Boa still surviving with amateur owner....

thatchicklisa · #1 (**permalink**) 09-07-2004, 11:26 PM

My poor Boa! What she has to put up with!! Glad you guys are here. She is 3mos old and 27inches long..maybe longer. Have her in a 20gal screen top aquarium. Aspen used for substrate, nice piece of driftwood, bowl of water perfect for her size. First we had a red light in her tank which the Pet Store (regret every ounce of info we used from them now...grrrr!!) suggested because it gave off heat and is not visible as a light source to the boa. Something about the boa not being able to see that color or something. So, it was to be primarily used for heat. We come home from work and the temp is at 104 degrees. Major Freak Out okay!!! Boa was fine but poor thing dug herself under substrate at opposite end of tank. Can't say I blame her. Went back to the store and gave us a white light and temps are reaching 100 and down to 84 at night, but I don't like having that light on her all the time. I need some accurate information as far as lighting and heat sources go. I am not getting accurate information and I do not want to come home to a fried boa! She's grown on me ya know! Help appreciated!

faze · #2 (**permalink**) 09-08-2004, 12:02 AM

well for one you dont have to use those "fancy shmancy bulbs" goto your nearest hardware store or walmart whatever and pick yourself up a wide variety of bulbs (obviusly lower wattage then what you got now) i'm guessing you already have heat and humidity testing devices already (ie: temp strips humidity gauges etc) so take the bulbs and basicly just guess at which wattage you think would adjust your temps to about what you want and as you go just adjust the lamp closer and farther away from the cage as you find neccesarry till you reach proper temperature...
or you can get a heatpad and a reostat/thermostat and go that route

(if i missed anything please correct me at your own discretion

)

Ed_r · #3 (**permalink**) 09-08-2004, 12:03 AM

Depends on what wattage bulb your using. For a 20 gallon long you may only need a 40-50 watt bulb to give you the necessary heat. Otherwise an under tank heater would be best. At times I use a human heat pad, set no higher than medium. Don't use a 'smart' human heat pad, they shut themselves off. Use the dummy ones they are like 9.99 at target, and have 3 settings low, medium , and high. Low-med, works good and gets your temps to the desired 88 degree range, actual temps depend on depth of substrate.

faze · #4 (**permalink**) 09-08-2004, 12:08 AM

sorry one more thing...the reason we cant give you a exact wattage of the bulb to use is because the room temp makes it vary widely...but considering you probably spent about 5 bucks on that one bulb it will be alot cheaper for you to go this route over all considering a 6 pack of bulbs costs less then 2 bucks for the most part

thatchicklisa · #5 (**permalink**) 09-08-2004, 12:30 AM

Thanks for the info so far. Now, as far as lighting goes. Is it true that I should be giving her dark time? Is it also true that that red bulb was invisible as a light source to her? Maybe I will experiment with some bulbs and get a heat pad for night time when I have the bulb off. It's no wonder she's been so hissy lately. I'd be too if I was all hot and miserable. Will a heat pad alone produce enough warmth for her at night? By the way, I don't have a humidifier. I live in an area in southern california where a humidifier is most likely not necessary, BUT, it gets super hot in the day and pretty chilly at night, so you're right, I'm sure our room temp has TONS to do with the temp in the tank.

faze · #6 (**permalink**) 09-08-2004, 12:45 AM

the answer to a

is yes but imo the lighting in the room is efficient enough(but i have some cages with lights and some with heatpads)
and b

yes they do not see the red spectrum

LdyDrgn · #7 (**permalink**) 09-08-2004, 02:42 AM

If the light is getting too hot then wire it to a dimmer switch to turn it down where you need it.... that is if the heat pad isn't providing the temps. Otherwise, you don't need the light.

thatchicklisa · #8 (**permalink**) 09-08-2004, 05:20 PM

Dimmer switch!!!! Duh!! I would have never thought of that! Thanks! That will be a huge help. We have the light connected to a hook on our ceiling and are constantly raising and lowering for the proper temp. Dimmer switch!! Whaa-Laa!!

Wrasse · #9 (**permalink**) 09-08-2004, 10:13 PM

Are you using a thermostat? Or just hoping you will always be around when temps need adjusting?

I use the red bulbs on the hot side 24/7 in my cages, predominately for heating, but looks nice at night too and gives a light source for me to see my snakes by. I have them wired into the thermostat on the hot side and the thermostat turns them off when temps reach max required and back on when temps drop.

thatchicklisa · #10 (**permalink**) 09-08-2004, 10:39 PM

No thermostat. I will get one though. I did like the look of the red bulb when we had it, it just got too dang hot! The problem is that we bought a 20gallon tank that supposedly had EVERYTHING YOU NEED for your new boa. Looks like we'll be making the appropriate adjustments. It's like everything in that "ready to go" tank was nothing that we needed!

LdyDrgn · #11 (**permalink**) 09-08-2004, 11:33 PM

That's usually how those kits are.

A thermostat is good for backup in case the dimmer fails. The thermostat can shut it off if it gets too hot. Personally, I wouldn't want a heat lamp on a thermostat. CHE's, fine, but having the light click off and on all day and night can't be too good for the bulb. It burns out more quickly that way then if just left on. A proportional thermostat would work since it doesn't flip the power off and on, but adjusts the flow of electricity to the light. They cost a whole lot more money, though.

Wrasse · #12 (**permalink**) 09-09-2004, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LdyDrgn

Personally, I wouldn't want a heat lamp on a thermostat. CHE's, fine, but having the light click off and on all day and night can't be too good for the bulb. It burns out more quickly that way then if just left on.

Well, that explains why my bulbs keep blowing.

Still, I would rather replace a bulb every few weeks than have a snake cook when I am not there to watch the temps.

lisagordier · #13 (**permalink**) 09-09-2004, 03:40 PM

Wow, I just love this site myself!

Such good people to rely on info
Myself, when Zephyr was smaller. Another simple answer to your heating problem in the tank is use a regular heating pad under the tank at one end for the snake. (or even under a good size water dish to create your humidity in the tank for your snake)

Both works wonders. Along with the lower wattage bulbs being further away from the tank.

I also understand about the temperature in the house itself. I have a very large cage for my larger snake and have to deal with heat and humidity issues in regards to both. The humidity in the cage (heating pad and water dish) can help with that.

Heat is another issue. I live in Arizona so summer is tough to keep my cage cooler. I actually have to take heat out of the cage, and put a lamp outside for light during the day and turn it on and of so she has light. During the winter I use her inside lamps for heat and I have one of those long lamps with one red bulb and one white bulb. The red bulb usually stays on all the time to provide most of the heat and the white bulb is the "day" lamp which I have a switch on the outside that gets turned off.

I know, sounds complex, but it's a pretty big cage. If I can find a picture I'll post it here.
Sorry about the rambling, I get going sometimes.

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