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I see everyone here prefers UTH for their sand boas but isnt it natural for a snake that digs to escape the heat to have overhead heat instead ? Ofcourse only in one area of tank as to allow for temp regulation.
Luis

good question. I always figured they burrowed for shelter/security and that's because that's what they do - not necessarily to escape heat. ??
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My sand boa enclosures have a layer of washed play sand on the bottom, topped with a decent depth layer of aspen on top of the sand. I then randomly add pieces of cork bark here and there on the aspen. I heat the enclosures from above with a heat lamp on one end.

They tend to like lying on top of the sand, under the aspen. However, I have found them at all depths on both the warm and cool side of the enclosure. When the female in one enclosure was gravid, she would actually bask on the cork bark directly under the heat lamp. She gave birth in a hollowed out space under the cork bark. My male, on the other hand, likes it cool no matter what.

I used to use a UTH, but decided to switch to see what would happen. I have to say that I see my sand boas more often, and notice more movement with the above heat set-up.

regards,
althea

Thanks great help. I am setting up a tank for one and wasnt sure which way to go. Going to use an UTH on one side just to have tho wont plug it in(good to have incase I decide later) and going to rely on overhead heat now on one side.
Your set up sounds like what I am going to do.
thanks.
Luis

I use both....under and over cage heat....I have a 3 foot cage with a small 6 by 11 cobra heat mat on one end with a light above it.....they seem to like it.

chris
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The reason I asked is because a friend has sandfish skinks with only overhead heat and thought sand boas might do well same way.
I imagine tho its certainly no big deal if I use overhead heat or UTH but was curious.
Luis

I can't speak for sand boas in general, but for rosy boas (which are similar enough as far as basking goes) I can tell you what happens in the wild.

On warm Spring mornings, rosies will come up from their underground shelters and bask under rocks being warmed by the sun. The effect here is that the warmth from above is transferred to the rock, then to the snake. Much like a heat pad transfers warmth to the snake.

On warm evenings, rosies will emerge and crawl around for various reasons (to find a mate, etc). There is no sun so no warmth from above. All warmth is either air temp or else ground warmth radiating from the energy absorbed by the earth during the day. Again, like a heat pad somewhat.

This isn't to say that overhead heat won't work. It can work just fine. But undertank heat is usually easier to do for many cages and is much more energy efficient, especially for large collections.
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Mark G

Thanks that certainly makes sense. I thought perhaps since sand boas dig in sand to avoid heat that overhead heat in one area of tank might be better. The belly heat for rosie boas was a great way to explain it tho for non digging snakes.
Luis

I thought perhaps since sand boas dig in sand to avoid heat that overhead heat in one area of tank might be better

Remember, although they are called "sandboas" many species spend a considerable amount of time in burrows, not just buried in the sand.

I have used overhead heat for my conicus for a while. What I found is that they wouldn't come out and bask during the day, but at night when the light was off, they would come and lay on the sand that had been warmed by the light (once it had cooled enough). That is when I realized that they were utilizing belly heat more than basking heat (as do almost all "basking" species such as desert lizards), so I switched and my snakes fed better and started to breed.
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Chris Harrison

Remember, although they are called "sandboas" many species spend a considerable amount of time in burrows, not just buried in the sand.

I have used overhead heat for my conicus for a while. What I found is that they wouldn't come out and bask during the day, but at night when the light was off, they would come and lay on the sand that had been warmed by the light (once it had cooled enough). That is when I realized that they were utilizing belly heat more than basking heat (as do almost all "basking" species such as desert lizards), so I switched and my snakes fed better and started to breed.
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Chris Harrison

I decided to use Altheas method for now but what you say certainly has merit so I placed an UTH on bottom of one side of tank just incase I decided to use it at night or in future.
I imagine this method works well for you while hers works well for her. I think something like this there might not be a wrong method.
Thanks.
Luis