I have a 20 gallon Long tank. With a basking lamp and a heating pad on the side of the tank. Also a red light for night time heating. I have a bag of vita sand in the tank right now. I used a heat temp gun and the hot spot is 112 degrees and the rest of the tank is around 90 degrees. Does this sound like a suitable home for the snake? There is a rock/den under the heat lamp which is a 75 degree basking light. I ' ve read on the internet that a basking lamp isn't necessary ... is this true? If so I might just buy another red buld and have 2 of those on at day time and just one at night. Please give me any advice that you know. Thanks
Sounds like you're off to a great start! There are a few things I would change. First of all, though it's weird, sand boas aren't actually native to areas with lots of sand. Sand can actually damage their digestive systems, as large amounts are often ingested when they eat. Larger grained substrates that do not retract humidity (sand boas are native to areas with low humidity) are excellent. Personally, I find aspen shavings to be the ideal substrate for sand boas.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
Also, in terms of heating, 112 * is a bit high and puts your boa at risk of burns. Try to cool the hot spot to 90 or so, and the rest of the cage to 80. Lamps are not necessary for sand boas as they are nocturnal and do not benefit from light or photoperiods. In your situation, the heating pad alone may be enough. Experiment a bit. If you can get a temperature range from 80 to 90 degrees using whatever heat elements or combination of heat elements you can, it's perfect.
I will mention briefly that there is currently some controversy as to whether or not snakes can see red light. Many people believe that they can, in which case red bulbs on at night could aggravate a snake. However, there is no definitive research done on this, so the call is really up to you.
Have fun with your Kenyan sand boa!:) They are very fun snakes!
Ur off to a good start as mentioned but the tank is too hot for a kenyan sand boa
the hot spot should be about 90 and 95 for a gravid female
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com u can do this by not using the heat lamp, if it is still to hot u can get a dmiiner for the heat pad
also sand is abd for kenayns and damages there degestive system aspen is the best and they love it and its really cheap
have fun with ur new snake
kenyans are awesome
That is a bit hot, but not bad, you really don't need that night light, since you have the heat pad. And the hide rock is not needed either, since they prefer to burrow in the sand .
i have a red tailed boa whos temperatures are the following: Day - 28-32/night - 26-30/basking 32-35 ... i just keep the temperature around 30 at all times ... during the day i sometimes cover the front glass part of the tank with bubble wrap for insulation and the tank gets hotter ... then at night time i remove it ... heat pads area a no no in my opinion ... if they lie on them for too long it can dry them up ... i have carpet on the tanks floor covered in the substrate and it works fine ... also just make sure it has a hide where it can get away from everything ... i made my own just using a cardboard box and cutting a hole in it ... you shud also make sure they have a big enough water pool so it can fully submerge itself in the water if it wishes ... i can email you pictures of my boas tank if you want.
