Moon's Graden

I have a 30 gallon tank for my red-tailed boa with a ZooMed Repti Heat Cave
on one side, a little wood climbing thing in the middle, and a large
ceramic water bowl on the other.  My 150 Watt full-spectrum reptile heat
lamp rests on the tank screen directly over the bowl.  When I changed his
water this morning, only two hours after his lamp came on for the day, I
noticed that the water and the bowl were VERY warm.  Is this OK?

-M.

This is not the best situation. Generally, the water source should be placed at the end of the cage that has the coolest part of the=
 heat gradient, so you might want to move the lamp to the "warm" end where the cave is. Get some thermometers to check the cage and =
cave temperatures to assure they are not excessive. Check the temp. of the water. It should not be more than 82 f.
Also, if the water is as warm as you say, how hot is the screen mesh getting? It sounds like there may be a potential for the snake =
to burn itself on the wire.  You might try raising the lamp up off the wire mesh. Use a method that will not be a fire hazard.
Finally, a thirty gal. tank will not be a suitable boa home for very long. I have two columbian (common) boas Boa c. constrictor, a =
2 year old male at over six feet and a 1 year old female at 4.5 feet. Good Luck.

"Half the people can be part right all of the time, and
some of the people can be all right part of the time, but
all the people can't be all right all of the time,
I think Abraham Lincoln said that."  Bob Dylan, Talkin' WWIII Blues

This is not the best situation. Generally, the water source should be placed at the end of the cage that has the coolest part of the=
 heat gradient, so you might want to move the lamp to the "warm" end where the cave is. Get some thermometers to check the cage and =
cave temperatures to assure they are not excessive. Check the temp. of the water. It should not be more than 82 f.
Also, if the water is as warm as you say, how hot is the screen mesh getting? It sounds like there may be a potential for the snake =
to burn itself on the wire.  You might try raising the lamp up off the wire mesh. Use a method that will not be a fire hazard.
Finally, a thirty gal. tank will not be a suitable boa home for very long. I have two columbian (common) boas Boa c. constrictor, a =
2 year old male at over six feet and a 1 year old female at 4.5 feet. Good Luck.

"Half the people can be part right all of the time, and
some of the people can be all right part of the time, but
all the people can't be all right all of the time,
I think Abraham Lincoln said that."  Bob Dylan, Talkin' WWIII Blues

says...
I have a three month old Boa and she loves the water right below the
light.  Now, I don't have full spectrum, but as long as the water isn't
hotter that about 90 degrees, it should be ok.  the only problem I've
found is that it evaporates quicker.  How would you feel if you got out
of your hot tub and it was very cold?  I found that my snakes would not
soak when the bowl was on the cool side of the tank.  Hope this helps.
Garth Williams

OK.  I'm really pissed at the folks who sold me my boa.  I have a
thermometer strip stuck to the upper back wall of the tank, on the cool
side.  It usually reads 82 during the day, and 75/80 at night.  I moved the
heat lamp over to directly above the strip, and soon the temp reading was
105!!!!! I think this may be a good indication that the lamp is too hot,
from what you guys are saying.  I know it can be cooler towards the bottom
of the cge, but 105 3 or 4 inches from the top of an 18 inch high tank
sounds pretty warm.  I couldn't check the water temp, so I don't know if
that's too hot or not.  Should i get a different bulb?  Will that make it
too cold on the cool side of the tank?  Aaaaargh!

P.S.: To answer Rebecca Sobol's question, I got the heat cave two days ago,
and he seems to enjoy curling up behind it, OUTSIDE it, in the corner of
the tank.  I have yet to see him venture inside it, however.

Depends on if you like parboiled snake...  Actually, since
snakes and lizards tend to use the water to retreat from
the warmth, it would make sense to move the light farther
away from the water...or vice versa...

Melissk

It's like 105 at the top of the tank where the full-spectrum bulb is.  I am
going to replace it, and buy a heating pad for the bottom of the tank.  
Please post or e-mail any tank-heating tips, suggestions as to what bulb to
get for  my lamp, etc.

Thanks,

-M.