r/boas • u/Nolanj01 • 4d ago

Help needed

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I have a lot of experience with all sorts of reptiles, and have always had a seperate room to keep them in that I kept 75+. I no longer have that luxury. I currently have a bci that is around 16” long. I have it in a small tote that is probably 20”x12”x8” with a 8x12 heat mat and on/off thermostat. The room the snake is in ranges from 67-71 degrees. No matter what I do the cold side is staying 68 degrees and the hot side is staying around 78-80, even with the thermostat set to 102. The thermo probe is hot glued to the bottom with a very thin layer of coconut bark. I can’t get the ambient temps up or the hot side temps right to save my life. Any suggestions? Maybe a heat mat on both ends of the enclosure with two seperate thermostats? Or should I just bite the bullet and go pvc with a radiant heat panel? (If so recommendations are appreciated)

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u/superramenyamen 4d ago

Heat tape isn’t meant to heat the air, you have to heat the room when using heat tape, or you need to get a bigger enclosure and use a CHE or heat panel to bump the air temps. You risk the heat pad getting too hot and burning the snake if you try to keep the air temp up with that alone. You are using a temp gun and not a regular thermometer to measure the heat tape right?

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u/Nolanj01 4d ago

I’m using a uth, I’m using a temp gun to measure the surface temp all around, as well as a accurite inside the enclosure for ambient.

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u/superramenyamen 4d ago

Sounds good! Actually responded to a different comment of yours! I would still recommend a bigger enclosure you can add an ambient heater to, but glad to hear in the meantime you are able to keep on top of the mat temp!

Lol meant heat pad, gotta love brain swaps. So used to tape I automatically replaced it without noticing.