Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm looking to get a Dumerils baby soon and would like to know what I should get to initially setup. I know they need a more humid habitat, but would like suggestions for the initial setup. I've had a Cape York Spotted for a little over a year now, for which I use aspen bedding. I've read all these posts all over about them swallowing the bedding, but most are saying that they use aspen themselves, so I am assuming it is safe to use. I'm looking more at specifics for this certain Boa. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
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1 Cape York
1 (soon) Dumerils Boa

"Admit Nothing, Deny Everything, And Make Counter Accusations"

Actually, these boas do not need high humidity, in my experience. I have seen conflicting accounts of these snakes' habitats, some saying dry, some saying humid forest. I've kept these snakes below 60% humidity for many years and they thrive and breed. Aspen bedding is just fine.

Bill

I've seen same conflicting accounts. I guess hers my questions. What size of cage should I get to start with? I read its not very good to put baby snakes in a large cage right away, it stresses them. I plan on getting about a 60x18x18 or a 48x26x14 vision, as I read you have to have a fairly large cage for large snakes. I don't plan to breed, at least not yet. How do I keep a 60% humitity? I've read about misters, sponges, moss, special pads. I'm open for suggestions. Any special things I need for this certain breed? I have a Cape York Spotted that is about 1 1/2 years old. I have him in a 20x13x13 cage at the moment with aspen and a hide rock. 75w red heat and under cage pad on hide side. I'm really curious because I've read so many accounts about how these require special care. I just want to ensure I give it everything it needs to ensure good health. If it helps the babies were born July...so are about 3 - 3 1/2 months old.
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1 Cape York
1 (soon) Dumerils Boa

"Admit Nothing, Deny Everything, And Make Counter Accusations"

My point was they DON'T need high humidity. It DOESN'T need to be 60%. These really don't require specialized care, they're relatively easy. I keep my babies in shoebox type containers with aspen bedding, in which they like to burrow, and a water bowl. If you use something larger you need to provide hiding places. Established adults do well on newspaper. One end of the shoebox is heated with 3" flexwatt, fitted with a dimmmer. Temps of 85-88 on the warm end, 78-82 on the cool end. Night temp drop is OK. I had a litter born 6/30, check my ad in the classifieds.

Im most of the way thru my issues now. I've come to probably the most worrisome for me. Heating. I plan to get a 48x24x12 PVC cage and did some looking around and found my setup. I plan to put a UTH on one end witha hide as warm side, water dish in the middle and more then likly a 2nd hide on cool end to provide another place to go. My question is will the UTH be enuf to warm entire cage enuf to have the 85-88 warm side and the 78-82 cool side? If it will be, how do I drop temp at night? I might be being paraniod but I want to ensure I do it right as to provide the best conditions for my Boa. Im putting a link to a crude drawing I made to try to be more descriptive.
Thank you for any help from anyone in advance.
Cage setup

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1 Cape York
1 (soon) Dumerils Boa

"Admit Nothing, Deny Everything, And Make Counter Accusations"

Whether or not the UTH will provide enough heat will depend on the ambient room temp. You'll just have to try it and see. If it's not enough, you have many options for additional heat, incandescent lights, ceramic heat emitters, radiant heat panels, etc. A night temp drop can be accomplished with a fancy thermostat set up, or a simple, effective on/off timer.