Temperature Regulation

[MajorLunitik]

OK, since you are all so GREAT at answering my dumb newbie questions, here's more.

How diffucult is temperature regulation?
Do I change the temperature throughout the day?
Are there gadgets that change the temp automatically?
Any recommendations of brand name thermos or heat sources?
What have you found that works for your pets?

**I just wanted to say "Thank you" for all of the good info. This is truly a great resource.**

Major Lunitik


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[morti]

The best way to regulate your temperature is with a comercial thermostat. These can be bought from most of the major reptile suppliers online. The do not allow for changing the temps throughout the day, but some do allow for a nightime drop if that is your style of thing.

Good luck!
-Your Sick Uncle Morti
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[XzyluM]

I think Morti summed all of this up. The best and most effective way maintain temperatures is a rheostat or a thermostat. These are pretty cheap and work well. Just plug your heat source into them and set them and you'll all good. As for regulating the temperatures, most of the time you only need to allow a drop at night. Other than that, there should be a warm side and a cool side in your snake's enclosure. Name brands, I wouldn't really worried to much about that. As for heat sources, if you plan on using heat lamps, you can use regular light bulbs that work perfect. Depending on what type of enclosure you are using, there are different types of heat sources available. Give www.bigappleherp.com a try. Sure you would like it.

[addsig]

What's you're really after is what we call a gradient in temperature, meaning one side of the enclosure is say 88 F and the opposite end is 82F...then the snake can choose which end suits it at any given time for temperature.

The only "dumb" newbie question is the one you don't ask...we were all newbies once upon a time...
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[MajorLunitik]

Thanks for the replies. Here are a few more questions.

1. What kinds of set ups do you have in your own vivs for a proper thermal gradient?
2. Are you decreasing the temps at night?
3. What about light? All day? Turned off at night?
4. Any recommendations for thermometers, thermostats, heating sources?

**My plan is to get my viv set up and test it for a couple of days before I bring my buddy home.** [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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[MacGyver]

Major, here's a link to a post we made in the Caging forum. You can see pics of the enclosure we built for Ayasha, our BCI RTB. If you scroll down a bit in the thread, you will find a reply in which we give more detail about our heating and lighting setups. Scroll down a bit further still and you'll find another reply in which we post the rundown on the costs involved in building it all.

Ayasha really has taken well to this setup. She's the peak of health, very shiney and irridescent (enough to rival some of the rainbow boas I've seen). She eats anything we put in her feed box with her, poops every 2-3 weeks, and has shed every 4-5 weeks since we got her (perfect sheds since going into the new enclosure).

She's growing by leaps and bounds, and is a real sweetheart. If you have any questions about our particular setup that aren't answered in the other thread, feel free to reply here, or email us

Will, Heather and the babies...

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

[Voodoo]

Here's the setup I currently have in my 20G viv:

Cobra heat mat under the right(warm) end
Lamp with a 75w ZooMed Basking light on the right(warm) end

I have the light on a timer to come on at noon, and off at midnight (the cage is in my bedroom, which has a curtain up to keep light out during the day so they get that 12 hours light)

With that setup, I have
Daytime- about 90 on warm side, about 85 on the cool side
Nighttime- about 85 on warm side, about 75 on cool side

I don't use any thermostats or hooey. I just have those aquarium temp gauges on the outside glass right near the bottom of the cage.

You can use regular lightbulbs for your lamp, but I prefer those ZooMed ones. I had a regular 100W in, and it kept the cage about 10 degrees cooler than the 75W ZooMed I have in, now.

What kind of snake are you getting? That'll tell you how warm you need to keep the cage.
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