Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have heard just about everything on this unofficially and wanted to see the group consenus on an official basis. Rule of thumb from what I gather and use is low to mid 80's during the day. Anything above 88 isn't reccomended but I have seen much higher temps, in low 90's, used by some of the best breeders out there to no ill effect. Just make sure it is humid in those cases. Now, night-time drops? What is acceptable there? Low 70's? I try ot keep it about 75-80 so there isn't too much of a drop but I would figure in the wild, even in South America there must be a 5-10 degree night-time temp drop. Just thinking that maybe keeping it more natural would give better results but then again the "if it ain't broke" theory comes into play. I am looking for a way to tweak things in the positive direction and I think temps would do it. Also, what do you think of basking spots? Please give feedback and what has worked best for you, especially the breeders out there. Thanks!

Day high of 84, night time low of 68-70. The reason I dont break 84 is that at appx. 86 degrees food in the emeralds stomach starts to rot faster than it digests remeber these animals are SLOW in every sense of the word. As for the night time lows I never break 68, and I only drop during breeding season bc as the animal slows down so does the immune system, and pathogens love to come out and play during this time, and thats it. Humidity can be kept from40 to 70 percent as long as you allow for aduquate ventalation and never, ever have condensation on the glass, that is due to bad air circulation.

Joe
emeraldboas.com