Heating this cage size.......

Im looking into purchasing adult emeralds and have gotten the proper tank size 2 feet deep,36 wide and 4ft tall. My new problem before i go through with it is mainting the adquete heating for the ranges of 75-82 degrees the animals will require.
Is a cage of this size truly a complex thing to heat? Will two of the largest heat pads 1 being located on the bottom and the other along the walls of the cage somewere be enought?
I am also aware of there 12/12 lighting phase wich would help the heat reach the maxium but when the lights go out, how will i still maintain that temp?
please help as i do wish to go through with this, but refuse to purchase the animals until the Viv. is setup and i know all will be well. thank you

Dude you have alot of questions and thats good that you will not buy the animal until the viv is set. You really need to get yourself a good book. Sit down with a highlighter and educate yourself...
-Matt

for a start go look at the caresheets on corallus.com, read read then read again, then ask questions to things you dont understand

what snakes have you had before, aboreals i mean

could use a red or black light at night to keep temps up

arboreal caging issues

Personally I have had trouble keeping that tall of a cage warm enough where the snakes stay with only belly heat...

My emeralds didn't climb up and down that much, they prefer cozy locations and have favorite spots they stay in most of the time, in a tall cage they rarely used more than the canopy area, if they could avoid lower areas they would. I opted to switch to a different cage height.

They have done best in less-tall caging with top heat panel over 1/3 of perch area, they stay there for digesting and whenever they are searching for food at night. They will hang down to drink from water dish, I also have water on entire bottom of cage which keeps humidity at 80% most of the time due to the evaporation from the heat panel. Email me for more detailed setup info, not perfect I am sure but they are super happy. Perch sizes are important too.

Present PVC cage is 17"H x 3'W x 2'D, works very well for them and for maintenance (Boaphile Plastics)...take a look at their website for pics and ideas. I also have my eye on another newer source for same type of caging option...

Read the sources mentioned before...they are excellent. Don't get the snakes until you feel you have the info in your head, these guys aren't easily forgiving when things go wrong and you don't have time to look everything up when something changes all of a sudden. Meticulous temp and humidity monitoring are a must for long term success.

Good luck in your research, I LOVE my Emeralds even with the extra work they require...


Dr. Lynne Lankes