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How warm of a "basking" area do you think is needed for pregnant female yellow anacondas?

I have a female yellow I jump back and forth with wondering if she is pregnant, but my temps are deffinitely on the cool end and I am very touchy about changing them because of my thermostat configuration and how if affects other snakes.

I played around with the set up a little today and I am debating whether I should change it back and leave her in there, leave it and leave her in there, or remove her and set her up in a better enclosure for pregnancy. I am always hesitant to do a move, or even a big change during pregnancy.

Thoughts?

While I have only worked with gravid greens, I believe it would apply to yellows as well. I maintain a hot spot in the low 90's under about a third to a quarter of the cage floor area. The rest of the floor area has a gradient down to a cooler end that is at about 80. If the female is always on the warm area, then you should move the temp up slightly. The warmer basking area is critical, but it is just as important that they have a cool end to move onto when needed.

Kelly

Thanks Kelly,

I was thinking the same (actually not quite that high), and I am a bit worried I offered the higher end of the range too late. But I saw her on the warmest part of the cage for prolonged time and it really wasn't warm...so I figured I needed a change.

I have no idea how far along she is now but the swelling has certainly increased a lot since I offered the higher range. I guess the only thing I can do now is cross my fingers they will be alive. She seems to thermoregulate somewhat appropriately now, she stays on the warm end but her body movements are what I would expect, and part of me wonders if she is not drifting too much in the cooler side because of how cool it was in the early stages of her pregnancy.

Again, I guess we can only wait and see.

If my snake is constantly basking I do not adjust the temps. If my snake is basking and coiling up tight in heat conservation position I raise basking temp, I use overhead heat...75w red bulb about 14in off cage floor plugged into a dimmer. If my snake is basking comfortably I don`t adjust anything. She is pregnant with her fouth litter(yellow).
Mike

I'm right on there with you Mike that body position is an important note. Her thermoregulation away from the warmer end is limited, but the position her body is in certainly changes dramatically.

I have a blue bulb set around that height on full blast all the time now. With an 8ft long cage, I felt there was little need to dim it unless I see her moving to the cooler parts of the cage.

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I believe she was born in 2003 (so roughly 5 or 6 years old). I have had her since June 2004. She is just shy of 8ft.

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