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Boa overheating question

mxracer4life

mxracer4life

"Daniel Boone"
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I have a local friend of mine that has a very small collection and he called me up with a question that I unfortunately did not have an answer to. His question: what happens to a boa that is "overheated"? I have never had this problem so I had no idea. I did a google search and didn't find out much. To explain the situation a little, he has 3 adult boas, all running off the same t-stat in plastic caging with heat panels. A couple weeks ago his t-stat (Helix) went crazy and applied max heat to the panels and it happened at night. The next morning he said the cages felt like a sonna and there was an obvious difference in there behaviour, but shortly after all of them returned to normal but 1. All 3 were due for a feeding when this happened, so a few days after the temp was stabilized all 3 ate with no problems. It has been 2 weeks now and he fed them all 3 again with no issues. His concern is one of his boas now lays funny, sometimes on its side or kinda in a cork screw manner and it has odd movements when being held. What are the effects of overheating? Longterm? Vet visit needed?
 
Neurological damage from exposure to extreme heat spikes, even for less than ten minutes, are generally permanent and, in many cases, eventually fatal as the condition deteriorates further over time.

There is really not much a vet. can do for them except have your friend spend a bunch of money on tests to rule out everything but exposure to extreme heat.

Tell him to get a better thermostat or a secondary back up. Helix's have a history of this.
 
ShadowAceD said:
Neurological damage from exposure to extreme heat spikes, even for less than ten minutes, are generally permanent and, in many cases, eventually fatal as the condition deteriorates further over time.

There is really not much a vet. can do for them except have your friend spend a bunch of money on tests to rule out everything but exposure to extreme heat.

Tell him to get a better thermostat or a secondary back up. Helix's have a history of this.
Click to expand...

Temps were checked in the cage that morning and showed to be at 102. Since you mention your thoughts on the Helix, I have one as well and I have had to have it replaced 3 times now - not a fan anymore. To be honest I have a zoomed rheostat from 6 years ago that I trust more.

Well, this kid is still young and definitely still learning, I will let him know what you said and wish him luck. Got a specific t-stat you recommend he could switch to? Ranco or spyder would probably be my choice to recommend for him or if I ever got into snakes again.

Thanks Diem!
 
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Herpstats.

Rancos are all right, bu they should be doubled up as well.

As of now, the only thermo I know of that fails in the off position is the Herpstat 4. It has an added relay to it. The other Herpstats are not guaranteed to fail in the off position, but they are much more likely to.
 
Over on BP.net one of the posters reported a few months ago that the exhaust for his portable AC unit had shifted and ended up heating his snake room to 130*F. While most of his collection perished, the few hatchling BP's that did survive ended up slowly improving during the following few days. You may want to contact him to see how those babies are doing.
Lost almost everything
 
bcr229 said:
Over on BP.net one of the posters reported a few months ago that the exhaust for his portable AC unit had shifted and ended up heating his snake room to 130*F. While most of his collection perished, the few hatchling BP's that did survive ended up slowly improving during the following few days. You may want to contact him to see how those babies are doing.
Lost almost everything
Click to expand...

I did see that but I didn't know how a boa would compare to a BP.
 
This is an excellent advert for temp alarms. My entire facility is remotely monitored via computer with scans every few minutes, and will let me know via both e-mail and text if anything goes wrong...it cost me a ton, but well worth it!
 
Snakesitter said:
This is an excellent advert for temp alarms. My entire facility is remotely monitored via computer with scans every few minutes, and will let me know via both e-mail and text if anything goes wrong...it cost me a ton, but well worth it!
Click to expand...

Now that's fancy!
 
Snakesitter said:
This is an excellent advert for temp alarms. My entire facility is remotely monitored via computer with scans every few minutes, and will let me know via both e-mail and text if anything goes wrong...it cost me a ton, but well worth it!
Click to expand...

sorry to hijack thread but,
Curious what the system you use is called?
Id be interested in looking into it for the future.
 
Custom built based on a home automation system. That said, I think some of really high-end thermostats offer this function as well.
 
ShadowAceD said:
Depends on the stat.

I have a Herpstat 4 controlling multiple stacks or racks in my room with one probe to each.
Click to expand...

I think you misread what I wrote. I said a single probe thermostat controlling multiple enclosures. A herpstat 4 has four probes and four power zones. Therefore a herpstat 4 is good for four enclosures.
 
KORBIN5895 said:
I think you misread what I wrote. I said a single probe thermostat controlling multiple enclosures. A herpstat 4 has four probes and four power zones. Therefore a herpstat 4 is good for four enclosures.
Click to expand...

I didn't misread. I have seven Boaphiles on one Probe, a CB-70 rack on one probe, a 32/15qt rack on one probe and five APs on the last probe. It's designed for that so long as the caging and racks all use the same heating elements. 400.00 just to heat four enclosures would be a waste to me.
 
So $400 on four cages is a waste to you? Yet you are willing to gamble the lives of six snakes (your boaphile run) on one heating source? That seems very foolish and super cheap to me.

I can understand a rack on one probe because it's usually one heat source for the whole rack but seven different enclosures and seven different heat sources on one probe I hope you have the snakes you don't like in the six unregulated cages.
 
KORBIN5895 said:
So $400 on four cages is a waste to you? Yet you are willing to gamble the lives of six snakes (your boaphile run) on one heating source? That seems very foolish and super cheap to me.

I can understand a rack on one probe because it's usually one heat source for the whole rack but seven different enclosures and seven different heat sources on one probe I hope you have the snakes you don't like in the six unregulated cages.
Click to expand...

When boas bite me and make me made they go in the cages they are more likely to be cooked in, yeah.

You wouldn't even be using a quarter of what each port can handle of you had one Boaphile, hence the 400.00 waste. At that point I should just buy a bunch of therms known for failure. The 18" flexwatt panel (which unregulated I have never seen get over like 101 and that was less common than upper 90s) is a whole 17 watts wheras each Herpstat 4 port can handle 300+. Every cage is plugged into the same high quality non-cheapo power strip which is then plugged into the Herpstat.

The Herpstat 4 also had an additional relay inside of it to fail in the off position. So, no, I have not taken the cheap route. The cheap route would have been Ranco or Helix.

Just using 3" or 4" flex is more dangerous than my decision to heat this way.
 
ShadowAceD said:
When boas bite me and make me made they go in the cages they are more likely to be cooked in, yeah.

You wouldn't even be using a quarter of what each port can handle of you had one Boaphile, hence the 400.00 waste. At that point I should just buy a bunch of therms known for failure. The 18" flexwatt panel (which unregulated I have never seen get over like 101 and that was less common than upper 90s) is a whole 17 watts wheras each Herpstat 4 port can handle 300+. Every cage is plugged into the same high quality non-cheapo power strip which is then plugged into the Herpstat.

The Herpstat 4 also had an additional relay inside of it to fail in the off position. So, no, I have not taken the cheap route. The cheap route would have been Ranco or Helix.

Just using 3" or 4" flex is more dangerous than my decision to heat this way.
Click to expand...

I completely understand the fact that most heat sources are way under the capacity load of the thermostats. I had flexwatt panels in a rack I never used so I can't comment on those. What I can comment on is the fact that there have been three reports this year of a single thermostat failing and cooking several snakes. It happens. I personally don't see why we recommend unsafe practices, especially to new people who may not understand how to avoid the major risks involved.

Also kudos on putting the mean ones in the unregulated cages as opposed to just letting them go in the woods like some people do.
 
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