The best thing about the rheostat is when the house warms up in the summer, ya just turn it down,,,,when it gets cool in the winter,, ya turn it up. It's almost like a dimmer switch to a dining room light.

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Is your heart set on the rainbow???? If it is, and you have the money, I'd suggest you start over. Otherwise your snake could get sick from the husbandry issues.

If I had gone to that much work and couldn't get it right for a rainbow, I'd choose a different snake, and then get an enclosed cage and start a NEW setup for the CRB..... but that's just me. I like different snakes, but from reading and study, know that rainbows are VERY picky when it comes to husbandry----they're not as forgiving of husbandry goofs, as say a redtail or corn or ball.

Good luck in getting the temp gradients and the humidity the way you need it to be for your rainbow boa plans!


Sweety314

A rheostat IS the dimmer switch--just another name. And they're really good for constant, STEADY temp environments, but if your room temps fluctuate a lot, they're really HUGE PITAs to keep correcting. I know......I had 4 of them for the different boids and colubrids and I was always adjusting them. Now that the room is temp controlled, they're better to use, but for the touchy and the best solution, an actual THERMOSTAT is best.

i have a Under Tank Heater for my Brazilian Rainbow Boa in a shoe box line with scottowles and a moss hide over the heat and water, does just fine in there. My other baby boas have a 55 gallon with mesh top and it's covered with cloth and a Under Tank Heater and a light that is on a timer and I rewet once a week. Works great for me.

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Happy to be Single!

well I bought myself one today, and also a under tank heater, I hope it gets warm enough. I'm sure when it gets warmer outside it will be fine since I will have the room closed off to the air conditioning. The problem right now is I have the house temp about 68-70

Sweety314 is corect, a thermostat will give you a constant temp. I only choose not to use one for the reason that the last 1 I had had a built in feature to auto-shut if the temp went above 115 degrees,,,which it did on 3 occasions (while the temp was set at 90) That tells me it wasn't a constant temp. Is it possible my unit was defective ? very much so. At that time it was suggested to me here on this site to try a rheostat and I am just more comfortable with those. Both will work, both are proven. It is a matter of preference.

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Ken what type pf thermostat was it that gave you the problem? If it was one of the older ZooMed's they had an electrical problem. I had one that did a melt down on the wiring of my Ceramic Heat Emitter and quit working completely! I am told has been fixed. I have a couple I currently use without any problems.

Kypitbull, I really would have waited till I got the logistics of the tanks ironed out before bringing the snake home but since you already have it we will go from here.

First what devices are you using to measure your temperature and humidity? Some are mych more accurate than others and we would hate to see you subject the snake and yourself to attempting to solve an invalid reading.

You will probably need the additional heat source. I have my ball pythons in a 55 gallon tanks with a 150 watt Ceramic Heat Emitter as well as a daytime incandescent light.
Your humidity problem is due to the screen top and the amount of air flow which allows your humidity to escape. If you cover the screen top with a peice of plexi it will aid in keeping the humidity up. However you will need to have ventilation. Leaving the opening for the Ceramic Heat Emitter and a little space at both ends of the tank, say 3-4 inches will suffice. You may have to mist the enclosure several times a day or invest in a mister system. Or you could plumb the humidifier so the the vapor goes either directly into the enclosure or opens over the top so the mist settlles into the tank through the openings.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Merlin, it was a BAH 1000 (1000 watt tripple plug-in) from Big Apple Herpetology

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

I've never had any experience with those units. Only ZooMed and ESU's.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

My advice : don't acquaint yourself with one,,,lol

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan