Posted by:
markg
at Fri Oct 12 13:38:11 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by markg ]
I agree with the other poster - you will not really know beforehand.
Boas need an ambient temp of no lower than 75 deg just as a guideline, although in their natural habitat, depending on locale, they may experience much cooler temps at times. But for captivity, if you stick with making your cage such that the coldest area is 75 deg, your boa will do well. Of course, the warm area will need to be higher.
Ceramic emitters are not less efficient than light bulbs and are probably more because they are not turning energy to light. And they direct heat down quite well. And, used with a proportional temperature controller, they are as efficient as any heater could be. Snakes do very well with the long-wavelength heat they emit. They get unbearably hot to the touch though, so you would have to have it screened off with hardware cloth, not window screen.
Thing is, with a cage 4ft high (did I get that right? I forgot now) you will need a shelf for the snake to bask on if the lamps shine through a hole in the top if the cage is actually tall as I think you said. What a mouthful that was.
Heat panels mount on the inside ceiling of the cage. Their biggest benefit is that they warm a large area without being too hot to the touch where they damage skin - yours or the snake's. So they are a great choice for any large snake cage.
If you want bottom heat too, buy an 18x18 Kane heat mat, put it inside the cage, and plug the power cord into a dimmer. In fact, that can be your basking area, and the lamps or emitter or heat panel above can be to keep the ambient temps around 80 or so. Use a thermostat.
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Mark
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RE: boa, lamp vs panel - markg, Fri Oct 12 13:38:11 2007