Are my temps ok?

[Rickys_Reptiles]

I get my new RTB on Saturday, and have been running the enclosure for a couple of weeks now to determine if my temps are ok and allowing them to stabilize. I have a PVC enclosure (48"w x 24"d x 12" h) with (4) 24" lengths of 11" Flexwatt side by side. The 3 pcs on the left are set to 80 degrees and the (1) piece on the right is set to 90 degrees (The probes are on the bottom of the enclosure, inside the enclosure*). The air temperature within the enclosure is roughly 77 degrees. Is this ok, or do I need to raise the air temps more?

*I attached a length of tubing with epoxy to the inside floor of the enclosure, the probe fits into the tubing. This way it can't get moved by the snake, but I can still remove it when I need to clean the enclosure.

My setup:

[Neal]

That's okay for the cool side, what about the warm side?

[Rickys_Reptiles]

That's okay for the cool side, what about the warm side?

The floor temp on the cool side is 80, the floor temp on the warm side is 90. The air temp throughout is 77. The air temp was measured roughly 5" above the ground, so I'm sure the air temp closer to the ground will be a bit higher. I am currently measuring the air temp in the middle of the enclosure. I'll move the thermometer to the cold side and take a measurement, and the warm side to take a measurement there also. I'll do that tonight.

[Neal]

Yea the temps sound good, though I would lower the hot side about two degrees.

[Evenstar]

Yea the temps sound good, though I would lower the hot side about two degrees.

I would agree with this UNLESS you find that it drops the ambient air temp by more than one degree. 76 ambient is about as low as you'd want. Everything else sounds good and the setup looks nice!

[Rickys_Reptiles]

The cold side is 80.0 on the floor and approx 77-78 ambient air temps
The hot side is 90.00 on the floor and approx 81-82 ambient air temps

The cold spot area is 864 square inches
The hot spot area is 288 square inches

What would be better moving forward:

1) Set the hot spot to drop from 90.0 to 87.0 at night, from 7:00PM-7:00AM
2) Set the hot spot to 88.0 24/7

My updated setup:

[Neal]

I would try for the consistent 88 and I'm sure Evenstar would agree, but like she said, make sure it doesn't really drop the ambient temp. If it drops the ambient temp then try the 12 hour cycle.

[Rickys_Reptiles]

I would try for the consistent 88 and I'm sure Evenstar would agree, but like she said, make sure it doesn't really drop the ambient temp. If it drops the ambient temp then try the 12 hour cycle.

ok, thanks!

[Gio]

There are a lot of ways to do things and you have to go with what works for you. I personally like radiant heat panels. I use one heat source for my boa cage. I set the stat probe on the cool side and adjust the heat source to make the cool side 80-81 and that cage size just happens to balance out the basking/warm side to 91-92. This was not really an experiment but a recommendation from Bob at Pro-Products who makes the panels.

He was right and my boa uses both side of the enclosure equally for thermo regulation.

I have belly heat for my Royal but I'll eventually change the whole cage and run a heat panel. I LOVE them. Some say they do not make a difference in ambient temps but I just don't find this true in my case. I open the cage door and I can feel humidity and heat come bellowing out.

If your boa is a climber and you only have floor heat that is not increasing the whole cage temp I think there will be a lot of "floor hugging" as the ambient temps could get too low.

Like I said though, if you have a formula that works, everybody else's advice including mine is just what works for us.

I love your cage!!