question is do you or don't you use UTH in your setups ?
All my other setups use them and until further notice I will keep using them on the boa tank.
and while I am at it, what about the use of foggers as a regular part of the timed cycle of events? Say once or twice a day, maybe early evening and early morning? I plan on sticking with paper towel as the substrate and I don't feed in the the tank. The tank is check for soiled spots daily.
I would like to hear people's views on this as I am also in the planning stages to convert an old store display fixture into the boas permanent home. More on that later.
As usual your insights are appreciated.
Jim
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