Rosy Boa Temps

I agree about the water. I always provide a small dish on the cool side. I agree about the humidity too. I never think about it. They do great at the 40% they’re usually at.

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95 hot spot is fine so long as overall temp choices are good. Burns happen from hot spots in cooler ambient temps that heat the skin but don’t warm the snake adequately. But it would be a good idea to be able to adjust that temp in case the snake indicates they’d prefer it. Best to see how the snake uses different areas and adjust things based on that feedback.

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Harqs are a high desert locale, so running temps on the lower side of general ranges might be a good place to start, and then adjust if needed. I keep all mine at the same temps though, at least relative to locale. Breeding adults are a little more variable, but I adjust more based on feedback from the snake more than anything.

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I appreciate everything. This has all been so confusing to me and I just want to make sure I have the right setup before I get my snake this upcoming Tuesday!

I think what I have right now should be good to start. To make it very clear… here are my current temps inside the 10am glass enclosure.

Cool side sits at mid 70s during the day (surface temp).
Warm side sits at mid 80s consistently and about 87 inside the warm hide (surface temp).
On top of the warm hide is the direct and very concentrated heat/basking spot from the mini halogen bulb that reaches close to 95 (only on during the day and currently on a timer).
With all of that, day time ambient air sits at about 78-82 through the day.

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Hint taken about the water bowl. I will keep a small bowl in with mine. It’s a San Felipe from Baja Boas……

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Honestly, it probably doesn’t matter. I’ve never seen one drink. Ever. I think they get sufficient water from food. :slight_smile:

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Given that a rosy boa’s tissues have approximately the same water content as a live rodent, and given that a frozen/thawed rodent contains even less water than a live rodent, and given that a rosy boa’s evaporation rate is not zero, it follows that not providing water is unreasonable.

Animals that are known to subsist without liquid water, for example some kangaroo rats, produce endogenous water. I don’t know that we have evidence of this in Lichanura.

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Very helpful thinking of it this way. Did you see my last response? What do you think of my current temps?

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Yes, sorry – I did see it and gave it a like. :smiley:

If it were me, I might raise the halogen up a bit higher both so that there’s less of a “direct and very concentrated” hot spot, and so that the temp goes down a couple degrees. Better to shoot for a ‘gradient’ rather than a ‘spot’ if possible. But that’s almost nitpicking, and overall it seems like you’re on the right track. Just watch your snake and see if it uses the design you’ve provided.

I don’t recall this being mentioned in the thread, so: some keepers who use open-top enclosures find that they need to provide a moist hide for the rosy to be able to shed well. I never had that need in tubs, but customers have occasionally pointed this out to me about screen top enclosures. Just FYI.

Harquahalas are pretty nice (my pair is), and it looks like you’re going to do well with yours.

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Oops didn’t see that… still new to this platform😬 but I see what you’re saying. I guess overall, the hot spot is in a very specific location but all the other temps are correct. So I think it gives the snake the option to go to the hot spot if it really needs too but all other temps range from mid 70s to mid 80s except for that one locations directly on top of the warm hide.

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Yes, I think you have the temp options for the snake in pretty good shape.

On the other topic, here are two photos I caught just now of rosy boas drinking. Not an unusual sight, since snakes drink all the time, so I never thought it interesting enough to try to photograph before.

Both snakes are in tubs – the first one totally stopped drinking when I opened the tub so that’s the best photo I could get.

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What’s your rooms temp at since you keep them in tubs?

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“Rudy” has arrived!

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Correction… RUSTY

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IMG_4224

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