Rembrandt - Nicaraguan Boa (first snake!)

[dakski]

I'm relieved that boas are okay with high humidity. Still, it'll be nice to get a PVC cage with better ventilation so I don't need to worry any more. Same thing with the temps, it'll give me peace of mind if I can get it a few degrees higher and I think I can do that more easily with PVC and RHP as you suggested. (I'm eyeing a 4x2x16")

I've been wondering if I can get away with just heat tape since my UTH seems to be just enough right now. I guess an RHP would be safer, so I'll be willing to invest in one. I only have a Herpstat with one channel so I'd like to be able to stick to one heat source if possible, but if it becomes necessary I could get an Inkbird or something I suppose!

Boa's do well in high humidity, I would say, up to 75-80% normally. Sauzo, one the users here, who has multiple Boas, swears by keeping it close to that range all the time. At that humidity, you really do not need to raise much, or at all, in shed. For ease, I generally keep Behira's (BCI) tank around 65% or so and raise in shed. Boa's (BCC, BCI, and Dwarf Species) are less sensitive to humidity and do not tend to get respiratory infections (RI) as easy as a BP if humidity is too low or too high. On a couple dry days in the winter, it got as low as 50% in Behira's tank and although I wouldn't keep it there long-term, she was fine. I generally will not let that happen and spray warm water in 1X a day or every other day in the winter to maintain 60% + consistently.

Again, I would get a RHP and heat tape. If you haven't upgraded your thermostat yet, worst case, run the RHP alone for a while. However, I would look into if you can run two devices off the same channel. I run my heat tape and RHP off the same channel of my thermostat to create proper temps. You might be fine.

To be clear, I have my thermostat set to X, with both RHP and heat tape plugged into it. The probe is between the two devices, closer to the RHP. In my case, in Behira's (BCI) tank, for example, 85F on the thermostat keeps the hot spot 86-88F, with the RHP and heat tape working together. Since the RHP runs, I have a nice gradient of dropping temps all the way to the cool side. Hot side, 87F, middle of tank, 82-84F, cool side of tank, 79-81F.

Good luck and let us know what you ultimately do.