Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am finally graduating my Short tail borneo blood from her 55 gallon to a new 4 foot vision tank. I just want to know if anyone out there has there bloods in a vision and how do you have the heating setup and what type of substrate works best. I want to use a heat mat, but if I coving the floor with cypress mulch, will the heat mat still be able to keep the tank warm? I would also use newspaper, but she likes to burrow.

Thanks in advanced for your info, Eric.

I use Vision cages exclusively for my bloods once they graduate from the racks. I use three, four and six foot depending on size and activity levels. Each snake is different. Unlike some snakes, bigger is not necessarily better with caging. I rear most of my borneos (3.5-6ft lengths) in Vision 322's. Undertank heating is fine if the ambient temps are above 75F and your heat tape does not exceed 95F. They have a tendency of camping out on the heat tape if the ambients are too cool and could suffer thermal burns if the tape is too hot. I recommend radient heat for bloods. I have not had good luck using basking lamps as they shy away into the darker parts of the cage. The picture below is my typical setup. The hides are made from cement mixing tubs with the holes cut into the tops. However, any type of tight hide works.
I use newspaper exclusively and do not like using aspen or cypress on adults since it is hard to identify urates and fecal matter.

I was going to use a heat pad underneath. One question, when doing that, where do you place the probe from the thermostat? Should it be slightly above the floor level and if so, will the actually surface get too hot? I've never used undertank heaters, so i'm not sure how to get it right. I love the radiant heat panels but they cost way too much. Also, when I use newspaper the tank dries out sooo fast and with cypress mulch its easier.

No matter where you place the probe, the temperature of the surface your snakes contacts should not exceed 100F, should be around 95F. If you place the probe on the heat tape, that temperature will be slightly higher than the contact temps. I have a helix set to 102.6F on the surface of hte heat tape, but the cage surface temps are around 95F. By placing the probe on the heat tape you avoid problems with the animals moving the probe.