Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Im planning on building some custom melamine cages for 2 adult suriname red tails. The cages will stack on top of eachother and be 8'x4'x2.5' but im not sure what the best way to heat them is, I was originally planning on mounting lights to the roof and surrounding them with a mesh box but i read on the internet that gorund heat is better but i dont think a heating pad will penetrate wood. Any advice would be a huge help.

Any one know what wattage bulbs i should use? i thought of using a spotlamp on the hot end and a infrared on the cold side for a 24hr heat source

Normally on a box that big I use a ceramic emitter. It depends alot on the room temp. As to how much of a temp increase you need. I don't put lights in my boxes. Make sure you have a good cage around your heat source. The 24hr heat on the cool side. Not a good ideal, it's going to be to much. I'd use 1 good one on the hot side ON A THERMOSTAT.

the room temp is 18C (its in my basement) if i can find space for them ill squish them into my room which has all my other herps (4 tree frogs, 2 tomato frogs and 1 ball python) the temp in there is much higher can get up to 30C if i close my door but i usually open it a crack and let some fresh air in which gets the temp to around 24C im still debating what i can make this cage out of because i dont have a car big enough to get the melamine sheating home and even if i did these cages would way a ton so ive thought about a plastic of somekind but not sure on which ones are safe

Those cages are so large they are going to cause you some troubles heating. Go to a more normal size boa cage, maybe 6' long X 2' wide, if you want an oversized cage. Use plywood for the bottom and flexwatt belly heat will come thru, or use radiant heat panels above. You should find a cage building forum, it will save you from many mistakes you'll regret later on.
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Caden Chapman
slithering.serpents@gmail.com
http://slitheringserpents.com

the male is 5'4 and the female is 6'2 but i read they can get to 10' even though it is unlikely they will get that big i still want to give them a lot of floor space to stretch out or climb

wont flex tape burn the wood? i havent heard alot about so i just want to make sure my house wont burn down or any harm come to my snakes

Even the biggest boas don't need more than an 8' long cage, 30" wide. I don't know of any males that would need more than a 4'x2', and 90% of females are fine in 6'x30" cage or smaller.
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http://www.BoaList.com/