Got another snake question...

purity

purity

Member
didn't want to hijack polar's thread cause then she may not wanna interview me on her show.
anywayz, i've decided to give my 5 foot red tail boa the entire 2nd bedroom of my condo. here's my questions:
1. the primary lighting that i'm using is a 250 watt high pressure sodium. it's bright as hell!! will this be ok?
2. what type of humidity level is recommended for boas?
3. the room is completely covered in berber carpeting. i plan on covering it with a plastic tarp so that it doesn't get damaged. there will be a fountain in there. are chances high that mold can get in between the tarp & carpeting?
thanx in advance for any input :)
 
kittykitty

kittykitty

Member
1. As long as it puts out enough heat to keep that room at 85-95 degrees during the daytime. If you keep your house cooler, you may also want to get a large red heat lamp for night time, in order to keep the temperatures around 72-80 degrees.
2. Boas live in tropical rainforests in South America... 75% humidity is reccommended.
3. Don't know if this will produce mold or not... sorry.
Good luck keeping that humidity up in a room that large.
Instead of keeping the humidity at a constant 75%, you could put a large tub of warm water in the room with him so that he can soak at his leisure.
 
D

daniel411

Guest

Originally posted by KittyKitty
Instead of keeping the humidity at a constant 75%, you could put a large tub of warm water in the room with him so that he can soak at his leisure.
Its really cool when you can devote an entire room or closet to a snake or reptile. I know of a few people who have done so. You might want to check the paint in the room and make sure it can handle the high humidity. Have you thought of removing the carpet from the room and laying tile? Would only take a day, and you could keep the old carpet to relay when you're ready to move out. Its likely that it will eventually find away under the tarp and.... relieve itself. Also you're want to cap all exposed electrical outlets. Hang the heat lamp, as a standing one could be knocked down and cause a fire.
 
purity

purity

Member
great advice so far! thank you.
these high pressure sodiums are EXTREMELY hot already. i'm hoping that it will provide enough heat in the room but i was also thinking of giving him a small enclosed area WITHIN the room that has it's own heating inside it. this way he can get the extra heating, if need be, and also have a dark spot to sleep and hide.
i wanted to rip the carpeting out but i just can't bring myself to do it. i LOVE the carpeting in this place &......well.......i dunno i just can't.
hey kitty, i've got one of those vics humidifiers. think that'll work after i clean out all the medicine in it? like dan said though, the paint on the walls may be an issue too.
i believe the paint is an enamel because it's really shiney. that should be safer than latex. hopefully...
 
purity

purity

Member
a hy-what-o-meter?
never heard of these before. what are they? how much they cost? who do i have to kill?
 
kittykitty

kittykitty

Member
Go to your local pet store. You should be able to find one there. It just measures humidity. You could probably find a digital one at a hardware store. Anyway, it looks like this:
 
kittykitty

kittykitty

Member
Yeah, but with such a large enclosure, you may want to get a couple more and place them in different areas of the room, just to make sure.
You're lucky to have an extra room for a reptile...
Man.. if I had an extra room... nobody would come to my house in fear that the nile monitor might eat them :D
 
purity

purity

Member
yeah i decided to theme the room really tropical. so i put my hammock up in there and hung this huge outdoorsy backdrop on one of the walls.
all that's left is to get the snake stuff set up, hang the lights, and put some tropical music in there.
so now my living room is contemporary themed, the kitchen/dining room is more classical & subtle, hallway is artsy, master bedroom is roman/caligular, and the garage has been converted to a bar room.
i love it!
 
D

daniel411

Guest

Originally posted by KittyKitty
Man.. if I had an extra room... nobody would come to my house in fear that the nile monitor might eat them :D
LOL... or have the sign which just says "Please Do Not Enter the Basement!" Why have a monitor though? Tegu's are so much cooler!
 
D

daniel411

Guest

Originally posted by tony detroit
Your tegu needed a psychiatric evaluation.

Probally, but atleast the "mirror" pounded into his head not to run inside the house!
 
polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
Purity, you are going to need to do more work than I think you realize. 75% humidity is OK occasionally...and for short spans, but it'll eventually start to rot your room.
I asked my boyfriend, the home improvement expert...and he says you WILL get mold if you don't remove the carpet. (He did this with his snakes a few years back...) The carpet is cheap, compared to the cost of a new subfloor when the mold starts a-growin'!
If you remove the carpet, you'll still have to paint the floor with oil based gloss, because otherwise your subfloor will still rot (unless it's concrete, but it's the second floor, right?). Also, your drywall will probably get moldy (from the inside out), so you should paint over the walls and ceiling with an oil-base gloss, and that will prevent mold, or anything else from getting into the dry wall.
Also, all the wood trim and wood base for your windows should be varnished or clear coated, or they will rot, too.
All your socket caps have to be removed, and the bare drywall HAS to be sealed, or the humidity will also seep into the drywall that way...
Also, resettable trip switches should be installed on all your electrical outlets if you are going to increase humidity to that constant level.
Don't hate me for this! I think you should still do it...it's a cool idea....just make sure you don't wreck your room!
 
kittykitty

kittykitty

Member

Originally posted by Daniel411
LOL... or have the sign which just says "Please Do Not Enter the Basement!" Why have a monitor though? Tegu's are so much cooler!
I have just always loved nile monitors, just never had the space to keep them. I had a savannah monitor at one time, and he was very cool. Only thing about savannah monitors, is when they get bigger, they get pretty ugly. Their heads start to look disproportionate to their bodies. Nile monitors keep their sleek, saurian look.
Tegus are cool, however, I think this guy takes the cake:
I would have one, but they are EXPENSIVE! So I try not to think about it.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Well, I am certainly not an herpetologist but I can't say that humidifying the whole room is the way to go. No matter what you do, you can't turn the room into a rainforest. However, you could end up turning it into a den of molds, mildew, bacteria haven, etc. If it were me, I'd make a heat spot near your water fountain, not the entire room. This will create some humidly--enough for your snake. [BTW: While snakes may like to soak in water that is a tad warm, they prefer drinking water that is a bit cooler—room temp]. The snake will then have a choice if it wants heat and moisture or not. Captive pythons are prone to respiratory infections which frequently lead to death. My guess is that the well-meaning hobbyist attempts to create a replica niche for their pet snake and it ends up being a breeding ground for micro organisms. Don’t think that just because a snake’s natural habitat is the rainforest that the snake always needs to be hot and wet. Snakes move around to environments within their niches seeking out warmth and humidity or dryer and cooler. In a room completely heated and humidified, the snake will get only hot and humid. Also, if your snake visits “your” world at all, keeping it hot and wet most of the time and then suddenly bringing it into the your environment can be very detrimental. Balance the snake’s environment to suit the reality of the animal’s captive state.
I only have exp with my royal pythons and they basically have the run of 2 rooms. I have not placed them into any special climate control, though they do have plenty of hiding areas to get warmed up. According to my herp vet, who is also a published herpetologist, he claims that my snakes are the healthiest looking snakes he's seen kept by a non-herpetologist.
Bottom line: Balance the snake's need with the reality of their current circumstances. They are captive animals and we need to really think thru what we do when creating a comfortable environment for them. We are not terri-formers and can’t recreate the rainforest, the desert, or the savannas for our pet snakes. We can, however, study up on their needs and provide them with a reasonable environment to meet their needs keeping in mind that our serpentine friends also lives in a human world now.
 
purity

purity

Member
hmmm. yeah that makes sense cause i don't really go outta the way to make it anymore humid for him right now. i've had him for over 5 years and everything's been fine.
but then again, i have no idea what my humidity level is at currently.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
If everything is fine then don't mess with a good thing. The snake has acclimated to the current conditions. I would go with a warm spot near the water fountain. Maybe put a flat rock there, not a hot rock, with a heat lamp above the rock. The snake can bask in heat when it feels the need, then take a cool dip in the fountain. Provide the fella with some cozy hiding places for sleep and warmth.
 
polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
what if gave it adequate ventilation. wouldn't that prevent the mold?
No, because the whole room will still be retaining humdity (that's the idea, right? Your snakes need 75% humidity you said...). If it's the room that's retaining the humidity (not just one enclosure), the humidity will over the course of time (not long, mind you) dampen the walls, then eventually cause mold in the dry wall.
That's why, if you are going to do it, you need to seal everything.
I think I agree with Beth...don't mess with a good thing--and don't wreck your pad in the process!
 
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