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new rosy boa owner, question about heating

V

vision

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I just got a rosy boa yesterday and I was wondering if my setup is good. He's in a 10 gallon tank with a water bowl, a branch, and a hiding place. I use a 60W Sun Glo bulb during the day and a 75W Heat Glo Infrared bulb during the night. Does my setup sound good? I placed the lamp on the right side above the hiding place and the water bowl and the lamp on the left side. I was also wondering if heat glo bulb during the night is needed? I went back to the pet store today cause I was worried that it might not be warm enough for him (it stays around 70F during the night in that room) and they said I could use the infrared heat glo bulb during the night and that I dont really need a heat pad.
 
You need to put a thermometer directly under the hot spot to see how hot it's getting or, better yet, get a temp gun. 75 watts in a ten gallon is probably too hot, even 60 might be. They don't need to be kept as warm at night as during the day.

Get in touch with Scales.com or Matt Greybeal, both of whom you can find in the members directory and talk to them about heating options. Sounds like your pet store is more interested in selling you stuff than in truely properly caring for your snake.

Research, research, research. Google rosy boas or find one of the big breeder sites to peruse.
 
A temp gun is definately an excellent investment. Pet stores will try to sell you a lot of stuff you don't need. I use UTH's exclusively to heat my rosies and my room temperature is usually in the 70's too. I use a rheostat to make sure that the UTH stays in the 90's and doesn't get too hot. At least in 10 gallon tanks, I've found that 75 watt bulbs can really heat up the tank, a temp gun would be really helpful so that you could see what the temps actually are.

I've never tried using lights to heat a rosy's enclosure, but since they're nocturnal I wouldn't expect them to utilize the daylight bulb much. If it were me, I'd return the lighting if that was an option or save it for future use and get a good UTH (I love the T-rex Cobra heat pads). I think that it is a lot easier to establish a good gradient in a small tank with a UTH.

-Alice
 
Go to Walmart or a drug store like Eckerd and get a human heat pad. Snakes need belly heat to aid in the digestion of food. They sould run about $15 and make sure you get dry heat, with multiple heat settings. That should work great for your rosy.
 
Ok once I get a heat pad do I need the lamp anymore? Also what temp gun do you recommend? I've been doing a lot of research and everyone online recommends a heating pad, I dont know why my local pet store recommended a lamp instead.
 
Also what do you recommend for substrate? They told me to use T-Rex Bone Aid Calci-Sand, but now I'm reading that it isnt good for them. I plan on making a trip to a different pet store to buy the heating pad and the other things that have been recommended.
 
For temp guns, go to www.tempgun.com I think you can get one for around $25

I'm a bit leary of using human heating pads, I read about a few instances where they caught fire. I don't think they're designed for continuous use.

I use aspen shavings. I put about 3 inches in the tank and my snakes love to burrow through it. This also gives them a range of temperatures over the heating pad depending on how deep they choose to burrow. The aspen also holds the burrow structure a bit so I can kind of see a network of tunnels. I've also heard of people using carefresh, but this stuff seems a bit too dusty for my taste.

If you get the UTH, you really won't need the lights any more.

-Alice
 
Ok I went and I got "Scent Free" Premier Pets Aspen bedding, a Zoomed UTH for a 10 gallon, the only CHE they had was a 60W so I got that. Will Zoomed High Range Reptile Thermometers work on each end inside of the tank? I also got a T-rex Dome Home for a hiding spot on the warm side and a bottle of Zoomed Wipe Out1 to disinfect it. How does all of that sound?
 
vision said:
Ok once I get a heat pad do I need the lamp anymore? .
Click to expand...
No, just the one heat source should be fine, especially in a small tank.
vision said:
I dont know why my local pet store recommended a lamp instead.
Click to expand...
Cause you can get heating pads for cheaper, and with a heat lamp you have to buy their way way overpriced, way too expensive bulbs about every 6 months.
 
With heat mat, you won't need the CHE. You should return it and pick up one of the Zoomed reptile rheostats so that you can controll the temperature of the UTH. Unregulated the Zoomed UTHs tend to get up to around 120 degrees F and could burn your snake (unless the Zoomed High Range Reptile Thermometers do this, I'm not familiar with them). Also in terms of cleaning, a 10% bleach solution works just as well as most of the reptile disinfectants and is a lot cheaper.

-Alice
 
aliceinwl said:
With heat mat, you won't need the CHE. You should return it and pick up one of the Zoomed reptile rheostats so that you can controll the temperature of the UTH. Unregulated the Zoomed UTHs tend to get up to around 120 degrees F and could burn your snake (unless the Zoomed High Range Reptile Thermometers do this, I'm not familiar with them). Also in terms of cleaning, a 10% bleach solution works just as well as most of the reptile disinfectants and is a lot cheaper.

-Alice
Click to expand...
Ok I'll take back the CHE tomorrow, does the kind of aspen bedding matter? Like does it matter if it's chips or shavings? The kind I got looks like chips, I had to go to the petco around the block because it was closer and open today. The aspen wasnt in the reptile section it was in the gerbil, mouse, rat section.
 
vision said:
Ok I'll take back the CHE tomorrow, does the kind of aspen bedding matter? Like does it matter if it's chips or shavings? The kind I got looks like chips, I had to go to the petco around the block because it was closer and open today. The aspen wasnt in the reptile section it was in the gerbil, mouse, rat section.
Click to expand...

I prefer the shavings, lighter and "fluffier", easier for the snakes to tunnel around in, plus the chips can be splintery. Just my preference.
 
As long as you've got a screen top and address any spilled water bowls quickly you should be fine.

In terms of temperatures, don't trust the snake. If the glass at the very bottom feels uncomfortably hot, you'll need to adjust the temperature of the UTH. When I used the Zoomed UTH's I used them with one of the Zoomed Rheostats set on low. I like to keep the UTH between 95 & 100 degrees F.

-Alice
 
Does anyone else have problems with Zoomed heat pads hooked up to a zoomed rheostat? I've been playing with the rheostat all day, it's between low and medium. I cant get the heat pad between 95-100F, if I just turn it a little bit it goes too low in the low-mid 80s or too high 105-115F. I just cant seem to get the right temp for the warm side, any suggestions?
 
I had to play with it a bit too. I ended up with it on the high to mid end of low. If you can get it to 105 you should be fine. 105 is cool enough that you won't risk burns if the snake makes contact with the glass, the snake can also adjust how deep it burrows in the shavings to thermoregulate if it wants to be a bit cooler.

Make sure you give the temperature time to stabilize between adjustments. If you make the adjustments every half hour or so you can gradually zero in a the best spot. I think the rheostats or maybe its the heat pads too are each a bit different. I ran mine on the in the mid to high end of low, I have a friend who runs hers on the the low end of low to achieve the same temperature range.

-Alice
 
aliceinwl said:
A temp gun is definately an excellent investment. Pet stores will try to sell you a lot of stuff you don't need. I use UTH's exclusively to heat my rosies and my room temperature is usually in the 70's too. I use a rheostat to make sure that the UTH stays in the 90's and doesn't get too hot. At least in 10 gallon tanks, I've found that 75 watt bulbs can really heat up the tank, a temp gun would be really helpful so that you could see what the temps actually are.

I've never tried using lights to heat a rosy's enclosure, but since they're nocturnal I wouldn't expect them to utilize the daylight bulb much. If it were me, I'd return the lighting if that was an option or save it for future use and get a good UTH (I love the T-rex Cobra heat pads). I think that it is a lot easier to establish a good gradient in a small tank with a UTH.

-Alice
Click to expand...

What does UTH stand for Alice?
 
Is the Zoo Med UTH pad that is made for a 50-60 gallon tank enough to heat a 4X2X2 "Critter Cottage" snake cage? The cage has sliding glass doors and is totally enclosed unlike an aquarium. I stuck the UTH inside of the cage with a good two inches of Carefresh pet bedding on top of the heating pad. After reading everywhere that the Rosies need underbelly heat I thought I'd try using this instead of a ceramic heater from above.
 
I have my rosys in aquariums with the UTH's outside. Zoomed UTH's can get pretty hot: up to over 120. This can lead to severe burns if the snake comes in direct contact, and rosys like to burrow. Get a good digital thermometer or temp gun to check the heat of the UTH and hook it up to a dimmer or a rheostat so that you can regulate the power to the UTH. Regulating the power will enable you to control the temperature. It's important that you do this ASAP, it's not safe until you have some kind of temperature control in place. Maybe someone else can chime in if I'm wrong here, but I think that the dimmer or rheostat would be preferable to a thermostat since the UTH is in the cage and your snake could potentially dislodge the thermostat probe.

The 50 to 60 size should be more than enough, all you really need is something big enough for your snake to get on, the 10-20 gallon size is adequate for a rosy. Since it sounds like your girl is living in a palace ;) , I'd recommend two hides, one on the UTH and the other on the cool end.

You may also want to get something to monitor humidity since the cage is totally enclosed. Rosys don't do well when the humidity gets high. Only use a small water bowl, and if the humidity is still high, you may want just offer water a few days a week rather than leaving the bowl in the cage. If the cage offers you any options in terms of increasing air flow, try to take advantage of them.

-Alice
 
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