Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 10 gallon tank. I have a heat pad. Do I need a heat lamp as well. Do I need a spectrum light? Thanks

Noir

This and a bunch of other info can be found on my FAQ page on my website, please feel free to visit

Cages, Housing & Habitats

There is an amazing amount of different cages out there to choose from. What fits yours and your animals needs best will determine what type of caging you need to get. Factors such as size of your pet, space available, and cost are going to be some of the main factors when decided on the habitat for you snake. Remember, the habitat you choose is going to be where your snake will live the rest of it’s life!

Lets start with the size of your pet. If you are looking to house a Boa Constrictor, then you must realize that your pet may very likely become ten feet long! Although most Colombian/common Boas (Boa C. Imp.) won’t become much larger than eight feet long, some of the “true” Red Tailed Boas (Boa C. Constrictor) may attain a length of twelve or more feet! So your first step has to be for you to decide whether or not you can house such a pet. A good rule of thumb for housing a boa is 1 sq. foot of cage floor for each foot of snake length. So an eight foot boa should have a minimum of a 4’x2’ cage (8sq feet).
So where are you going to put such a large cage? Some family members my object to have a ten foot Boa Constrictor as the centerpiece of the family room! Some people would actually rather watch TV than see such a beautiful creature? There really is no accounting for taste, but we must do what we can to keep peace in the family.
If space is a concern then maybe a smaller snake species is for you. Corn snakes come in an array of colors that should make just about anyone happy and can happily live out their lives in a habitat the size of a standard 20 gallon aquarium.

So now you have decided on how big of a habitat you are going to need and if you have enough space for it. Now it is time to decide what kind of cage?
“Well, you do have that leaky 55 gallon fish tank in the garage?” But if you are going to house a Boa in that, we already know its not big enough. A corn snake will do just fine it though, assuming that you buy a secure retile top for it at your local pet store. (bricks and books to secure a lid is an accident waiting to happen!) There are some Drawn backs to aquarium though. They are heavy, even when empty, so cleaning them can be difficult. And they open from the top, so working on the cage is not always super easy either. And they take up more space then the newer Stackable, custom reptile cages that are on the market today. But for the most part, Fish tanks have been tried and true cages for years, they may not be perfect but they do work, just keep in mind, if you plan on keeping a Boa in a fish tank, you will need a 150 gallon tank to do it!
“You’re a handy guy/gal go to the lumber yard and build your own “custom” cage”
Again, it’s a method that has worked for years, and if you really are handy and can work with Formica or other water resistant materials, it is not a bad way to go. But again there are some draw backs. Wooden cages can be heavier than even the fish tanks, so make sure you find a good place to put it, because moving them is tough. Wood also “absorbs” odor and after a year or two, that cage is going to have a smell that is hard to get rid off. Mites seem to love all the little nooks and crannies that a wooden cage seems to offer. Most important of all, wood is hard to sterilize. Bleaching it does a good job, but then you have to let it air out for days before putting the snake back in. But again, if you happen to be a cabinet maker, then chance are you can make a really nice wooden cage.
But you are not a cabinet maker and you have no leaky fish tanks in the garage. So how about one of those “new” (really, they have been around for years) light weight cages made just for reptiles. I hear you can have heat supplies and light put right in them, just plug em in and add snake! Yes, these cages are fantastic! Light weight, strong, space saving stackable and made with your reptile in mind…..But as in life there is always a drawback. Sticker Shock!!!! Some of these new cages can be $400.00 or more just to get one big enough to house your $150.00 Colombian Boa! Well, there are two guys out there making GREAT and Affordable reptile cages.
Doug Barr (www.barrs.com) and Jeff Ronne aka: The Boaphile (www.boaphile.com) Both make great cages and both charge in the same price range for a stackable 4’x2’ Boa cage. I won’t quote prices because it is not my place to do so. Now I’m sure there are other cage makers out there that are just as good, but these two I have seen in person (I use the cages from Doug Barr for both my Boas and my Corns) and Jeff’s cages I have seen and are just as good.

Now you have decided on your cage. You have set it up, clean water, the right temperatures, proper lighting. Now you are ready to bring home your new snake. Yes, that’s right! Get the cage before you get the snake. That way you know you have a place to put it when you get home. You can get him into his new habitat right away so he can settle down and get comfortable.
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com

I hope these help
Temps, Lighting & Humidity

What temperature should I keep my snake at? The guy at the pet store said I should keep it really warm! I hear this a lot, and the truth is some snakes do need warm areas and some snakes will do well with room temperatures.
Boa Constrictors (most ssp) will do well with a hot spot of about 90 degrees F and an air temp in the low to mid 80’s. It is Just as important to give your tropical snake a place to cool off as it is to give him a place to warm up. An overheated snake will dehydrate, regurgitate and become just as ill as a snake kept too cold! So a nice temperature gradient is important. Night time temps should be about 5-7 degrees less.
Corn Snakes however, do not need the high temps and in fact occur naturally in many areas the regularly get snow in the winter. Now this is not to say that your Corn can be kept in the fridge. But a normal room temp should work well for the snake 75-82 degrees. Night time temps can drop by 5-10 degrees.
There are many different ways to heat a snakes cage and many people will debate the best methods. Heat lamps, hot rocks, heat pads, flex tape, ceramic heaters, and room heaters have all been used in the past with some degrees of success. Each has it’s advantage and draw backs. Heat lamps only provide heat as long as you keep the light on, so the snake has no heat source at night. Hot Rock (does anyone use them anymore?) gained a bad reputation for burning reptiles in the past and I don’t think the industry has ever forgotten it. However, the are new and improved and seem to work better. The main draw back on hot rock is that they require placement with in the reptiles environment as opposed to under the environment. This way the animal has access to the cords and possible electricity that goes with the cords. Leave the hot rocks for the lizard people. It is better suited for them.
Ceramic heaters and room heaters both have the same draw backs, they increase airtimes, thereby increasing the temps of the overall cage and not just a good warn spot for the snake to sit if needed.
Heat pads and Flex watt tape seem to be today’s choice for heat. A regular “humane” heat pad is not a bad way to heat under a snake cage if you only need to warm one cage (kept on low at all times !) but if you are working with a large amount of cages or racks of cages heat tape is the only way to go. Use with a dimmer or one of the new fancy digital thermostats you can control the temps down to exact degrees!

“I heard that I need a full spectrum light for my snake?” This is common mistake made by guys coming over from the dark side (Lizard keeping) to keeping snakes. Snakes do not need the UVA and UVB rays to process vitamin D3 so those expensive lights aren’t needed. However, lighting is a very important part of cycling a snake through the different seasons for breeding. The day/night ration will tell your snake (in combination with temperature and humidity) when breeding season is coming, when it is winter and when it is summer. I use regular 18” florescent under cabinet lights mounted to the back of my snakes cage. The cord comes right out of the back of the cage so it stays out of reach of the snake (see picture). Timers are then used to control the amount of daylight hours automatically. These timers are are inexpensive ($6 Wal-Mart) and make sure that you don’t forget to turn on and off the lights. The one important thing to remember is that what ever light source you may be using it will produce some amount of heat. Make sure you account for this heat in your temperature calculations.

“My snake never seems to shed all in one piece, he always has dead skin stuck to him?” Your humidity is probably too low. In Arid portions of the country the humidity can drop as low as 30%-40%. Most Boas require 70% or higher for there humidity levels. Corn Snakes are a bit more tolerant require ring 50%-60% levels. Frequent (3-4 times per week) misting of the cage is still the best method for keeping humidity levels proper. A large water bowl will also help, but misting is going to keep things humid for your snake. This will help your snake during the shedding process and you will find that your snake becomes very active right after a misting. It seems to stimulate activity in them. The almost seem to enjoy it!.
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com