Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey... so yeah.... i just got my first snake the other day... she's a Central American Boa... and i'm having problems... the setup i have her in isn't really working i think... her enclosure is full of condensation and every time i pick her up to handle her she's FREEZING... the heating pad is on but i'm not sure if it's strong enough... the thermometer says it's hot enough but she's always on the other side of the enclosure away from the heating pad.... she's only about 4 months old i think... my roomie has a snake as well and has had many so he's helping me but i'm really worried about her right now... she hasn't been fed yet because i'm trying to let her get use to the surroundings... (he's also a member of this forum)... if ANYBODY can help me PLEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAASSSSSSSEEEEEEEEE.... i'm in bad shape boys and i'm worried about my baby...

A detailed description of the setup, and or a picture( click on my contact link and email it, or post it here)is needed for anyone to assist you.

What type of cage?
What type of heat pad, what type of thermometer, and where is it?
Are you using a substrate, and if so what?
Water bowl? How big?
Hide box/humidity box?
Ambient temps in the room day and night?

When I had my central American my setup was as follows:

A layer of newspaper on the bottom with a bath towel over it( this works for many snakes, (and I just wash the towels in the laundry), a decent size water bowl for soaking, but not so deep that a baby could drown. An under the tank heat pad approximately 1/3 the size of the tank bottom, preferably on a rheostat, or a dimmer switch. If the tank is tall enough something to climb on, and a humidity box( a plastic box filled with moist cypress bark, or sphagnum moss, or bed a beast coconut pulp).

More than likely your condensation problem is due to either too much moisture in the tank(they definitely don't need that much) and/or poor ventilation! Is the tank covered with plastic/glass/plexiglass?

Feel free to e-mail me and I'll help you out!

Freight

... the heating pad is on but i'm not sure if it's strong enough... the thermometer says it's hot enough but she's always on the other side of the enclosure away from the heating pad...

The heat pad is probably too hot if she's always on the opposite side. Put hide boxes on both ends of the tank, and check to see what the temp is under the hide box on the warm end. I'm not sure about your specific boa species, but I'd aim for about 85 degrees.
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Mike Heinrich
mike@amazontreeboa.org
www.amazontreeboa.org

but are you talking about a Central American boa constrictor or a Central American tree boa??