Quote Originally Posted by BPmom View Post
My BP seems to be favoring the cardboard box I put on his cold side since I put it in his tank. I was thinking of putting it on his hot side but I’m worried about the heat lamp over the cardboard.. his UTH caused his hot hide to burn up to 100degrees F so I u plugged it for the night until I can get a temp controller for it. Will thick cardboard do any harm under the heat or to my new friend? I am new to this and only had him for a month so until a week ago, he didn’t have a hide on his cool side. I also have a plastic Maxwell House container that I cut in half but I’d be more worried about the plastic. Not sure what hide will survive the 95 watt heat lamp but even testing it makes me nervous.

Hes in a 20gal glass tank. He’s about 6 y.o at least, almost 4 ft long. I use a 75 watt white bulb during the day when the temp drops, and a 65 watt blue night bulb at night.

Any my suggestions would be great! He was ‘dropped in our laps’ about a month ago and Iv been researching how to care for him ever since!

i personally wouldn't use cardboard at all bc it deteriorates fast and is prone to mold build up. Heat resistant plastic, wood (not pine), and ceramic hides all work great. Make sure that there are hides on both ends.

Also at that size and age.... move up a size in the tank. They need a tank that's about as long as they are. 30-40g will be fine.

Make sure that the humidity stays stays around 65-70%.

lastly, you really should get a thermostat that controls the temperature, especially on the warm side.

I can go on and on about the basic requirements so feel free to ask anything that you are unsure of. There are also a lot of great threads on here that will help you out if you search. Best of luck and let me know if I can help anymore!!