Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, i'm a new owner of a 7 month BRB. currently, her habitat includes all the basics, but i will be moving her to a bigger tank shortly. In her 10 gallon temporary set-up i have placed Zoo-med UTH medium, 16W. this , plus a heat lamp, keeps the ambient temp of 74F cool side and about 82F under the lamp during the day, and 71F - 76F during night, but i'm concerned that the temperature IN THE SUBSTRATE, where she likes to sleep, on the UTH, gets to be 89F. Is this ok, because the air temp right above/on the substrate and hide-out is never above 83F hot side. maybe i should switch to lower watts (exo-terra rainforest UTH, which is same size 8x8, but 8W)? or 89F 1 inch deep in the substrate is good? (humidity is kept in the range 75-85) THANK YOU! ALL HELP AND ADVISE ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

You could also try a dimmer switch, they're only a couple dollars at the hardware store.

Margarita,
....Some people do keep them that warm but I think it is way too hot. Let the snake tell you what it wants. If it is burrowing down into the substrate right over the UTH and actually spending lots of time there it is telling you it likes that hot area. I bet it is actually spending much of it's time burrowed in the cooler substrate or even on top of the substrate which is it's way of telling you the cage is too hot. These snakes are very secretive and are nocturnal. If your heat lamp is a light then it will cause stress to the snake. They do well in a very humid cage with the cool end in the low to mid 70s and the warm end in the high 70s to low 80s. I have actually had little ones do well over wintering in the 60s while my adults are cooling. If you have a screen top on that tank it will let the humidity escape from the cage. If you have an open screen top and warm one end of the cage dry room air will drop down into the cool end to replace the warm moist air that will rise out of the warm end. Typically during heating and air conditioning season the air in our houses is below 30% relative humidity. The cage for a little BRB needs to be above 80% humidity. 100% humidity with condensation forming on the inside of the glass at the cool end of the cage is actually ideal. Tanks with screen tops can be used if you cover 90 percent or more of the screen with something solid to prevent the escape of moisture. If you cover the top with something to retain the moisture it will also retain the heat and you will have the cage temperature go higher. You will need to apply less heat to the cage. That 16 watt UTH can work well if you control it with a dimmer. You can probably provide all the heat the cage needs with the 16W UTH controlled with a dimmer and no other heat sources for the cage. Unless your room temperature is below 65 degrees you just want the UTH to provide a warm spot on the floor of the cage and keep the rest of the cage in the 70s.
Jeff

>>Hello, i'm a new owner of a 7 month BRB. currently, her habitat includes all the basics, but i will be moving her to a bigger tank shortly. In her 10 gallon temporary set-up i have placed Zoo-med UTH medium, 16W. this , plus a heat lamp, keeps the ambient temp of 74F cool side and about 82F under the lamp during the day, and 71F - 76F during night, but i'm concerned that the temperature IN THE SUBSTRATE, where she likes to sleep, on the UTH, gets to be 89F. Is this ok, because the air temp right above/on the substrate and hide-out is never above 83F hot side. maybe i should switch to lower watts (exo-terra rainforest UTH, which is same size 8x8, but 8W)? or 89F 1 inch deep in the substrate is good? (humidity is kept in the range 75-85) THANK YOU! ALL HELP AND ADVISE ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Not only listem to your snakes, listen to Jeff!!!!

ONe other point, even if your room is cooler, you can easily get the UTH to be the only heat source by insulating three sides of the tank. I like refelectix, it's an aluminized plastic, bubble wrap product. You should be able to find it at a home improvement or hardware store.

I ALWAYS advise people away from glass tanks for BRB's. Too many characteristics are not good for BRB's. Even though the problems can be bandaided, I prefer a cage setup that is more conducive to keeping BRB's to begin with.

Not sure how well it was touched upon but ALL heat sources should be on some sort of control. Minimal is a dimmer switch, best is a proportional thermostat.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats