moving from a glass enclosure to a wooden enclosure

[Saml8]

Hi everyone! We are in the process of building a wooden enclosure for our boa. Currently he's in a glass terrarium (36 x 18 x 18). With his current set up we use a UTH and a ceramic heat bulb on top of the screen to heat up the ambient temperatures (our house can be pretty cool).

I'm searching for the best way to heat the new enclosure… It will be 5' long x 24" deep x 30" high. *side note- I plan on lining the bottom and sides with FRP panels for easier cleaning.

I was planning on using a RHP (but open to other suggestions) however I've never used one before...how does it work in creating the correct temperature where you need it?

My boa is usually completely in his warm hide (which is 90° inside the hide) when digesting food or sits with the back 2/3 of his body in the hide and the front third out all other times.

My question is: when using the RHP's are you able to get the inside of a hide 90° or only on top? I'm not sure he's the type of snake that would want to sit out while digesting food so I want to make sure the inside of a hide is the right temperature.

Thanks so much for the help! I welcome any and all questions… This is my first time building an enclosure and don't want to go down one path and wish I would've went a different way

[dakski]

An RHP works much like a CHE but without drying the air as much.

Your boa will like a better sealed enclosure with an RHP for better temp and humidity regulation.

A proper size RHP will warm the air in your enclosure and penetrate through the hide and warm in it as well.

A lot of people here talk about https://pro-products.com as a source for RHP's and if you call or email them with dimensions, species/desired temps, room temps, etc. they will help you get the proper sized unit.

RHP's can work with on/off thermostats as well as proportional thermostats. If you are unsure about what thermostat to get or probe placement, just ask.

Also, you mention 90F hot spot, which is okay, but I'd shoot for an 86-88F for a boa. Will allow proper digestion, but not dry the tank as much. Humidity is very important to them. What range of temps do you have? Boas need a range of about 86-88F hot spot down to about 78F cool spot, but not really lower than that.

[CALM Pythons]

Is this for a Ball or the Boa you mentioned as were in the BP Husbandry Sub Forum?
If this is for a Terrestrial snake I would not go 30” high. My highest PVC enclosures are 24”.
I use 4’x24”x24” and 8’x36”x24”.
The taller/higher the enclosure the harder to heat & keep Humidity unless its a tree snake.
I use all RHP from Pro Products like Dakski mentioned.
The way a RHP works is by heating objects, the snake included. Your ambient temp will come from the objects not the source itself.
Yes you can feel heat coming off of the RHP but the whole point of them is in heating the hides, surfaces etc and in return those creating the temp inside the enclosure. Just like any heat source of course the closer to the radiant heat panel the more heat that object will receive. This is how you get your hotside/coolside.
I suggest using a herpstat proportional thermostat. I also suggest going up one size to a bigger radiant heat panel than the company you go with suggests. For instance Bob at pro panels always recommends 100 to 120 W for me & I go with the 150. For $20 more I’d rather have the extra than not enough in a particular situation. I also keep my house cool year-round and I do not heat the snake room separately for ambient temperatures. I run central air all summer and lower heat in the winter. During the day my house is 68 to 70 max and at night 64. Once you go below 68° a smaller radiant heat panel that is less than 100 Watt has a hard time keeping a cool side above 78 to 80 even though the hot side will stay 90. Example, at night my Hotside would go down from 91 to 88.8 - 90 which is fine but the coolside would go from 79 to 75 and I do not like that. All my radiant heat panels and the probes are installed on the hot side. Some do the probe on the cool side but because I keep my rooms cooler that was creating a problem on the hot side.
When I first install them I do have to play with the power percentage on the herpstat because sometimes your hot side can be up to temp quickly and shut down but your cool side will not be warm enough. In that case I lower the power percentage on the herpstat to 80%, that way the radiant heat panels run for a longer period of time on lower wattage instead of getting hot so quickly and shutting down fast. In return this helps keep the cool side a bit warmer with the consistent slow heating of the panel. It’s hard to explain but you would figure it out quickly.
I enjoy having such great setups. I have Herpstat 2’s for Tstats.
They have alarms you set, and the % of power you want to run. Ive had one going on 10 years without a hiccup. They are a wonderful investment. I do not recommend the cheap herpstat models like the EZ. If funds are an issue just get a herpstat 1. Which is $135 i believe. The Hepstat 2 I get on sale and pay $175. Normally $195. However it’s a lot cheaper to buy that then two herpstat 1’s. I use the 2’s because I have more than one heat source in my 8 foot enclosure and I heat both of my 4 foot enclosures with one herpstat 2.
I hang my probes down the back wall where my cords for the RHP comes in and they hang 3/4 of the way down. Maybe 5” off the floor.
When I check with a Laser, my Hot Spots are within 2° of what my herpstat’s are set at. Wonderful products.
For my Cool Side temp and humidity I use a sensor push. Those I can read off my iPad or iPhone. They are $50 each and worth every penny. Very accurate also.
If you use the search on top you’ll find several threads on these products that I’m talking about as we have all talked about installs and adjustments. If you have any questions there’s a lot of people here that love to help.



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[Saml8]

Thanks for all the info!! Regarding the height of 30"... I chose that height because I was going to put a climbing structure in the cage (something I saw in another enclosure)but you don't think the RHP will be able to heat the bottom of the cage?

[Saml8]

Danski: The hide sits where the UTH is and is set for 90 because I thought my research showed that's what is needed for boa's but I can definitely bring it down to 86/88.

Also, with my current set up, the UTH is on a thermostat that I would guess is an on/off type… Would a proportional thermostat be better with an RHP?