Brazilian Rainbow Boa

Question
QUESTION: Hi im just getting a brazilian rainbow boa and im wondering how much i need for heat? I have a heat pad that goes under the tank and i have a overhead lite that puts off some heat. Will that be enough or will i need more?

ANSWER: Hi Jordan, You definitely should not need any more then that. Depending on the size of your BRB and the amount of substrate you are using you may be able to use just the heat pad. Definitely invest in a good thermometer and possibly a thermostat for your heating devices, Brazilians are easy to overheat and  dry out and they are not very tolerant of either. Temp. and humidity parameters are important for this species. Aim for a basking area of around 85-87F in one end of the tank. If you have a very thick level of substrate (to keep the humidity up) then you may need to use a low wattage bulb in addition to the heat pad. I prefer to always have a large humid hide in with BRBs as well as a fairly large water dish rather then  relying too much on the substrate to provide the humidity. If you can keep the substrate at a modest level you may not need the additional bulb (bulbs tend to dry out an enclosure).  If you have time, I would suggest setting up the enclosure before your snake arrives and getting the temp. and humidity levels stable. You don't want the temp. straying into the 90's with your boa in there!

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QUESTION: Alright thx. So will I need to have a night light on the tank too? Because I heard they need a night time low temperature too so...

Answer
Hi Jordan, If you are using both the pad and the bulb then you can turn the bulb off at night and leave just the pad on. If you are using just the pad then I would suggest just leaving it on all the time. If you decide to use just a heat lamp then that can go off at night provided the room temperature is at least in the low 70'S F. If the room is cool (below 70F) at night then you will need some small supplemental heat on the tank. The enclosure should not go below 70F at night.