New Caye Caulker Dwarf Boa and would like general information

[dakski]

I recommend Herpstat's. They're pricey but well worth it. Hydrofarms/Jumpstarts are a good temporary thermostat, but some or all may not have a failsafe in it to turn off the heating element if it malfunctions. I had a Hydrofarm fail recently, and it flashed a warning, but never stopped powering the heat tape, it read 125F according to my temp gun.

Wow, that sounds like a scary day! I hope everyone pulled through.

I run redundant thermostats. I am in bad shape if both fail open, but that's not very likely.

Good to know herpstat sells ones that offer more protection.

I agree, and sorry I missed it, that you need two hides. One in each heat zone (hot/cool).

I run an RHP and UTH mainly for redundancy (I am a nervous nelly). The incremental cost was very low to add the UTH, so I did (both run off the same thermostat). It's a preference thing, but not necessary.

I'll admit that I thought RHP's were more for air temp and "shine down/sun like" heat (not in that order though). I never thought about it adding belly heat. It makes sense though, when you think about it . Well, I stand corrected and I am glad I learned something new today. I have seen many people successfully keep happy and healthy snakes in enclosures with just an RHP, but it never really clicked.

Thank you, as always, CloudtheBoa.