Temp/heating debacle

[ocsprinter]

Posted this in the caging forum as well, but I thought I would place it here just in case people dont go down there......


I have just built a custom enclosure, here is the pic below: Measurements: Length: 4 feet, Height: 2 feet, Depth: 1.5 feet



It is built from pine, with laminate flooring applied to the inner surfaces for cleanliness and snake safety. I have placed a heat glo red bulb (150W) on a dimmer switch on the "hot" side, which allows me to keep a 92 hot and 78 cold side. The enclosure has three vents and a sliding front plexiglass window I put onto molding:



The problem is I want to provide them with some "UV" during the day so I was going to install a flourescent UVA bulb for the daytime, and so I bought a 150W ceramic emitter for the main heating, so it would be dark at night:



When I put the ceramic emitter in the temp on the hot side drops down to 86, and 73 on the cold side. I have a nice digital hygro/temp gauge in there so I feel its pretty accurate. Thing is, when I open the door, its hot as s..t in there.

Is the temp gauge giving a false reading with the red light, or is the ceramic emitter that much weaker...it feels really hot.

So here was my solution: Get a basking type lamp to suppplement the ceramic emitter, perhaps one that also gives off UV for them, and then just turn off the lamp and have the ceramic at night. Or do I install a flourescent UV over head and put in a smaller heat bulb in the middle to supplement the ceramic? This would mean two more lights, which I will do if I have to.

Here are the serpents BTW:

My Central Phoenix (Male) late 2010:



The BCC Cinnamon (Female) late 2010



Thank you for your input in advance......

[kitedemon]

I am not a boa person so I cannot talk boa specifics.

Where are the vents? Heating isn't just a matter of more power but of location and heat loss. The enclosure being wood will insulate well so some loss may come from vent placement. I usually like to place a vent low on the hot side and high on the cool side cool air will heat up on the hot side and rise and escape the cool side keeping it from getting too hot.

Thermometers are a picky item and I constant source of frustration for me personally. Typically a thermometer (ir gun or digital probe) have specs that read +/- 2ºF so the accuracy maybe bang on or 2 degrees high. Good ones are very costly (very very actually... ) the best on a budget is a LC one and use that to check the digital one you have. The stick one ones not stuck to anything just leave the backing and place it let it stabilize and check the digital against it. The average LC one I have found is +/- 0.5ºF.

It doesn't sound too much like the thermometer however check the vents and placement. The other thing to remember is that boas like pythons have heat pits and I'd guess that also like pythons that is connected to the optic nerve so it is processed by the brain as visual input so they see heat as we see light. So any heat source is a light source too, so red bulb or emitter is basically the same to the snake (assuming that the structures are similar... that is a best guess on my part) go with what works.

I found a fluorescent bulb to raise the ambient temp up two degrees maybe a bit more in a 24x30x18 enclosure it helps a bit with the day temps. The night time ambient drops a bit but I have UTHs for the hot spot. Have you given thought to a mat like a Kane waterproof mat inside the enclosure or a RHP (radiant heat panel) over the bulbs?

Adding a basking rock under the heat emitter (bulb or ceramic) might help a bit it will warm up and radiant heat during the night. Just guessing here too. I am tossing out ideas as the come maybe something useful will come from it or I'll give you an idea that will lead to a solution.
Alex

[mainbutter]

First thing:

Compare the power output of the CHE versus the red incandescent. A 40 watt CHE will be less powerful than a 100 watt incandescent.

I use 150 watt CHEs, and they put out a TON of heat! You can melt plastic with them 3-5 inches below where they are pointed when they are on full blast, so you have to be really careful.

On top of that, CHEs seem to output heat more directed, and incandescent bulbs put out heat pretty much in all directions.