Heating for taller boa enclosure

[normandcass]

I am upgrading my 71/2 foot boa from a 4x2x2 to a 4x5x2 tall this weekend and am concerned about heating. I keep the reptile room warm at 78 and provide UTH with thermostat and temps are perfect. Will it be the same in the larger enclosure? Should I provide a heat lamp at the top since it is so far from the bottom where the warm spot is? The enclosure has large branches bolted in place so she will be able to use the full height. The only time she goes on the warm side now is after she eats for a few days, and spends the rest of her time in the middle or cool side.

I acquired her from my son who moved out and she has doubled in size over the past few years. I'm used to ball pythons so this big tall cage a little daunting, but she is in need of something bigger and loves to climb. I think she's gotten quite round, she used to be square. Hopefully some extra room for her to move around will keep her fit and healthy lol

Here is a picture of the enclosure I am purchasing this weekend. Any input on how to heat it would be appreciated!

Thanks for any input![IMG][/IMG]

[normandcass]

Also for clarification, this is not the setup she will be moving into, this is the advertised picture. I will have different substrate and a hide, bigger water dish, etc.

[bcr229]

I would provide 11"x36" of heat tape under the floor toward the back of the enclosure as a basking area since your reptile room is already at the optimum cool side temp.

Replace the mesh top with plexiglass or PVC to keep the humidity inside, maybe put a small RHP on it in case your boa wants to perch and bask. Maintaining humidity in that tall of an enclosure will be your biggest challenge even with a large water dish.

[Sauzo]

To be honest with you, that cage is too tall. Problem with really tall cages is like bcr said, humidity. Personally i would not go with anything over 24 inches for a boa. I would give more floor space. I use 72x30x18 AP cages for my adult boas. I do offer the optional shelf which is 10 inches wide. Plus the screen top is just a big no no. That cage would be pretty nice for an arboreal snake but that is a completely different set up than for a boa. No idea how much you are paying but if you havent bought it yet and dont need a cage immediately, i would look into Animal Plastic cages.

[Dutti]

To be honest with you, that cage is too tall. Problem with really tall cages is like bcr said, humidity. Personally i would not go with anything over 24 inches for a boa. I would give more floor space. I use 72x30x18 AP cages for my adult boas. I do offer the optional shelf which is 10 inches wide. Plus the screen top is just a big no no. That cage would be pretty nice for an arboreal snake but that is a completely different set up than for a boa. No idea how much you are paying but if you havent bought it yet and dont need a cage immediately, i would look into Animal Plastic cages.

I have my male BCI in 7,2 long x 2,60 deep x 4,60 high enclosure. So i guess i could give normandcass an advice out of my own experience. You can see that although i have a high enclosure, i have provided enough floor space. Your floor space is not sufficient i think for 7 and half foot boa. For such a boa you need 6 feet long or more enclosure. I have the humidity about 45% to 50%. Its hard to get it higher in such a big enclosure. This is an acceptable humidity level for boa constrictors when they are not in shedding. When my BCI is in shed, i raise it to 70%. This is a must. I achieve that through misting the cage several times a day and reducing the ventilation in the last 2 to three days of the shedding process. I have also real plants in the enclosure. Certainly you can provide as much height as you can afford for a boa as long as you you provide a sufficient floor space cause its more important.

[Dutti]

I have only 3 real plants now in the enclosure, i am going to increase them to 6 very soon
[IMG][/IMG]

[Sauzo]

I have my male BCI in 7,2 long x 2,60 deep x 4,60 high enclosure. So i guess i could give normandcass an advice out of my own experience. You can see that although i have a high enclosure, i have provided enough floor space. Your floor space is not sufficient i think for 7 and half foot boa. For such a boa you need 6 feet long or more enclosure. I have the humidity about 45% to 50%. Its hard to get it higher in such a big enclosure. This is an acceptable humidity level for boa constrictors when they are not in shedding. When my BCI is in shed, i raise it to 70%. This is a must. I achieve that through misting the cage several times a day and reducing the ventilation in the last 2 to three days of the shedding process. I have also real plants in the enclosure. Certainly you can provide as much height as you can afford for a boa as long as you you provide a sufficient floor space cause its more important.

Not quite sure why you are quoting me and talking about the floor space. I give my adult boas the equivalent of a 6x3x1.5 which is plenty for an adult boa.

And honestly 45-50% humidity is NOT high enough. The lowest you want to go is 60% with optimum of 65-70%. Sure they can live in it but again, just like overfeeding(which im not going to get into again), you wont notice the damage until its done. Snakes from higher humidity regions need that humidity not only for hydration but also to keep their lung from drying out and cracking which can let bacteria in which causes URI.

And misting can compensate for the lack of humidity only so much. You dont want to make the snake sit in a constantly wet environment as that is breeding grounds for bacteria, fungus and mold which can lead to any number of RI be it fungal or bacterial.

You are right though that floor space is more important than height.

I do mist my cages though but usually only once or maybe twice a week in the winter and it completely dries out and keeps 65-70% humidity.

Another thing you can do OP is use a mister to help with humidity if you are set on that cage but you need to cover at least 3/4 of that top to control the air flow or else no matter how much misting you do, you wont beat the whole rooms humidity lol.

[Sauzo]

Oh and to add one more thing, there is a big difference between humidity and just water all over the place via misting. Like i said above, misting will work here and there to help especially in winter but if you have to mist more than once or twice a week once a day, then you need to evaluate your setup and limit the airflow better.

And another thing, a bad shed doesnt necessarily mean you your humidity is bad. A lot of it has to do with the hydration of the snake which indirectly is from humidity of the environment combined with how much the snake drinks.

[Sauzo]

I have only 3 real plants now in the enclosure, i am going to increase them to 6 very soon
[IMG][/IMG]

Hope you sealed that cage with a good waterproof sealant or that pressboard is going to just melt when you throw in 65-70% humidity in it after a year or so. Not to mention the concrete power of boa piss haha. It's almost as bad retic piss.

[Dutti]

Not quite sure why you are quoting me and talking about the floor space. I give my adult boas the equivalent of a 6x3x1.5 which is plenty for an adult boa.

And honestly 45-50% humidity is NOT high enough. The lowest you want to go is 60% with optimum of 65-70%. Sure they can live in it but again, just like overfeeding(which im not going to get into again), you wont notice the damage until its done. Snakes from higher humidity regions need that humidity not only for hydration but also to keep their lung from drying out and cracking which can let bacteria in which causes URI.

And misting can compensate for the lack of humidity only so much. You dont want to make the snake sit in a constantly wet environment as that is breeding grounds for bacteria, fungus and mold which can lead to any number of RI be it fungal or bacterial.

You are right though that floor space is more important than height.

I do mist my cages though but usually only once or maybe twice a week in the winter and it completely dries out and keeps 65-70% humidity.

Another thing you can do OP is use a mister to help with humidity if you are set on that cage but you need to cover at least 3/4 of that top to control the air flow or else no matter how much misting you do, you wont beat the whole rooms humidity lol.

I have quoted you not because of your floor space, because you said that you won,t go higher than 24 inches for a boa. My opinion is yes you can go higher as long as provide enough floor space cause its more important and because of the humidity issue in a high enclosure. To be honest, my BCI is doing very much fine in the current humidity level that he has. They will get respiratory problems if the ventilation is not enough and the air get stagnated, that,s for sure