Brazilian Enclosure, Humity

Okay before I get one Im concerned about the humidity which needs to be really high, Im building a cage out of plexi-glass so it wont have wide open spaces....I know they should have a heating pad, a basking lamp and large bowl of water and be sprayed often but is this going to create enough humidity? this is all i can find for info, also how would heat lights fare in a tank thats that humid? most bulbs burst with too much moisture so how do I go about using a basking lamp?

I was also thinking of using an acutal humidifer but would that be enough even and safe to use?

I wouldn't even use heat lamps with snakes myself.I stick to heat pads,and for humidity Rubbermaid tubs are hard to beat.You can get the more ''high end'' ones that are crystal clear if you want better visibility for a viv-style enclosure.Tubs are 1st rate at retaining both heat and humidity,and a search of ''Rubbermaid snake cages'' revealed breeders of all manner of snakes,esp. tree boas,useing them.Boids in general aren't nearly as active as some of the colubrids,so relatively small quarters will keep 'em happy.Handleing tends to be a major source of exercise,I find.Still,tubs are available in sizes plenty big for a 4-6 ft. rainbow. If you build your own plexiglass tank,with vent ports at mid-level,you shouldn't need to do much misting,I'd guess.The water bowl and heat pad ought to keep the ambient humidity up to the levels they need,70 to 80% with misting as needed.A custom tank,like Craig uses ,would give you room to play with height while not sacrificeing heat and humidity the way screen covered fish tanks do.BTW there's a great rainbow page on the exellent corallas.com TB site.Best of luck with, and lots of fun planning for your new rainbows!

Great!!! Thanks so much, I was getting kinda worried there for a bit because I wasnt so sure, Im gunna take a look at the website thanks a bunch!!!!

heat pads are dumb. not only is it un-natural but you'll really be risking it, take ball pythons for an example, they don't feel heat from their body, and get burned. you're best bet, and i say this with lot's of zoo and private exhibits, that ceramic heat is one of the best, won't effect day/night cycles and you can offer more realistic basking responses from your snake.

as for the humidity concerns, first think of how you want to house your pet. front opening enclosures are best for snakes as reaching down for one can spook them. front opening is also easier when you have a hood on top.

what kind of enclosure are you working with? hope i helped. have pics if needed.

Heat pads arent dumb. and your not risking it if you monitor your heat pads with a proper thermometer.


The only ones i won't use are those darned exo terra ones. those are dangerous and weve had some overheat on us. but all our snakes are on belly heat.

Just because you don't use a surtain method doesent necessarilly mean its dumb. especially when ALOT of herpers use this method.

Its a matter of choice. not all methods are wrong. theirs more than one way to do something. And if your not housing your snake in a tank you cant really use ceramic heat.

Same thing, i dont like housing my snakes in tanks because the screen cover doesent hold in enough humidity. But that doesent mean its wrong to house snakes in tanks, I just prefer tubs or custom caging.

And the only way ive heared of a snake getting burned with a head pad(Or heat rock) as well is when the pad is IN the cage, not under it.

Just my thoughts on the subject here.

I too agree with camille. I There is nothing wrong with useing heat pads, its all a matter of preferance, availability, and of course cost. There is nothing better for a gravid female boa then underbelly heat and as was mentioned ceramic heat or heat panels do not work for all setups. I tried ceramic in my large cage and it was useless the tank is too big and ventalated so i use infrared heat in that cage, and heat pads in both my other tanks. As for the pads over heating if you keep a eye on them and they are not difectly in the cage/tank there is no worrie of over heating bu tthe same cannot be said for heat rocks i've seen the damage those things can do.

kyle

Yeah i used heat rocks as another example of IN the enclosure. those things are extremely dangerous and i hate them with a passion. Anytime i see them in pet stores(Especially in cages) my blood boils.

Hey, apparently someone stole my site name, well kind of.

If they cant feel heat through their bellies they how do they know to rest on it to stay warm? Have you ever seen snakes basking on roads in the evening? They arnt basking in the sun there, they are after the belly heat cause by the sun heating up the road.

When they get burned, its when parts get much hotter then the rest, like the hot spots caused by hot rocks. The same exact thing can and has happened when using overhead heating.