Many people think BRBs are fragile. They are actually very hardy if kept properly. I experience zero losses with babies except for the few that are born with birth defects. The problem which has persisted for decades with these snakes is that people who think they know what they are doing set them up just like they keep their Boa Constrictors or Pythons and seriously overheat and dehydrate them. Little BRBs can do fine with winter temperatures as low as the high 60s and temps in the low 70s the rest of the year. If kept in small cages with the entire cage in the mid 80s or higher they overheat and dehydrate. It was very difficult when I put out my first BRB caresheets to get people to keep these snakes in cages with a temperature gradient with much of the cage in the low 70s and just a small part of it in the 80s. It was also difficult to get people to understand that these snakes do best with limited ventilation to maintain high humidity. I think your setup is okay but you should cover more of the screen, perhaps as much as 98% of it. Your cage will retain moisture with the top covered and you will not need to mist. You will also need to back off on the heat because the limited ventilation will stop much of the heat loss that is now escaping through your screen top. I keep my baby BRBs in very small plastic boxes with just very small air holes. I never have to mist them or do anything else to keep humidity up except that I have water bwols that are large enough for the snakes to soak in them and I keep them full enough that there is often a little siullage when the snakes go in and out of them. I keep the entire cages in the low 70s and the snakes eat well and grow rapidly in these cages. These snakes are very nocturnal and very secretive. An overhead light will stress them and cause them to spend more time in hiding places in their cages and they may also be less likely to eat when stressed by lights and activity.

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• BRB - advice and criticism appreciated - domingos, Thu Dec 30 21:29:46 2010
• RE: BRB - advice and criticism appreciated - IkeLightner, Thu Dec 30 22:03:22 2010
• RE: BRB - advice and criticism appreciated - domingos, Thu Dec 30 22:11:11 2010
• RE: BRB - advice and criticism appreciated - IkeLightner, Thu Dec 30 22:27:14 2010
• RE: BRB - advice and criticism appreciated - domingos, Thu Dec 30 22:31:31 2010
• RE: BRB - advice and criticism appreciated - Jeff Clark, Fri Dec 31 09:34:25 2010
• RE: BRB - advice and criticism appreciated - domingos, Fri Dec 31 14:34:19 2010