Enclosure for Boa

[Sauzo]

Ok I cut out a bunch of cardboard and taped it together I also made some hides for him with cardboard. I couldn't figure out which insulation it was but I did get the tape you would talking about and taped the UTH to the glass at the bottom. For some reason the UTH probe has a 5 degree difference to when I hit with a temp gun (at the glass with no substrate inside the cage). I guess because it goes through the glass? Let me know what you guys think. I just finished so I'll check the temps in an hour. I took the snake out for the time being. Is it ok that the tape smells a little, it won't harm the snake right? Thank you everyone for taking the time to help me lol!

You will get a little variance in temps simply because of the glass. Not sure it should be 5 degrees but whatever works. My AP cages have a 5 degree variance but that is going through 1/2 inch CDPVC. Just temp gun the whole floor after a couple hours and see what it is. If it is 86-88F then you are fine with whatever the setting is on the Herpstat.

And no the foil tape should not smell like anything. It's a metal tape. You must be smelling something else.

There was normal packing tape on the hide boxes but I took the hide boxes out. Also I taped the Accurite to the glass with the foil tape but I took the tape off now and it's sitting on the ground again. There is foil tape around the cardboard I laid on top, I was thinking of covering them in that tape since they are near the CHE. Or should I not? There is no more tape in the enclosure at all.

Maybe I'll try the unprinted newspaper after I get the temps under control later.

Ok that makes sense it would be a few degrees off. I think it's pretty stable now. The temps on the UTH side vary from 84-88. I might set it 1 more degree higher on the thermostat. I'm still watching the cool side one, I switched it to a 100 watt because the 60 watt was almost constantly running at 100%.

I'm guessing it was just water then, I smelled it and it just smelled like mulch.

Do you think his belly is slightly burnt? It still catches on a lot of things and I feel its on his belly and sometimes on his sides.

And no tape at all inside the cage. If you need to stick the temp unit on the wall or something like that, I would use velcro tape of the strongest you can find and make sure the stuff is cut smaller than the unit. You dont want any exposed tape at all. And generally you just dont want tape period inside the cage.

I just leave my Acurites on the floor. The snakes will bulldoze them and have actually pooped on them a few times but whatever. i just wipe them off with F10SC and call it good.

Sounds like you got the UTH set up good.

As for having a burnt belly, got a pic? If it looks normal but just the belly scales kind of catch a little on stuff, sounds like he is dry. If his belly is red, gooey and looks like a burn, then its burnt. You will know if its a burn. Just mist the mulch nice and heavy and keep it damp for a few days. Will probably wreck the cardboard hides but it should soften his belly scales back up. My retic gets very rough scales from his neck down about 1/3 of his body in the winter on aspen but he also pushes a lot when hungry. I sometimes switch him to ReptiChips and just keep it nice and moist for a couple weeks and he's fine.

But looking at the temp unit, i see a 40% humidity with a 70 degree temp. You need to get that humidity up to 65-75% and that temp up to about 77 degrees.

As for covering the top, i would use tin foil or at the least tin foil wrapped cardboard. The exposed cardboard top is just going to suck up moisture. And i would cover more of the top. Personally i would cover the whole top by using a 1 piece piece of cardboard. Just set the lamp cage on the cardboard where you want it and trace it with a pen or pencil. Then cut it out so the wire frame fits. Then wrap the whole top in tin foil and secure it with tape on the top. I used a cover like that for my 20 gallon and 40 gallon quarantine tanks and it worked great.

Also i would probably cut the hides down a little shorter. Snakes like something that they can feel the top easily with their head so they feel like they are in a short, small place that animals cant get to them.