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First boa comming friday. Am I ready?

T

TeBo

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OK, after all the searching, I have found the perfect boa. I am expecting to recieve a male Nicaraguan Boa this friday. I've been buying the things I need piece by piece. So far, here is what I have.

20L Critter keeper
2 theremometers
1 humidity meter
1 bag reptibark
water bowl
haba hut

I was looking to buy bulbs today, but had no idea what i was looking at. The guy at PetCo (John.) told me, I should get this UV spiral bulb, that was like 27 bucks. and a basking light. any help?? what else do I need? thanks
 
I'm not sure how well your critter keeper will take to bulbs - those are the clear plastic bins with the colored plastic tops, right? I would be leary of placing a light on the top. a major factor there is how much supplemental heat you need (what wattage bulb will you need to use to attain the desired temps). my feeling is that you would probably be better off with an undertank heater or heat tape (with some sort of controlling device, of course).
I have used the zoomed rheostats (the 500 watt) in the past, and been happy with them. keep in mind that when using a rheostat, you will have to make adjustments for changes in room temperature; whereas a thermostat will take care of that for you.
 
From what I have gathered, snakes do not require UV lights. A basking light at one end is good. You have a good size for a baby although bear in mind that a larger enclosure will be necessary in the future.

I am excited for you, I know you are looking forward to the new snake's arrival!
 
Buying a really good book like the Boa Constrictor Manual would also help you out.

Set everything up, check and re-check temps ad humidity, re-arrange the cage furniture (several times as you are excited about your new pet- LOL!).
Get your new buddy, let him/her get settled in, post a HUGE "whoo-Hoo" post and pics when you get him/her! :)

Good luck and above all welcome to the joys of Boa ownership...let us know when you get the second one... :raspberry
 
Congratulations! Don't forget to have atleast two hides (one on each side, hot and cool) if you don't want to spend any money I've found Cool Whip containers work well.

Good luck, and be sure to post pictures!
 
So far, I only have one habba hut, and I still need to get a branch or somehting for him to climb on. I looked at lights, and they told me, that if I have a UTH, I don't need a basking lamp anymore? Is this true?? also, any suggestions on how to keep humidity up? or do I need that much humidity for this animal? thanks for all the help
 
in some of my setups that need more humidity i have more than one water dish. this helps especially if one is over/under a heat source causing evaporation. i use that to keep the humidity high in my BRB's cage. just make sure that the only water dish isnt under a heat source.
 
here's my basic setup.. I have the UTH on the left side, w/ the habba hut right over it, water on the right side, thermometers on each end (the little strip ones.) and Reptibark for bedding.. everything's already setup, the only thing missing is the snake.

Still need: a basking light (or is UTH enough?), climbing tree, maybe another habba hut or something similar, and maybe a leash to walk my new pet in the park
 
as far as whether a basking light (or other additional heat source) is necessary, that will depend on the temperatures achieved with the uth. if you find that you do need more heat, the typical approach is to put all heat sources on one side - that leaves the other side cooler, and allows for thermoregulation.
 
justcage said:
How are you controlling your temps?
Click to expand...


umm. . . By turning on the heat lamp when it's too cold, and turning it off if it's too hot.. why, should there be another way?
 
where should I start...ok - first, you said you will be using an uth. many of the uth's get hot enough to burn your snake. this can happen even if the thermometer on that side says the temp is sub-optimal (unless you put the thermometer on the bottom, directly on top of the uth). then, when you add a basking light, ambient temps will increase - you have to be pretty careful on your choice of bulb wattage. And then, when the room temp goes up, your cage temps will spike. the turning the light on/off is a nice idea, but it only works when you are there and paying attention. invariably, life happens to all of us - we can't sit around and watch our animals 24/7. since you only have one snake (or, at least one boid), and you are probably budget-conscious (not a bad thing), you probably don't want to spend $100+/- for a good thermostat right now. zoo med has one that is relatively cheap, but I would only recommend them for pretty low wattage devices (your setup should be fine). be advised, they aren't the best things out there (that's why they are cheap - they break). zoo med also offers a couple of rheostats. there is a 150w and a 500w. I am using several of the 500w rheostats, and am satisfied with them...but remember, changes in ambient temperature will require adjustment of rheostat settings. if/when you decide you want to switch to heat tape, or buy a good thermostat - Matt (justcage) is a good guy to talk to.
 
If you do find you need the temp to be higher than the UTH can get your tank, you don't need anything with ultraviolet light. Actually, what works best for me is either a ceramic heat emitter (looks like a ceramic light bulb sort of) or a "nite glow" bulb - that way, you can leave the light on all the time, day or night, and not disturb the day/night light cycle of your snake (having a daylight bulb on all night can stress a snake).

However, usually UTHs can be enough. Remember that if you have a screen top, as long as you don't have any lights up there, you can cover MOST of the screen with cardboard to help keep the heat in (leave a little space for ventilation). This will also help keep the humidity up a little more.
 
dang.. Yeah, I've just about exhausted my primary budget, and put another hundred over it. Right now, I just need the basic necessities, and I think I got it.

My thermometers are placed about an inch n' a half from the floor. I have a flourescent light, plugged into a 24hr timer, but have no use for it, since daylight should be ample. I'll move up eventually, I just need time to save a lil'=)
 
Pretty much all UTH elements will get way hotter than the temp range that is safe for the animal.. A UTH will raise the ambient air temps little if any at all.. A CHE or Red bulb will be what you need for that. You HAVE to control the uth with a themrostat and the bulb is better suted to be controlled with a dimmer..
 
well, I dropped my digital thermometer (What I use for checking food temp levels at work. I'm a cook.) in the bottom of the tank, saying it's set a 90 deg F right now on the hot side, and 80 on the cold side. Only using UTH and a flourescent lamp. It's is first day in there right now. He's beautiful, and I'm luvin' it ! !

Earlier, when I got him out of the box, he was really nice, and really good to handle and all. I tried to pull him out just a few seconds ago, and he seems nippy. I put on gloves just to be sure, and just slowly stuck my hand inside, and he struck at it, so he's staying in there for now. I'm guessing he just needs to get used to his surroundings, or maybe it's cuz I just suddenly turned on the lights, and he might have gotten scared. any help?

I don't have pix yet, but here r pix of him from the owner:

http://primareptilia.com/gallery/album62
 
OH ya.. just a funny side note. I named my new guy ADOBO.. my friends all said it's kinda messed up that I did, cuz hte reason I named him that, is cuz in my home country (Philippines.) Adobo is a recipe, and one that is normally used to cook snakes (Reticulated Python.). . . I just thought it was a fun name=)
 
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