New snake owner!

[Jbaker2713]

Hi all! I recently acquired a 6 month old, male, Dumeril's Boa. I am certainly not new to reptiles, but this is my first snake so I am a bit nervous about getting everything right! I have a few questions that I hope y'all can answer for me.

First, as far as heating goes, what do yall recommend? I currently have a heat lamp on him (warm side is about 88 degrees) based off a recommendation by the guy who sold him to me, who is a very reputable person in my area. So my question is would yall recommend a heat lamp or a heating pad of some sort? Also, do you leave heat on all the time or have a small temperature drop at night?
As far as humidity goes, what would y'all recommend in order to correctly gauge it?
Also, when you thaw the rodents, what is the best/easiest way y'all recommend?

Feel free to share any experiences you have! I just want to make sure I do everything correctly! Thanks!

[pdomensis]

I don't know dums in particular so I can't speak on target temps and humidity, but I would recommend heating with a radiant heat panel with a thermostat. Night drops are unnecessary, just keep a good temperature gradient. Get a temp gun (laser) to measure your heat, and a digital thermometer/hygrometer to mount on the wall.

For feeding, frozen/thawed is easiest, cheapest, and safest. Sometimes it takes a bit to get them to accept one, but in most cases it just takes some persistence.

Post pics of your enclosure, etc to get better feedback. Cheers!

[EL Ziggy]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new addition. I don't keep boas but in general I would say radiant heat panels or under tank heaters are your best options for heat sources. Whatever heat source you choose should be controlled by a thermostat.
As far as thawing rodents you can put them in a sandwich bag in warm water for a while but make sure the water isn't too hot or they may burst. I let mine thaw naturally to room temperature and then warm them up with a hair dryer before serving them to the snakes. Best wishes!

[Kera]

Welcome! Like others have said, RHP's and UTH's are recommended but you can definitely make a heat lamp work, it's just a little bit tougher to do. Just do a quick online search for Dumeril's care sheets, look at a few and you'll get a good idea of temps, humidity, etc.

As for thawing the rats/mice, I just get some warm/hot water in an old Tupperware container and throw the rats in. I usually wait about 30 minutes or until the water becomes cold, then put them in new warm water for 5-10 minutes so that they aren't only thawed but also warm. Some people keep them in bags in the water, some people use hair dryers to warm them, others just leave them out to thaw, etc. As long as the food isn't still frozen in the middle, you're good.

DON'T WARM THEM IN THE MICROWAVE. From what I've heard they explode, like a hot dog when you don't poke holes in it. Except it's with nasty guts and rat smell. lol. Welcome.

[Dan84]

I actually have a 6 month old Dumeril's as well. I use flexwatt tape and I believe that UTH for Dumeril's is best since they like to burrow. Even in her hide, my Dum is usually underneath the shavings up against the heater. I will however be getting a RHP in the winter to help with ambient temps.

Also, how big is your Dum? I'm finding all sorts of numbers online for the weight at this age. Mine was 236g and about 26.5" a week ago.

[marvelfreak]

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They cover everything else.

[aaron_cg]

When I keep my dumerils a while back, he loved to borrow. So, I kept an uth on a thermostat for heat.

Love the dum, hopefully I'll be able to aquire another shortly.

[AbioticApple]

I just recently acquired a Dumeril's boa as well. I've had him for about a month now, I used to just have a heat pad but for some reason he avoided it whenever I moved it to the spot he usually lays he moves away from it, so now I just have a heat lamp and it's been working so far.

[Trent]

hi and welcome!

[virtuousvixen]

Hey and Welcome