Heaters

[chaosrah]

Alright, guys, I got a question for you all. Or rather, an opinion poll. I have been told a few different things...

I just purchased my second snake, a Kenyan Sand Boa. I was told by the particular reptile store that they don't need overhead lighting (no heat lamp, no uvb) and that an undertank heater is just fine. (For this particular species of

Comments

[ophiophilist]

ADORABLE BABY!

I only use undertank heaters, on heat control, for all my snakes including my KSB. :)

[ophiophilist]

Forgot to say, just leave it on all the time. Just be sure and use heat control!

[chaosrah]

Is heat control a separate thing? I bought a small under tank for the sand boa at the reptile store (for 5 gals, the tank for when he is still little is just a 5.5 gal), it didn't have a control on it.

[ophiophilist]

((For some reason my previous comment was marked as spam. o.O All I did was add a link to a thermostat! Reposting without the link.))

Yes. :) Because the heaters can get extremely hot, they need to have a control so you can adjust the temperature. I use a Repti-Temp 500R, a rheostat, and some simple plug-in lamp dimmers that you slide to control. I'm planning on moving to a much better thermostat like the ones Reptile Basics offers since I have multiple animals.

[chaosrah]

I got the link in my e-mail when I was alerted that you responded, thanks!!

[shouganai]

I've got more than 50 sand boas, mostly KSBs- no lighting whatsoever, only undertank heating. You can do the same for a hognose. Always use a thermostat or rheostat to regulate temperatures.

[__sasami__]

Yeah, just an UTH is fine, that's what I use for my KSB :). Leave it on 24-7 but use a thermostat or something else to control temps.

He's very cute!