Substrate / Temp Question

[scubarob]

OK Folks, this is my first post, so bear with me. I am a total newby w/ regards to boids, but I've loved them for years. I finally took the leap and bought a BCI. Hopefully you folks can help me with a few questions!

The Stats:

1. Animal (size / age / sex): BCI 1.5ft long / >1yr / male
2. Temps (Warm side / cool side / humidity) - here's the problem! Warm side is 82-84 cool side is 69-72(yikes) humidity is 55%
3. Caging (acquarium, rack etc) 80ga aquarium w/ screen top + towel on top to hold heat!
4. Feeding schedule (size and frequency) Havn't fed him yet, just got him Wed. His next meal will be this Sun night.

OK, on to the question. I have an 11x17 cobra under tank heater, and a 150W CHE for heat. I use a Habamist for humidity. I am using indoor/outdoor astroturf type carpet, and my boa doesn't seem to like it. I'm thinking about using the Dri-Dek tiles for substrate, with newspaper or paper towels under it. I prefer not to use sand bark etc, because the tank is a monster, and it would be a pain to clean every month.


What's the consensus, is Dri-Dek OK, or should I just suck it up and use aspen, coconut etc. (BTW, money is no object, he's my one and only pet!)

Thanks in advance!!

Rob

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

	Ceramic Heat Emitter Ceramic Heat Emitter: A porcelain heating device that screws into a standard porcelain incandescent socket

[unluckyseventeen]

I'd say bump the warm side up to 86-88. If you can cover some of the tank with a solid object (glass) to help heat not escape, that should help. Both of them should do the trick.

As for substrate, newspaper, paper towels, aspen or cypress will all work well. I use newspaper and then give them somewhere to burrow within the tank. I don't like using any other sort of mixture or anything like that - it tends to harvest bacteria and sometimes mites and stuff. Newspaper has always worked well for me.

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[CreepingDeath]

i use aspen, with paper towels or news paper under it so when i clean the tank i can get most the aspen out by folding the sides of the paper up and picking it up. then get what was left after that. and like unluckyseventeen said i would also bump up the temps a little. hope this helped

[SoberGuy]

Cyprus mulch will hold humidity better than aspen. Personally, it's worth all the cleaning and what not. I'd go with that. You can up the size of the UTH if you want, or the size of the CHE, but it sounds like at least one needs to go up. If you add a regular substrate, like aspen or cyprus mulch, up your UTH, as it will have to work harder to push the heat through a thicker amount of substrate.

	Under Tank Heater Under Tank Heater

	Ceramic Heat Emitter Ceramic Heat Emitter: A porcelain heating device that screws into a standard porcelain incandescent socket

[Stargazer]

Welcome to the site first of all.

IMO, 150 watts of CHE are not enough for an 80 gallon tank, even with a UTH unless your room temperature is fairly high. I'm planning to use 2 CHE's on my new 75 gallon (one 150 and one 100 w) along with a UTH. At night I will turn off one of the CHE's. I'm currently using a 150watt CHE over my 40 gallon tank and and extra 75 watt blue light in winter (no UTH). This brings the temps on the hot side to 90. They seem to like it. If your snake is only 1.5 feet long, you could go with a much smaller tank. A 40 gallon should hold him for a year or 2 and will require much less resources for heating.

	Under Tank Heater Under Tank Heater

	Ceramic Heat Emitter Ceramic Heat Emitter: A porcelain heating device that screws into a standard porcelain incandescent socket

	In My Opinon IMO = In My Opinion and IMHO = In My Honest Opinion

[SoberGuy]

Oh yeah. Lots of hides in a space that big. Lots. Welcome the site. And please don't feed live rats.

[X-Factor]

EXCELLENT first post! What jumps out to me is the humidity, that is WAY too low. Temps are low too, but not nearly as bad as the humidity. Try getting some insulation to wrap around the outsides of the cage, that humidity needs to be about 75%. Acquariums are pretty bad regarding humidity unless you are misting every day or using a humidifier (which you certainly could). Also, I mentioned this in another thread, getting a small space heater for the room works well at raising ambient temps, thus limiting the need for an undertank heater. Are you using thermostats on your heating pads? Where are they located? What are you using for guages?

edit: as far as substrate, try newspaper, it seems to be the easiest to clean adn take care of as your BCI doesn't like the carpeting. if that doesn't work, you CAN use Aspen shavings, just make sure you properly treat it before using it (freeze or bake) to eliminated any possible mites.

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

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks