Reptile & Amphibian Forums

small "breeder" - for fum mostly - set up shop in a large - probably 120 sq.ft walk in closet - big house - have a 10,000 doll ar hvas unit in my house - zoned sytem, ie. i can set one of 3 different tstats - each one contrilling a veratin zone or area in my house - i said all that to suggest that i am blessed to have as good a beginning point as really could be expected - SO - my question is - - -what is the best, safest, cheapest, most practical way to heat, in the winter, the closet to a nice ambient temp that would allow my uth's to do their job - each choice potentially creates other issues - there are humidity concerns of course - so - i need ambient around 80 - as i expect most everyone else does too - how do i get it amd maintain comfortable temps in the balance of that "zone" - which happens to be my bedroom, bathroom and closet? - an oil filled heater?? - the their are potentially amperage issues if you claculate total wattage for 6 pads - numerous light, hair dryer, tv , etc then to add a high wattage oil filled - long post i know but how are others doing it - not big breeders - i know they have "rooms" just for their operation, but small operators, breeders, and hobby owners

If you're heating the cages too (and it sounds like you are), I think an ambient of 77-78 should be fine. The heat warming the hot spot will also heat the ambient air inside the cage as well, by a few degrees which will get your cool side up to 80.

jb
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What's written above is purely my opinion. In fact, MOST of what you read on the internet is someone's opinion. Don't take it too seriously

Jonathan Brady
DeviantConstrictors.com
Deviant Constrictors picturetrail

so , are you cool with ambient air in the tub at 80 - particularly with boas - dumerils to be exact

I don't work with dumerils so I don't know their husbandry requirements. Sorry.

jb
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What's written above is purely my opinion. In fact, MOST of what you read on the internet is someone's opinion. Don't take it too seriously

Jonathan Brady
DeviantConstrictors.com
Deviant Constrictors picturetrail

I'm definitely not a big authority on Dumerils Boas. I've only produced 3-4 litters of them.

I believe they are a very tough and forgiving breed of Boa.

They can handle cooler temps I think without adverse effects but . . .

I heat them primarily the same as my other Boas in that room.

Except they are in the coolest spot in that particular room.

I use ambient house temps of about 73*-76* F and use a UTH that I
adjust to about 102* - 105* F in the winter months.

Hope that's helpful, I'm by no means very successful at this yet.

I still need to dial in alot of stuff with all my Boa breeding adventures

. . . Lar M
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Boas By Klevitz

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thank you for sharing your experience/husbandry specifics - i thought about this issue all day at work yesterday and came to this conclusion - i do not want "external" heat for a variety of reasons - what i did do is raise the temp at the t'stat for my bedroom zone which includes the "snake closet" to 73 - the cost associated with this i'm sure will be comparable and at worst , slightly higher than what it would cost to purchase and run a convection heater for 3 to 3 1/2 months out of the year - the benefits are a more comfortable room temp for me/my son as we spend a lot of time in this "zone" - and workable temps for the snakes - here is what i have found - outdoor temps in the 30's to low 40's - bedroom temp controlling at 73 degrees - closet/ snake room temp is at 74 i presume due to airflow, heat generated by 80 plus watts of uth's and a warm mist humidifier that breathes out 100 plus degree air/steam vapor - it raised my room humidity from in the 30's to 54 or 55 percent, perfect for animals- i shot the tubs - 40 quart sterilites - with a quality infrared temp gun and found the tubs at 75 to 76 - i use a big apple bah1000 t'stat driving 4 big apple 20 watt intellimats to maintain 87 to 98 on heat pad - depending on what i have learned to be a variety of factors, ie. the fact that my dual probe thermometers have a 2 degree variance with also normal delayed response, that the temps change some depending on whether or not the snake is laying directly on the thermometer probe and even more important if the one housed with the sensing probe is laying on it and the fact that as good as the bah has been thus far- it still may swing 3 degrees or so - at any rate, i must have taken 30 readings in the last 24 hours - the results - there are times - actually most of the time every one of the 4 tubs will be within 1 to 3 degrees of each other someimes all 4 reading within a few tenths of each other - and at worst there might be a 5 degree difference between any 2 tubs - on the other side of the room where my ball and corn snakes are i have excellent control with zoomed uth's powered through a lowe's lamp dimmer - to give my 15 month old corn 85 or so on his hot side and 74 - 75 ambient and my ball has 2 uth's one set at 96, one at 86 and the ambient again at 74 to 75 - in summary, and do apoligize for the long post - i have peace of mind - it took a while to get there - i have learned a lot - i hope this trial and error research and information helps someone along the way