Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Effing computer. Erased my whole post.

So, pair of yearling tri-colors in a divided 40 gal breeder tank, with a UTH covering a little less than half the tank, and a 100 watt ceramic heat emitter on top. Screen cover. Ambient tank temp is about 78F, warmer side of bottom of tank is 84F, and cooler side is 72F. I've tried to slowly increase the temp but they will only stay on the cooler side at anything higher than what it is currently set at. Both snakes move from warmer to cooler side pretty regularly, not staying at the hotter end (I'm in Berkeley, CA, and it's temperate here year round.)

Both snakes are tossing back pinks with gusto, 2 for the male and 3 for the female, at one sitting, about a week apart for feedings. While I haven't weighed them, both snakes are def larger than when they arrived a couple of months ago, and have both shed twice since being in my possession.

I use the coconut fiber bedding, and keep it at a 85% humidity.

My questions are as follows:
1) Should I be trying to increase the tank temps? All the reading I've done points to them liking higher temps, but they seem to be "happy" at the current setting. I'd rather not make it too high, of course, but it still seems a little on the low side, even though the snakes like it?

2) Other substrate suggestions (yeah, I did read the previous posts, but wasn't satisfied)--something that is easier to clean the waste out of, but still holds humidity as well? The coconut fiber gets a whole tank change bimonthly (expensive and time-consuming), because I can't find any specific waste spots/clumps. Erring on the side of cleanliness, I just clean the whole damn thing. Ugh.

Be nice, please. I'm a newbie with Tri-color hogs, and am trying to keep my frustration at a minimum.

Thanks in advance!

temps should be kept at 78 -85, do not increase
hognose are not boas ,and Very high or low humidity can cause health issues such as respiratory problems with tri-colors hognose.

Snaketaboo77, awesome hatching pic!

So, what would the optimal humidity be? I've been keeping it at a steady 80% (again, going off research), but maybe this is too high? (The humidity gauge is buried in the substrate, but the top of the substrate dries out quickly because of the ceramic heat emitter on top of the tank.)

And is there a better substrate other than coconut fiber? The Carefresh that I use for my Western hog would mold too quickly, and doesn't seem like it would be the best for the totally encompassing burying that the Tricolors do!
Thank you for your advice!

I use aspen bedding for all mine or newspaper works just fine for me I also,take the water bowl out of the boxes,,,
tanks do not work for my breeders.
walmart has aspen bedding in stock at all times price is about $3 you should only need to use about an inch in the bottom of your tank.
but really if you want to breed them ,you should buy plastic boxes for them,also no heat
it will cause problems for you
just my personal experience.