Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I finally brought the snake to a vet last Wednesday. He drew some blood and swabbed her mouth. On Friday, I was up there again and he said that she did indeed have a respiratory infection and a mild case of mouth rot. He gave her a shot, cleaned her mouth out with some kind of anti-septic, and sent me home with some anti-septic mouth wash to be used daily. Today I took her to the vet's office for another shot. She's scheduled for one more shot this Friday, and then a thorough checkup.

She has her energy back, the swelling in her throat has significantly decreased, and although her mouth is still swollen, her lips close all the way. Her eyes are beginning to cloud over and her skin has a dull appearance. Hopefully she'll shed soon.

I have the light set on a timer, a new thermostat installed, and a much smaller humidifier that I modified so that it could be adjusted easily and safely. Her bedding, hides, and everything else has been replaced with newspapers and plastic bowls for the sake of keeping the cage clean and sterile.

As soon as I have the resources together, I will start building a larger cage for her, but not out of glass. I'm wanting to build a wooden enclosure that is long enough for her when she's full grown, with dividers in place that can be moved as she grows. I'm looking into other methods of heating such a cage, and any modifications I may need in order to incorporate the thermostat, humidifier, light, and ventilation. I intend to use Plexiglas in the front, but with a hinged door, not a sliding door. If all goes as planned, I'll have what I need in about a month, two months at the latest.

The temperature in the cage has stabilized and the humidity only fluctuates by 5% or less. I can only hope that things will get better.

If you are most comfortable working with wood, then that is okay. I just hope you have some kind of a plan to seal the wood really well!

Most of the snakes I grew up keeping with my dad were housed in cages he built out of left over plywood, with 1/4" hardware cloth for screen on the top, and a plexiglass front. He got pretty creative with a lot of different design features... but you have got to build cages like that with the full understanding that they will get dirty (think FILTHY) - and you won't be able to clean the cage very well at all unless you seal the inside really well. The tricky part about sealing a wooden cage is to do some homework and find out what you can use that will not have a residual toxic fume that could harm your snake... and I really can't help you on just what you should use.

A lot of people are starting to use a material called "expanded PVC" for snake cages. It took a long time to convince my husband that expanded PVC does not have holes in it like expanded steel ("but what's to keep the snake inside a cage made of that stuff?" ). Look it up online, it sounds pretty cool. I haven't played with it yet, but I have seen and handled some of the cages and incubators that people have built out of the material and I'm really fascianted with it. Apparently it can be worked with similar to plywood, and can also be "welded" - not quite the way metal is, but my husband tells me it is similar to MIG/TIG welding (he just took a metal welding class this past fall).

Either way, since you are dealing with treating your snake for a respiratory infection and a case of mouth rot, please don't take what I am saying about wood construction lightly. If you use wood and either don't seal it or don't seal it well enough, you won't be able to get it clean enough to ensure your snake's health in the long run. You already have an idea what can go wrong.

Good luck to you.

~Rebecca

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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
1.2 Ball Pythons
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)

Before, I was responding to the wood material idea.... You've made me really curious though. What is it that makes you think she needs a bigger cage?

I just looked at all of your previous posts, because I was feeling like I missed something, but she's a neonate, right? Just a few months old, maybe approaching a year by now?

How big is the cage she is in? Unless you've got her in a standard 10 gallon fish tank (standard being a size that would give you more vertical space than floor space), I can't imagine that you really need to upgrade just yet.

When you first posted, you were asking (very responsibly) if your 150 or 125 gallon aquarium was okay. By no means would a yearling Dum need that kind of space, but why all this interest in luxurious space? Snakes are not that needy in general - you seem to be thinking in lizard dimensions; those things actually need space to run around. Snakes are really happy in close quarters, which allow them to feel secure. I'm not saying you should stuff your snake into the smallest cage it will fit into by any means, but I don't understand what it is you are trying to do. Changing all of this stuff all of the time can't be helping your snake to settle in and feel secure in its new home.

Did the vet try to tell you to to make all of these changes when you took her to see him? Some environmental changes could be in order since you are apparently dealing with a respiratory infection - but that even sounds like it could have come from the whole ugly shipping debacle back when you first got her. Not all vets know everything - in fact a lot of them know a whole lot less than they would like you to believe, ESPECIALLY when it comes to reptiles. Very few vets really know or care to know reptiles (but some REALLY do know their stuff - those are just few and far between). That's where you have to be picky about your vet.

Can you post some more information about what you are keeping your Dum in right now, and what has you so convinced that you need to change? (I know you posted temps before, but you've changed a lot of the setup since then and I don't recall ever hearing cage dimensions)

~Rebecca
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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
1.2 Ball Pythons
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)

The new cage that I'm hoping to construct was meant to offer an environment that would change very little. Initially it will be constructed to house her in her adult size, but will be equipped with a divider. This divider would be used to "shrink" the cage to whichever dimensions would make her the most comfortable. As she gets larger, I could just slide the divider out further, without disrupting her environment too much. Basically, she'd find that her home is still the same, just more room (over time). I don't have any intention of placing her into an enormous cage and stressing her out further.

She is in a 20 gallon tank right now. I tilted the cage on its side, I put up a divider (I don't have a smaller cage), and have placed materials outside of the glass to insulate and block her view of outside traffic. She is left alone for the most part. I have checked her temperature and humidity levels frequently, and they seem to be staying within the norms. With the cage tilted up, the humidity dropped too fast and the temperatures were too high.

Having the tank on its side slows the ceramic lamp from drying out the tank and raising the temperature, as it has to go through the glass now. The thermostat is attached to the lamp (by wires) and placed inside the tank on the hot side(surrounded by wire mesh so the snake can't get into it). This has proved successful in regulating the temperatures. If the temperatures rises too high (5* or so--I have it set to shut off at 85*, but normally it shuts off closer to 89 or 90*), then the lamp shuts off. If the temperature drops below 85 on the hot side, then the thermostat turns the heater back on (usually closer to 83-84*). There is an under-the-tank heater that stays on all the time. It took me a long time to integrate the heater into the thermostat's design.

I have a humidifier set outside of the tank, with a tube that runs into the tank. A fan (one taken from a computer, running on a 6 volt lamp battery) gently moves the damp air into the cage. There are valves set up in three different locations so that the flow can be controlled (too much wind, too much humidity, not enough humidity, etc.). The end of the tubing is surrounded by wire mesh, so that the snake will not get into it. So far the humidity fluctuates by 5% or less about 3 or 4 times a day. I have yet to devise a way of making the humidifier self-regulating.

The idea of constructing an entirely new cage was to make the temperature and humidity requirements easier to regulate and incorporate. I could have all the necessary adjustments in place as her cage increases in size. Also, everything she needs would be out of reach and mounted on the outside of the cage (with the exception of thermostats, thermometers, and hygrometers).

Once I have a design that works, then any other snake I decide to own in later years will not have to suffer through my bumbling as this snake has.

I agree with the other poster in her comments....but I do have to add a few things of my own

I have three full grown dumerils (two girls one boy). Each lives in a 4x2 custom built plywood box with a sliding plexiglass door in front. I have a heat pad on one side of the tank with a large mortar tub for hide with a hole cut out to hold the water dish. I spray the tank maybe....once a week. They live on aspen, or newspaper depending on what I have around. The set up for all three snakes cost well under $300. They are happy, healthy, and currently breeding!

The reason I state this....I am not sure why you have a humidifier, ceramic heater and undertank heater for a snake that has minimal heat and humidity requirements. What kind of thermostat and temperature gauge do you use, and where is the position of the probe? It is crazy to me that you need both heat sources to pull temps into the 80s.

Good luck!
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Thanks,
Amy
www.myboids.4t.com
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2.17 Normal ball pythons
1.0 Pastel ball pythons
0.0.1 Sinaloan Milk Snake
0.0.1 Plains Garter
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
2.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Mid-Baja Rosy Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
My list is too long, so I'll stop here!

I live in East Texas in an older house with one gas heater and space heaters scattered throughout the house. During the wintertime the weather is somewhat monsoonal and relatively unpredictable. In the last week the highs for the day have fluctuated from as low as 37* to as high as 71*, not including the nighttime temperatures. The humidity is as high as 80% and can be as low as 30% outside. Inside, the gas heater dries out the air to nearly 20% according to the hygrometer. Near the heater the temperature can exceed 90*, 80* about ten feet away, with 70-65* on the opposite side of the living room. When the space heaters are included, the average temperature throughout the house is between 50-60*.

Most heaters that I've found for reptiles are heavily influenced by ambient temperatures. So to counteract the effects, I have to employ the use of more than one heater. However, this dries out the tank, badly. So a humidifier must be used. The humidifier I have is an ultrasonic humidifier, so it does not produce "steam," but cold water vapor.

My best guess is the snake developed a respiratory infection not because of temperatures being too low or too high for too long, but because the ambient temperature fluctuates in unpredictable ways (as well as the humidity). I tried to use conventional ways that were recommended, but they proved to be insufficient. I have temporary "fixes" in place, but as soon as my funds allow it, I will try to produce a better place for the snake to live in. The trip to the vet set me back by about a month, maybe more.

The temporary arrangement has proved to provide a more predictable and stable environment for the snake. I'm not sure if anyone else has this problem before, but I don't have the benefits of central heat and air. So if it all appears to be somewhat "crazy", well that's Texas weather for you.

I have a similar problem...not only do I live in Chicago (go Bears), but I also have a bum furnace. It randomly shuts off 6-7 times a day and the temps fluctuate from 65-75 daily. To fix this problem we keep all of the snakes in a room with it's own space heater set to 75 degrees. It never drops below that temperature, and if it starts to get warmer in the house the space heater shuts itself off. Also, if you are using a thermostat the undertank heating device should not fluctuate with changes in the ambient temperature. Helix don't allow more than a degree difference from your set temperature and the temperature being outputted by the heating device.
-----
Thanks,
Amy
www.myboids.4t.com
----
2.17 Normal ball pythons
1.0 Pastel ball pythons
0.0.1 Sinaloan Milk Snake
0.0.1 Plains Garter
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
2.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Mid-Baja Rosy Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
My list is too long, so I'll stop here!

Thanks. I'll look into that. I had to take apart a "Wal-Mart Special" thermostat and "blend" it with the ceramic heater, and I am not all that happy with what I produced. The humidifier I fabricated is working well, but I would like to get something better. Like I said, this is all a temporary fix.

If you have any ideas on a good cage design that could incorporate a thermostat, two heaters (above and below)and a humidifier, that would be great. I was thinking about making the cage out of wood (not pine, some kind of hardwood), with the floor being Plexiglas (for the UTH and to make for easy cleaning). I don't know how Plexiglas would respond to the UTH (maybe it'll melt over time or give off fumes?) so I am willing to use glass as an alternative. I was thinking about having the front of the cage made from Plexiglas and hinge up (perhaps lock in an upward position too?). I do like the idea of sliding doors, but I'm afraid that a smaller snake might sneak out where the glass overlap.

Even if the use of an additional heater isn't necessary, I'd still like to have that option in this design...so that no unsightly modifications are needed should the cage be too cold in the winter.

If I come across a successful design, this will be the design I'll stick with.

Thanks for all your help and advice. I especially want to thank everyone for telling me what the symptoms of RI and mouth rot were...I could've lost my snake.

Linoleum makes a great floor surface inside a wooden cage that can be very easy to clean. In one of the old plywood cages we used to have (that I referenced earlier) we installed a linoleum surface for part but not all of the floor (we should have used it for the whole thing). We also laid the linoleum over an old (flat-surfaced) wire roasting rack with a UTH under the roasting rack and on top of the plywood. The linoleum was installed in such a way that it would not have been a massive surgical process to open the floor back up to adjust anything with the UTH, but the cord was run right out along the floor through a hole in the side of the cage that was not exposed to the inhabitant because of the linoleum. We should have also used a thermostat, but got away with not using one.

I have more commentary... but I'll try to respond to the specific posts that trigger my comments.

~Rebecca
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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
1.2 Ball Pythons
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)

Of the two largest cages my dad built, both were on legs, and one was up high enough that we incorporated a shelf that anchored on the cage legs, to hold another two cages beneath the big one (of course).

Once you get used to how simple snakes really are to care for, this hobby will grow on you fast - it's an addiction really, and we're all only trying to make sure you're good and hooked.

...so take note of this design feature, because you will eventually want to incorporate more cages.

We found that we definitely preferred to have the top hinge open, rather than the front (of a traditional 90-degree box design) - if you have a front side hinge open and you keep snake species that are inclined to move very fast (unlike Dumeril's Boas), the snake may bolt for the opening when you are trying to close up the cage, and get squished.

What we did with the hinge-top cages then, was to incorporate a small hook on a chain (like something you might use to hold a window in an older house) that would hook into the ceiling (of course all of our cages were in our unfinished basement, so the cage door would get hooked onto an exposed ceiling beam). On smaller cages, we put a chain-stop on the outside of the cage; one end attached to the door, the other attached to the cage, so that the door could not physically open any further than we wanted it to. With both versions, we didn't have to sit there and hold the door with one hand and try to deal with critters moving around or cage cleaning one-handed.

Now, back to the compound cage I was mentioning earlier - the big cage with two smaller ones below it - the lower two cages were built with sloped fronts, so that anyone sitting or standing in front of these cages could see into the lowest cages without either stooping or having to crane their neck. On these sloped-front cages, the sloped portion of the front was the hinged door. Similarly, this door had a chain-stop to prevent the door from just flopping open, and also to free our hands. We kept slower-moving species in these cages too.

Something else you should know: cage building is something of an evolutionary process on your own part. Get some ideas, draw them out. Think of every amenity you can, and then try to build it. If it works, great. If it doesn't, try something else. After using a certain cage design for a while, you will inevitably come up with ideas to make it better. So you go through the whole process again, try it out, and go from there.

That being said, if you plunge into your first cage building attempt with high-quality furniture-grade materials and finishes, you will find yourself burning up a lot of money (and effort) before you discover a cage design that you can happily live with in a more permanent form. My dad & I never got to that point. After something like 16 years of cage designing & building, my dad was still experimenting with different design ideas... all while keeping the original designs in use too!

Expect to modify what you build - especially your first attempt. Use materials that are appropriately suited to your budget and the application you have in mind. Hardwoods are gorgeous, but I would hate to see them get lived in and pooped on - and that is what will happen with any cage you build! Everything dad made was from scrap plywood, 2x4, hardware cloth, & plexiglass. They weren't living room show pieces by any means, but they did have aesthetic qualities that were suitable to the basement they were in. Worry first about function, then about beauty. ...and for proper function, you do NOT need 2 heat sources and humidifier tubes and the works.

Take care.

~Rebecca
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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
1.2 Ball Pythons
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)

OK, there are several points I want to make in response to what you've said.

1) The cage she's in now should be fine.

a. 20 gallon is plenty big, and plenty small enough for her to feel secure.

b. Does "tilted the cage on its side" mean that you have a screen-top 20-gallon-long tank that is meant for reptiles (a "Critter Cage"?), and that the top has now become the "front"?

c. You said you have a UTH AND a ceramic heat emitter at the same time, perhaps plugged into the same thermostat. Use ONE OR THE OTHER! It will be better for you, your electric bill, and your snake. If your current thermostat is not up to the task, get a better one. If your UTH is not up to maintaining temps in the 80's (NOT THE 90's!!!!!) then it is probably too small for what you are trying to do - get one that is appropriately sized and powered.

d. If you have a ceramic heat emitter on top of glass, sooner or later the GLASS will CRACK! I love ceramic heat emitters, eventhough they dry humidity away like nothing else I know of... I have been thinking of getting some just to boost my other temp control stuff in the winter (since my husband likes to fiddle with the house thermostat when I am not looking) - but they are very good at making heat, so be sure that you are not setting yourself up for a major fire hazard as well!

e. You said you have a divider in your 20 gallon cage now. WHY? How much space is that little snake getting? A 20 gallon cage is perfect! Smaller than that, and I am concerned that you don't have enough space to properly keep a warm end and cool end so that your snake can effectively thermoregulate herself. I can only assume you are doing this to try to help her feel secure. If she has enough places to hide (like one on the warm end and one on the cool end), she doesn't need anything else. I like to use about 2-3 inches of Spanish moss throughout the cage, on top of newspaper substrate for my Dum, as she can hide underneath the moss or burrow through it very easily. This amounts to one bag of Spanish moss as I buy it from the local home improvement store. I just freeze a new bag of moss for about a week before I use it, just in case there are any bugs in the bag. The CAGE shouldn't have to be covered 24/7 to help your snake feel secure either!!

2) Amy (reptilicus81) is right - your set up is incredibly complex, and I do not see the need for it, regardless of your house's lack of insulation - or TX weather. My house has CRAP for insulation; I'm only in central IL - but have lived in NC among many uprooted Texans (they tell me the temp flux in NC is pretty close to TX) - and yes, my house temperature here fluctuates a lot! So does nature!! These animals don't live inside a bubble in the wild. The only thing you need to ensure is that the fluctuations stay within an acceptable range; you don't have to master the environment to the hundredth of a degree to keep a healthy Dumeril's Boa. Ideally strive for no higher than 85, and no lower than 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Fluctuation is okay when you have a temp gradient set up within the cage so your snake can thermoregulate and seek out the area that is most comfortable for her.

3) Snakes are in general no where near as complex as you are making this. I commented before that you seemed to be approaching space for this little girl like you should for a lizard. I DID understand in the first place that you were talking about building in dividers to expand the space out over time - but I think that is going overboard & beyond anything that is neccessary. I think also that if you enjoy this kind of complexity you should get into salt water fish - THEY need that kind of madness. Snakes are WAAAAAYYYY simple.

4) Humidity. What % humidity is it that you are striving for??? No snake actually needs to be kept WET - not even Blood Pythons, contrary to popular belief - and too much humidity can cause a TON of health issues!! Especially with your cool damp air from your tricked-out humidifier, I am most concerned about what you are doing with humidity. Most of the available care sheets that I have seen on Dum's call for a TON of humidity... and it really isn't necessary! There is a lot of misinformation that gets circulated about this species (and I hope that I am not behind the spread of any of it myself!). Amy told you she mists once a week. I mist a little once or twice daily because my cage is not very good at holding humidity - but misting with a hand-held spray bottle accomplishes all that my Dum actually needs. (I suggest you try this, just make sure that you use a spray bottle that has NEVER had any chemical cleaners inside of it!!!)

5) Two tools I strongly suggest: (1) an infrared heat sensing gun, and (2) a good quality, DIGITAL thermometer/hygrometer. For a heat gun, I have (and love) the PE2 model from ProExotics [ http://www.tempgun.com/main.html ] - the most important thing about a heat gun is that is senses the SURFACE TEMP. For a good digital thermometer/hygrometer, there are several options available. I have a small little one that Fluker's makes. I have also seen many people use indoor/outdoor digital weather gauges/stations (don't really know what to call them) from Radioshack or a similar electronics store. The great thing about those weather gauges is that they give a read out of temp & humidity for TWO locations simultaneously (think warm end & cool end of your cage).

6) You didn't answer my primary question: why are you convinced you need to make these changes? Did you read a lot of this in some online care sheet? Did the vet make you feel guilty over your snake becoming ill? You said back when you were getting ready for the snake to arrive from the breeder that you had done your homework on this species. Did the breeder/supplier/seller tell you to go through all of this?

I really want to help, and I sincerely hope I am not becoming offensive. I am feeling a bit frustrated - and what is probably getting me the most is that a lot of people won't summon the kind of energy necessary to care for a new pet. You've done so much more than that, and I don't like to see you waste your efforts! Best of luck to you.

~Rebecca
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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
1.2 Ball Pythons
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)

The breeder I purchased her from said to raise the temperatures to the high 80's, low 90's while she is sick. The vet said pretty much the same thing. The breeder also said to keep the humidity about 60%. The humidity within the tank will drop almost immediately to 20% with the heat on, and stay about 40% without any heaters on in the tank.

The 20 gallon tank is a regular aquarium tank, so it is very tall. It hardly holds any heat at all and has a tendency to want to linger around 60*. I have a digital thermometer and hygrometer. The thermostat is "tweeked" so it's unlikely I'll be able to calibrate it any more accurately. The UTH I have was recommended for a 20 gallon tank. I divided the tank because the breeder said that a 20 gallon tank was too big for her.

Also, removing the lid to the cage changes everything within the cage and can take up to 30 minutes to return back to "normal," which is incredibly frustrating.

I have no idea what temperatures are within a tolerable range for this snake. I know that with older snakes, it is possible to lower temperatures during this time of year with little effect. Since this is a juvenile, I don't know if she can safely tolerate the cold. I also do not know how low of a humidity this snake can safely tolerate. I was told that having the tank too dry would lead to a RI too, just as too high of humidity could. So I tried my best to keep it close to 60%.

With the RI occurring a month later to the point to where I could notice it, the breeder said that is was very unlikely that the delay in shipping had anything to do with it. So once again, I have to assume that it was because I veered off too far on temperature or humidity or both.

The vet didn't explain much about the snake, other than her current state, the fault lying in improper husbandry, and to raise the temperature up. He never mentioned anything about humidity.

So I'm trying my best to keep to the 80-90* hot side temperatures and the 60% humidity requirements, because that's all I've been able to find.

The snake is more active lately and seems to be eager to hunt. However, her skin is slightly loose and I'm afraid that might be a sign of dehydration---a whole new problem that I know nothing about. The vet failed to notice that. So once again, I'm left scratching my head and hoping that things will get better. Luckily I haven't noticed any fungal growth or discoloration of her skin.

You said: "If the temperatures rises too high (5* or so--I have it set to shut off at 85*, but normally it shuts off closer to 89 or 90*), then the lamp shuts off. If the temperature drops below 85 on the hot side, then the thermostat turns the heater back on (usually closer to 83-84*). There is an under-the-tank heater that stays on all the time."

From what you are describing, your thermostat is not calibrated correctly, but it sounds like you are using the non-calibrated numbers anyway. Helix digital thermostats are pricey, but considering what you have already put into this set up, just spend the money on the Helix - you can at least know it is money well spent.

With the UTH on all the time (HOPEFULLY on a thermostat) you really need to be certain of your SURFACE temps, not just the ambient air temps - that's why I suggested an infrared heat gun. Your snake can also get burned with all of this going on, and burns can turn into skin infections, or kill outright.

To continue using the thermostat you have, you need to spend some time "calibrating" it, which is to say that you will need to measure the temperature it actually maintains, and ajdust the thermostat accordingly. I don't care if that adjustment eventually reads "60 degrees" on your thermostat, so long as you can ensure that the actual temps it maintains are what you want them to be!

The things I think you need to have are that temp gun I've been babbling about, some kind of a digital thermometer/hygrometer, a spray bottle, and a decent thermostat - to be used with a UTH.

You should be able to ditch the humidifier, the divider, the cage cover, and the ceramic heat emitter (except maybe for REALLY cold days - but a decent UTH with a decent thermostat should eliminate that need).

I would like to think I've spelled out clearly what I am trying to tell you. I hope that is the case.

~Rebecca
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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
1.2 Ball Pythons
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)

I agree with everything Rebecca said!

Just something to ponder...
Are you sure your humidity gauge is correct....20% with the heat and 60% with out heat?! I have a rosy who likes it dry, and he lives in a 10 gallon with temps in the low 90s. Just the smallest water bowl raises the humidity too high if placed near the heat pad. East Texas isn't very dry, in fact is often in the 70% range this time of year, so if your gauge is working correctly, you are definetly using too much heat! As far as thermostats go...definetly invest the 55-90 bucks and pick up a ranco or helix!
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Thanks,
Amy
www.myboids.4t.com
----
2.17 Normal ball pythons
1.0 Pastel ball pythons
0.0.1 Sinaloan Milk Snake
0.0.1 Plains Garter
0.1 Normal Kenyan Sand Boa
2.0 Anery Kenyan Sand Boa
1.0 Mid-Baja Rosy Boa
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat
1.2 Dumeril's Boa
My list is too long, so I'll stop here!