Hello! I currently have an empty 25 gallon long that needs an inhabitant! There is a local expo next month, and I have been looking at picking up either a hognose or a rosy boa. There seems to be a lot of overlap in their setup requirements. I am hoping I can potentially setup the enclosure to be able to handle either, and then have some flexibility depending on what is available at the expo. But I am finding some conflicting opinions on temp and uv requirements for either species, and whether overhead or undertank is the way to go. Any thoughts on how to set something up that would have some flexibility, or is this in vain and I just need to pick a species and risk not being able to find something at the expo that works? Thanks in advance!
I keep a hog and two rosies in near-identical setups and they’re thriving. I’d say set up for either, and then you can refine setup for whatever you get. Mine are not getting supplemental UVB and they’re on belly heat.
Thanks! Thats great to know! How do you keep the ambient temps in the right range with just belly heat? I have a thermostat with the probe taped to the bottom of the heat pad. What do you use for substrate? Thanks again!
I don’t worry so much about air temps. They’re in tubs. Both species seem to enjoy burrowing, so I use aspen. I have a humid hide in with the hog, but he rarely goes near it.
Mine’s in fine shredded aspen as well. It kinda keeps my guy’s little tunnels he digs in place. He’s in a bin with a heat mat (thermostat probe taped on the heat mat where it comes in contact with the bin). He’s doing well and is a great eater.
Echo what others said above!
Thanks everyone! Sound like I don’t need to worry much about UV for either species. Since I am using a glass enclosure and not a tub, I may get a halgogen basking light and put it on a thermostat to help provide some warmth and reduce humidity. I was overthinking as usual.
That light is not necessary since they burrow. All you need is uth. Period. The light is simply not necessary. It will dry out the tank as well and you need humidity. Glass tank do not hold humidity very well anyway……
So if the ambient is ~70 that is not going to be too cold? In the past when I have tested it, the undertank heat (which is only on one side of the enclosure) set at 90, warms up the glass in that spot, but does nothing really for the ambient.
Ambient temperatures do not matter so much in this case, I have a hoggie that stays buried and and may surface in the evening for a bit. He is in a tub with uth. I do not worry about ambient anything.
Rosies and hogs need more humidity than people think. That light will dry out the air. You do not need it. Burrowing snakes do not live in the air. They live mostly underground…
Edit to add: I have kept rosies, sand boas and hoggies this way for years. My current hoggie is thriving………
Also arboreal snakes need certain ambient air because they are arboreal, or live in the air space
@doogie87 I made several spelling corrections on my last post. I was watching a one year old baby when I posted that! 
Do you have a heat gun to check the temp inside the tank where the heat mat is in contact with the bottom glass? If it’s too low, you might be able to adjust the thermostat up some to bring the temperature up for the warm side of the enclosure on the inside.
@doogie87 if you get a hog, especially a baby hog, make sure it’s an established eater. Hoggies can sometimes have feeding issues. If I were you I would get a rosy if possible. They don’t have the feeding issues that hogs can have
@gina5678 I do have a heat gun. @caron I am hoping for a rosy, but have only ever seen one at our local expo
So I have the enclosure setup. I am still concerned about warmth. I have the heat mat set to 94, but that is not really radiating out through the substrate at all. So the surface of the substrate inside the warmside hide is just room temperature. Am I doing something wrong with my heat pad? I have it stuck to the bottom of the enclosure, with the thermostat probe taped to the bottom of it. Thanks again!
94 degrees is waaaaay too high. 90 degrees should be the absolute max. Please remember that you are getting a Burrowing snake. Your snake will not sit on the top of the substrate. It will burrow close to or away from the heart at the bottom of the enclosure.
You are overthinking this. But definitely turn down the heat….