setting up cage for a boa

Originally Posted by crotalusadamanteus

Not even ½. I use a 14" wide strip, running front to back (2 ft) on the 4 footers, and 2-11" strips running front to back (2 ft) on the 6 footer.

damn and that gets you 91 on one side and 71 on the other..
no light at all

do you know how much wattage thats taking for the 2ft of 14in wide

and if you have no lights in the cage, do you bring the snake into sunlight often to compensate? or is that un necessary?


again sorry for the never ending questions.
and thanks a ton for all the help!

Yep, sure does. Like I said, belly heat is way more efficient. 3" flex watt comes in 6 and 10 watt versions, 4" flex comes in 8 watt, and 11" comes in 20 watt. I'm sure there are others though. The 14" is ultratherm, and I don't recall the current draw on that. This is watts per linear foot if I remember correctly, so low voltage consumption. Flexwatt can get quite warm though, so don't take a pass on the thermostat for regulating it. Ultratherm "they say" can be used without a thermostat, but I'm not willing to try it. Here's a link to some flexwatt info... http://www.reptilebasics.com/flexwatt-faq

No lights except what comes in the window, and it does not hit the cages. Snakes have evolved past the need to synthesize UV light into vitamin D the way lizards do. They use an enzyme process that is more effected by temps then anything else. So a snake basking in the sun is not for the purpose of UV absorption, but solely a warming process. If you provide another source of heat, then sunlight is not needed.