Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My first boa, a Hog Island, is coming home tomorrow & I'm trying to get her temps right. Can anyone help me with this particular aspect- I'm reading the boa manual & it says it's quite important to make sure the ambient air temp is 80-85*, in addition to the belly heat of around 90* on the warm side. My warm side floor is measuring 95*, cool side around 72*, but the air temp of the warm side is about 74*. I went to buy a ceramic heat emitter & the guy at Petco told me basically I'm worrying too much & if I use both I'll "bake him". He advised that if I use an above heat source like the ceramic emitter, I should turn off my UTH (during the summer), or I should only use the UTH. What do you all think? I trust you more than the Petco guy!
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1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

For Hogs the warm end floor temp should be 90, ambient temp mid 80s while the cool end is in the mid to upper 70s.

I would get a good thermostat, which takes the guesswork out of it and makes things safer. In the mean time though you can get a rheostat or light dimmer to try and get the temp’s right.

Also raising the tank up off of the table and allowing air to circulate under the tank will help drop the temps. Hope this helps. Post some pics when you can.
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Jeff
0.1 Wife (Homo sapiens sapiens): Kim
2.0 Hogg Island Boas, Bob Sears Line (Boa Constrictor imperator): Ham-let and BLT
1.1 Smooth-Scaled Sand Boas (Eryx johnii johnii): Xerxes, and Sa'rai
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa (Eryx colubrinus loveridgei): Solomon
0.2 Kenyan Sand Boas, 100% het anery (Eryx colubrinus loveridgei): Sheba, Jasmine
0.1 Doberman (Canis familiaris): Princess Grace
1.0 Pitbull Mix (Canis familiaris): Popcorn
1.0 Rough Collie (Canis familiaris): Dante
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“It’s not bragging if you can prove it”

I have a rheostat, which I can use to lower the floor temp. So do you recommend adding a bulb of some type to raise the air temp? My tanks are all on metal racks, so there's basically an open bottom (just bars) under the tank.
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1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

One thing that I have learned about setting up cages is that every situation is different and unique. It will just take trail and error.

Now using a bulb to raise the air temp is fine but you will dry out the enclosure big time. Is this a baby Hog? According to my breeder, baby Hogs are susceptible to dehydration and need humidity around 75% - 80%. You will be spraying the inside of the cage all day trying to keep the humidity up. Do you have a warmer room in the house you can move the cage to? What size tank are you using and is the UTH big enough?

I have even considered using a thermostat and oil-filled heater to raise the temps in my snake room. This might be a solution too.
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Jeff
0.1 Wife (Homo sapiens sapiens): Kim
2.0 Hog Island Boas, Bob Sears Line (Boa Constrictor imperator): Ham-let and BLT
1.1 Smooth-Scaled Sand Boas (Eryx johnii johnii): Xerxes, and Sa'rai
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa (Eryx colubrinus loveridgei): Solomon
0.2 Kenyan Sand Boas, 100% het anery (Eryx colubrinus loveridgei): Sheba, Jasmine
0.1 Doberman (Canis familiaris): Princess Grace
1.0 Pitbull Mix (Canis familiaris): Popcorn
1.0 Rough Collie (Canis familiaris): Dante
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“It’s not bragging if you can prove it”

She was born Sept '02. My herp room tends to be the warmest in the house, although I can warm it up more by closing the door. It's normally a few degrees higher than the other rooms, in the mid to high 70s. I have a large water bowl for her & have covered most of the screen top w/ saran wrap to keep the humidity up.
Should I use the bulb or not?
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1.3.0 leos, Yoda, Geo, Tang, Ginger
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink Indigo (Indy)
0.1.1 frogs Buffy the Cricket Slayer, Butrose Butrose Froggy
1.1.4 firebelly newts Wayne Newton, Isaac Newton, Fig Newton, Juice Newton, Olivia Newton John & Helmut Newton
1.1.0 cats Gus & Mena

Trial and error. Give it a shot and see if it works.
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Jeff
0.1 Wife (Homo sapiens sapiens): Kim
2.0 Hog Island Boas, Bob Sears Line (Boa Constrictor imperator): Ham-let and BLT
1.1 Smooth-Scaled Sand Boas (Eryx johnii johnii): Xerxes, and Sa'rai
1.0 Kenyan Sand Boa (Eryx colubrinus loveridgei): Solomon
0.2 Kenyan Sand Boas, 100% het anery (Eryx colubrinus loveridgei): Sheba, Jasmine
0.1 Doberman (Canis familiaris): Princess Grace
1.0 Pitbull Mix (Canis familiaris): Popcorn
1.0 Rough Collie (Canis familiaris): Dante
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“It’s not bragging if you can prove it”