Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Lets see ur BOA vision cage setup.especially if u live in a cold climate. I live in LA and my cage still doesnt stay warm in the winter. I had 2 recently put a heat lamp in the heat lamp hole because the heat panel doesnt get warm enough. I have a cheap reptile thermostat. Dont know if this is the prob. But I want to see ur setup! because its allways interesting. Thanks, Sid.

Don't have a vision, but I use a RHP and am able to maintain a hot spot of 90 and a cool side of 80 and my room temps fall to the upper 50's. I'm guessing your RHP is undersized and/or is not a high quality unit, remember that you get what you pay for most of the time. Try covering your heat lamp vent and see if that helps, if not then consider getting a higher hattage RHP or adding some belly heat to suppliment the RHP. Make sure you use a good themometer to check your temps and adjust your controller accordingly. Those cheap ones can be way off, but I know many people have success with them.

The radiant heat panel might be the case. But is it possible that its the thermostat? The guy i bought the setup from used the helix one. I have a cheap one that turns on and off all the time. I added the heat lamp but was kinda worried about leaving on 24/7. So I turn it off during the day and cover up the hole while letting a little bit of natural sunlight warm up the cage. I Keep a little bit of curtain blocking 1/2 of the cage. Its only been in the 70's and low 80's recently. Thank u for the help!

One way to check if it's the RHP, unplug it from the controller with the snake out, plug it directly into the wall and see what happens. If you get temps above what you are getting with the thermostat then that's your problem. Could be that the sensor is just reading incorrectly and you can adjust accordingly. What are you using to check your temps as that could be your problem as well. Is the RHP in the same size enclosure as the previous owner? Again, beware of the cheap stuff because if it gets stuck in the on position you will cook your snake

thanks MSOAR! i will definately try that. The cage and the heat panel came together. but I am using a different thermostat.

I have kept many boas and pythons in Vision cages for years using only under cage heat pads with no problems. Here in Pennsylvania it gets very cold as it is right now and the house is colder. I use rheostats and adjust the settings according to each season and monitor with a temp gun. The pads provide a basking area of 90-93 degrees The snakes thermoregulate and move on/off the heated section as needed. When I take them out they are very warm. Beware cheap thermostats-they can lock "on" and casue serious problems. Bill
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...three years ago it was just another snake cult...
The Retic is King.
Anacondas-the other Dark Side.
Afrocks-the dark side of the Dark Side.

How big is ur heat pad sarge? i use that with another aquarium with suran wrap covering most of the top but 2 inches by an inch and the ambients are still 2 cold!

For my 22"X24" or 24"X28" Vision cages I use a 11"X11" heat pad located on the back center of the cage. My 4'X2' and larger cages have combinations of 11"x17" and 11"X11" inch pads to provide heat along 1/3 of the cage floor. I use a tempgun to monitor the temperatures and right over the pad is 92-95 degrees with the surrounding area in the 80s and then 70s. The other side of the cage is room temp. You can't maintain ambient temps with heat pads with out them being way to hot for the snake. I don't worry about ambient temps and my boas/pythons thrive. They seek a comfort zone on the pad or near it. Many times they are on the cool side. When taken out off the pad area the snake's entire body is very warm to the touch. Proper belly heat with a temp gradient is all that is really needed for most constrictors. Hope this is helpful-Bill.
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...three years ago it was just another snake cult...
The Retic is King.
Anacondas-the other Dark Side.
Afrocks-the dark side of the Dark Side.

Thanks sarge! So u can put heat pads on the wall of a aquarium? I ended up unplugging the thermostat on the heat panel and its been at 82 degrees on the floor below it. The ambient is what im trying to create. That is most important to me. since The heat pad has the hotspot.