first time red tail owner

[AclosEconD]

hi everyone .... i'm a proud new keeper of a 6 month old Surinamese Red Tail Boa!!! She is beautiful... I have done a lot of research and spoken to a lot of people about several different hints, tricks, and techniques for various things, but, i wanted to post this question to anyone on here who can help... i just bought a digital thermometer that also gives a humidity readout... even with misting, it's only showing 50-60% humidity.... i know this is unacceptable and want to know how i can ensure a higher amount of humidity for Bella .... anyone want to help a newbie?????? also.... the basking area is reading around 95 degrees ... is this too hot???

thanks,

brennen

[Ed_r]

Welcome to the site first off.

yes 95 is too hot. Hottest the temps on thehot side should be is 88. The lower temps will also help your humidity a tad. What is your cage setup?

[AclosEconD]

thanks for the welcome....

i will have to get a lower watt bulb ...

my cage setup is:

20 gallon long
non-heated side: water bowl and tree that branches to both sides
heated side: hide (hollowed out rock) , under-tank heating pad
and an over tank heating bulb

substrate: a mulch mix that the reptile store recommended

does all of this sound ok????

[Ed_r]

Doesn't sound too bad. I'm assuming the 20L has a screen top. If this is the case, you can do a couple things. Either drape a damp towel over the lid. Or sicone, or glue (becareful fumes will kill your snake)a piece of plastic, plexiglass or similar over most of the screen this will keep moisute in. I would take the lid off for a few days to make sure the fumes are totally gone.

Just be warned a 20 L wont hold it for long.

[AclosEconD]

thanks for the advice ... i'll try the towel thing first ... how long will the 20L hold her for???? and then what would you upgrade to ... and yes, it's a screen top

[AclosEconD]

and how do you get all those groovy things on your posts?? i signature on my setup page for my personal information, but it won't include the signature in the post???? sorry for all the questions.....

[Ed_r]

With proper feeding should hold it for about 8 months, thought it will start to get kinda tight. Suri's grow slower than BCIs but on the flip side they grow Larger. Next step tto hold the snake will be a 4'Wx2'D cage. then you will have to see at what point the snake gets too big for the 4x2. But that is 4-5 yrs down the road.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

	Suriname Redtail Boa Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor constrictor) from the locale of Suriname. Considered to be a "True" Red Tail.

[Ed_r]

You set it up in your profile, and check to attach a signature, and also when you reply to a post there are check boxes at the bottom, check to attach a signature. if for some reason it doesnt work let me know.

[AclosEconD]

it's not working ... i have been checking that sig box ... and what is a BCI? i'm sure you're laughing at me at this point

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[Ed_r]

Nope not laughing at all my bad. there are 2 types of "red tail Boas" One is the more commone BCI= Boa Constrictor Imperator and BCC= Boa Constrictor Constrictor, Your surinam is a BCC a common Columbian Boa is BCI.
Ok you write your signature in the box on your profile page. On your profile page you should see a check box that says something like display signature, or something like that,
Then on the post such as below this thread there should be 3 check boxes, one should be Attach signature.

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[AclosEconD]

thanks for all the great information .... the towel trick totally worked! it increased the humidity to 90% in just over an hour.... good stuff... is the nighttime temp of 75% ok? i do have the undertank heat going, but this does not change the air temp...

[Shuba]

The towel trick always works. What do you mean night time temp of 75%?..Do you mean humidty or the actualy temp in Farenheit? .. If you mean 75%=75 degrees .. As long as you have a heating pad to provide belly heat your snake should be fine. When breeders decide to breed there snakes, temperatures usualy drop to 68-70 degree. 75 degrees is a good night time temp.

[Diablo]

90% wow. that is too high. Personally I keep RTBs at 55-60% humidity. Ive never had a bad shed. ATB's and Pythons are a different story, but still not quite 90%. I recommend a night temp of 78*F rather than 75.

	Amazon Tree Boa Amazon Tree Boa - The Amazon tree boa, Corallus hortulanus, is a close relative of the Emerald tree boa (Corallus caninus)

[AclosEconD]

Originally Posted by Diablo

90% wow. that is too high. Personally I keep RTBs at 55-60% humidity. Ive never had a bad shed. ATB's and Pythons are a different story, but still not quite 90%. I recommend a night temp of 78*F rather than 75.

it' harder to control the humidity at night, as it tends to rise a bit high. again, i appreciate all of
your input. it's nice to knew newbies are accepted here...

on a side note: i can't get this friggin signature to work... i've created a quote and put it in my profile under "signatures" ... and when i post a reply, i click "attach signature" ... yet, i NOTHING>.. anyone wanna help me????