| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Jorge666 |
Posted - 25/03/2012 : 18:32:27
Ok so probably gonna sound long winded but... I bought myself a baby (male I'm told) brazilian rainbow, he's about 20 inch maybe, absolutely stunning, lovely to hold only struck once (when he was cold and stressed the day I got him) I keep him in a 24"x 12"x 12" viv glass front (didn't wanna get anything too big to start as I thought maybe he'd get scared? Problem is I spend all day at work and the ambient temperature of my flat is fairly low and thus the heating mat I got did nothing to bring up the temp of his viv and it was hovering around 19c he was really cold and slow, I think if I had 5 of these mats it wouldn't get warm enough, so I bought and fitted a small light which brought the temperature to a nice 30c which he seems more active and happy when I handle him, but it dries out the substrate pretty quickly 4-5 hours or so and the humidity will drop below 60% so I'm afraid to leave him as I work long hours but the temp is too low without having the light on, I have a cave with damp moss for him and also a water bowl (which I've just moved to the warm side to see if it brings the humidity up) but he used to like sitting behind it(when it was in the cool side) I'm assuming to cool down and stuff so I dunno what to do? Maybe a bigger viv so the humidity can remain stable or what? Sorry it's long! But I don't want him to die :( |
| 1 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Snakesitter |
Posted - 27/03/2012 : 20:44:52
Jorge, you are correct that 19C is too low, but 30C is way too high. The "sweet spot" for a Brazilian Rainbow is 22C to 28C. Exposure to temps too far below that point can cuase respiratory infections, and exposure to temps above that point can cause dehydration and death -- even if there is access to water (unless they have a cool retreat).
Is the bulb attached to a thermost of any type (a device that senses and regulates temperature, cutting off power to the heating element when it gets too warm)? And do you know the temp on the cool side?
In the meantime, placing the water under the heat will help with the humidity, but keep the moss hide on the other (cool) side so he he has a cool retreat. You can also try misting the viv once per day.
Finally, what type of lid do you use? Solid is better than screen. |
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