Hi....I am a little new to owning a reptile. I have a Red tail boa and I was wondering how other snake owners make sure that their snakes stay warm in the winter time?..... I have a heat lamp and under tank heater and my boa is on apsen subsrate.....but he seems to always be in his house on the cooler side of the tank....and when I hold him he always seems really cold.....? Any advice I would appreciate it.

Thankyou, Fiddlergreen

I use a human type heating pad on one end of the tank and a normal houselhold light for heat during the day.
Do you have more than one hide?

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

if it's constantly on the warm side and it's always cold to the touch then thats a sign that the temps could be too cold.

I agree with merlin...if there arent enough hides available then the snake will be forced to choose between security or warmth..which can be dangerous.

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-Adam

"Help Protect our Planet from Overcollection, Purchase Aquacultured Livestock and Captive Bred Herps"

Adam they said the hide is on the cool side.

Have you checked the temperature on both the warm and the cool sides?

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

The temperature on the hot side is 75degrees...I know it should be 80....But I dont have a thermomitor on the cool side.....Do you think that If I put a hide on the warm side it would help.....? I was wondering about that....Do boas prefur to be inside a secure hide...even if they are warming themselves?.....thankyou so much for your reply merlin. I rescued him and Im really new to this....Thankyou.

Fiddlergreen

I would recommend having a hide box on each side of the tank. I have a hide on the warm side, the same sized hide on the cool side and a moss box (moist hide) in the middle of the tank. Some days she'll stay on the warm side (especially after eating), then she'll spend all her days on the cool side. And sometimes she'll hide out in the moss box even when she's not shedding.
I think most boas will opt for the security of a hide over the temperature if they have to choose. I've never seen my boa out "sunning herself" under the heat lamp. And she only comes out to cruise and climb at night.
Even if it's just a few cardboard shoeboxes for now, you should give him the option to hide in a few places in the tank.

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Andrea

Hi there for a boa the warm end should be 92 at a hot spot with the ambient being 85....the cool side can be 75 without any complications.....being winter these temps can fall by 5°F and won't cause any harm but your boa may go off feeding, which again isn't a problem....if you are having problems keeping a hot spot of 92 then I suggest keeping the warm end to the mid 80s and not feeding your boa untill spring. This will do no harm and will be better for him/her if the optimal temps can not be met.

Hope this helps

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I'll think of something to put here soon.......

As Joe and BlackJack have said you need to do some rearranging. You need to get those temps up. I would also include a hide on the warm end. Snakes tend to like to be inside or under things. It makes them feel secure. If they have to choose security over warmth their health can suffer. If they are too cool they can't digest their food properl;y and can become ill.
What type of thermometer are you using. If it is one of those stick on tapes it is worthless.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Yes unfortunetly it is a stick on tape thermonmetor....sorry.... I'll pick up a good one this week for both sides of the tank.....I put another hide on the warm side....so now he has two.....Thankyou so much for all of your advice..it has really helped....Can I ask another question....? Should you increase the size of your heat lamp as your snake grows.....?....Or would it be too hot? I have the smallest size heat lamp and smallest size undertank heater....my boa is about 4ft...but he isnt really big around, right now he is just getting longer....would you recommend increasing the size of my lamp and heating pad?

Fiddler

Those stick on tapes only register the temperature of the glass wall and not the temperature in the tank. They are fine for aquarium use where the tank is a solid mass full of water. In an empty tank it registers the temp of the glass. If you picture touching the glass in your window in winter when its cold outside you see how that would not tell you what the temperature is in your house. If you go to Walmart, Lowes, Homedepot etc. you can get a good digital thermometer with a remote probe for about 10 bucks. You put the probe where ever you want to check the temps and the readout can stay outside the cage.

The size of the lamp (and I assume you mean wattage) is dictated by the temperature needed in the enclosure not the size of the snake. As long as you have a proper temperature and temperature gradient (warm end and cool end) you will be fine. You want your undertank heater to cover about 1/3 of the tank. this allows the snake to get off of it if it is too warm. And place your heat lamp and Under Tank Heater on the same end.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!