Saturday, May 22, 2010

I just bought a small boa and with it a 75 watt Repti Halogen lamp. How do I use it properly?

How long should I leave the bulb on?
How far away should the bulb be from the snake?
When should I turn on the bulb?
Answers:
If you're going to use a bulb, place it on one side of the lid to the cage, so the snake has a "hot side" and a "cool side". If it's kept on the lid, the distance should be fine. Most snakes like a 12/12 hour day/night schedule, so whatever works for you: 8AM-8PM, 9AM-9PM, or whatever.
just be careful of what u do men.
DO NOT USE THE BULB UNLESS IT IS INSIDE A SAFETY CAGE.
A boa can wrapp it self around and unprotected bulb and will burn itself badly very quickly. A safer option for heat is a heat mat.
Place a piece of polystyrene under the mat and place a piece of tile or slate over the mat inside the vivarium this will allow the snake to warm up with out the chance of getting burnt.
Place a water bowl at the cool end so that the snake can get into it to cool down if it wants to.
First you get rid of the poor snake! Send it back to where ever they are born!
Get a nice cat,dog,hamster or even a potbelly pig!
A snake is a status symbol that comes back to bite you in your ,constrict you or some of your loved ones to death,%26 swallow you!
Mabey I should have my friend who has nerve damage from a boa attacking his 1yr old granddaughter as he was trying to save her, give you a visual!
Bulbs can be tricky on using correctly for snakes. Most will use a fluorescent bulb so that the snake can figure out day/night times. usually the light is on the timer. I have both a fluorescent and a dark red light that are switched between each other night and day.

As for a heat source, UTH (Under Tank Heaters) are used connected to a rheostat or thermostat. 2 main Under Tank Heaters used are Heat Mats which are placed on the outside underneath the tank, and Flexwatt Heat Tape which is placed the same way.
The tank heater is placed on one half side of the setup so that their is a warm and cool side. A water bowl is placed around the warm side to help with humidity/shedding. Getting a couple hide boxes will also help in keeping your snake calm and stress free.

I also reccomend buying a Digital Thermometer with external probe or a dual Digital Temp/Hygrometer so that you can accurately monitor the temps in the enclosure. These can be picked up at most pet stores along with Wal Mart, Target, and other large department stores.

As far as temps and humidity levels go, it all depends on which type of boa you have.
Heres the website I got all my info from when I got my boa, though I'm not sure what kind of boa you have I'm going to assume its a red tailed boa because they are the most common.

http://www.redtailboas.com/general_care/.

Good Luck! and I suggest you do some research on your snake and I can tell you haven't by this question. and I can also tell this is your first snake, you should've gotten a ball python or corn snake to start out with considering they don't get as large as boas can.

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