Will a regular light bulb provide sufficient heat to a red tailed boa ?
I recently bought a baby red taield boa (18 inches long) and all i have is a regular lightbulb. Will that provide enough heat for him? If not please help me its my first snake.
Regular light bulbs do not provide a suitable temperature gradient or warmth for a red tail. Really any snake for that matter. Add on to that the risk of your boa coming into contact with the bulb and burning itself. Regular incandescent lighting also can be a fire hazard if it's wired up improperly. A much, much better alternative are under the tank heaters (UTHs). You can use radiant heat panels as well. In either case, they are very easy to wire up. If you go the UTH route, then there's a product called Flexwatt. It was originally intended for heating floors, but got co opted by various reptile enthusiasts. It comes in 3 inch, four inch and eleven inch wide by one foot pieces. Owing to the fact that you have a red tail, get two or three eleven foot pieces, plus the wiring kit. All this would cost you around 20 bucks. Then just hook up the clips to one piece for your baby boa, and you can add on more pieces as the boa grows older and larger. However, if you go this route you will need a thermostat/rheostat. Flexwatt if simply plugged into the wall can get up to 120 degrees so you'll need some means to control the temps. I went with a Ranco ETC 111000 prewired thermostat. I like it because it has multiple outlets so I can keep multiple boas all on one thermostat. It is programmable so you can just set and forget.
Here's some helpful links if you do decide to get flexwatt:
http://www.reptilebasics.com/Flexwatt-Heat-Tape-p-1-c-297.html
http://www.reptilebasics.com/Thermostats-p-1-c-250.html
http://www.herpo.com/cages/wiring.html
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56085
Radiant heat panels are another good option. You can mount these on the side of the cages wall and set them to your desired temp. Best of all you can put these directly in the cages, because the snakes cannot burn themselves if they come into contact. The only downside is that they can be pricey.
Here's a link to a radiant heat panel for information:
http://www.reptilebasics.com/RBI-Radiant-Heat-Panels-p-1-c-283.html
Good luck.
More Info:
10X T10 5 SMD 5050 3Chips 184 192 W5W Wedge Car Auto LED LIGHT Bulbs RED, 10X T10 W5W 168 194 Parking Step Courtesy Side Door Light BULB 1SMD CAR LED RED, Discount 10X T10 4 SMD 168 194 Car auto LED Bulbs Licence Plate Light lamp RED, New Tail Light Passenger Side With Bulbs Clear red lens RH Right Hand, 10X T10 194 168 W5W 5050 5 SMD LED Car Auto Side Wedge Light Bulb Lamp Red, LED RED 2X STOP TAIL LIGHT LED BULBS DUAL BEAM LAMP T25 3157 3057 4157 4057 a/M, 10x Super Red 5SMD LED T10 Dome Light Bulb FOR Chrysler 300M Buick Regal Mazda 6, New Tail Light Driver Side With Bulbs Clear red lens LH Left Hand TO2800151, 2x Red 3156 68-SMD Led For Brake / Stop Tail Light Rear Lamp Car Bulbs 3056 3356, New Tail Light Driver Side With Bulbs Red lens LH Left Hand NI2800165 265556Z825, 10X T10 W5W 194 Car 1 SMD LED Side Light Bulbs 1W Red, 2X T10 W5W 168 194 Parking Step Courtesy Side Door Light BULB 1SMD CAR LED RED, Car Auto Red Flexible 48 LED Bulb Grill Light Strip 12V, 4X T10 1 LED 168 194 Wedge light Car dashboard lamp Bulbs DC12V Red, Pack of 12 Red LED C6 Replacement Christmas Light Bulbs - Green Husk, 2 T25 1157 P21/5W Red 45 LED Tail Brake Light Bulb Lamp, 2 1157 Red 42 SMD LED Car Tail Turn Signal Light Bulb, 2x Red 3156 68-SMD Led For Brake / Stop Tail Light Rear Lamp Car Bulbs 3056 3356, Red Light Bulb Cage Drop Light Industrial Steampunk Lamp Machine Age Sprinkler, 4157 Super Red 68 SMD LED light bulb 3157 3156 4156 12v, Head light fairing+bulb+bracket for dualsport honda xr 400 650 crf230 super moto, 2X RED T10 3-LED 2825/168/194 STEP COURTESY LIGHT BULBS, New Red 10x T10 5SMD 5050 194 168 Car 5 LED Indicator Light Bulbs Lamp Bulb, 2pc 7443 T20 Dual Contact 68x 3528 SMD LED Red Tail Light Rear Lamp Bulb DC 12V, 2x 7443 7440 15 LED Turn Signal parking Tail Stop Brake Light bulb RED 992 7441, 2x 3157 3156 24 LED Tail Stop Brake Light bulb parking Turn Signal 3057 4157 RED, 1157 BAY15d 18 SMD LED Turn Signal Tail Brake Stop Light Fog lamp 7528 2357 Red, New Tail Light Driver Side With Bulbs Amber clear red lens Truck 4 Runner LH, 2X 194 168 T10 5 SMD 5050 LED Car Light Bulb Red, New Tail Light Passenger Side With Bulbs Clear red lens RH Right Hand, 15 Red/Blue 5mm 3 Pins Diffused Common Cathode LED Light Bulb, Rear STOP BOAT CAR MARINE 12V 1142 1156 BA15D BAYONET 36-LED Red LIGHT BULB 128A, 2Pcs Side Dashboard Car Auto Red LED Bulb Wedge Light Lamp, 2-PCS RED T10 194 2825 168 LED TRUNK CARGO LIGHT BULBS, High Power Red LED T10 Wedge Light Bulb 194 168 152, 2PCS T10 5050 SMD 12V Red CAR Wedge 5 LED LIGHT BULB Lamp W5W 168 193 194 147, 20X 5mm LED 22cm PRE WIRED RED Bulb Light Set 12V DC, 2X Bright T10 9-SMD 192 193 Back Up/Reverse car Light LED Bulbs RED, 2x 9 LED Bulb BA15-S 1073 1141 1156 Car Boat Light Red, 200 pc 5mm Red LED Super Bright Round Light Bulbs Y, 4X T10 W5W 194 Car 1 SMD LED Side Light Bulbs 1W Red, New Tail Light Driver Side With Bulbs Red lens LH Left Hand NI2800130 B65550B200, 2x 1157/Bay15d Super Red 68 3528 SMD LED Tail Light Rear Lamp Bulb DC 12V 2pc, New Tail Light Driver Side With Bulbs Clear & red lens Town Country LH Left, 4X T10 168 194 2825 4-SMD Car LED Licence Plate Light Bulbs RED, 2PCS 168/194/2825 T10 5-LED FRONT SIDEMARKER WEDGE LIGHT BULBS SUPER RED, CAPA Tail Light Driver Side With Bulbs Red lens LH Left Hand Sedan HO2800153C, 96-02 MERCEDES-BENZ W210 SEDAN 4DR LED TAIL BRAKE LIGHT RED/CLEAR 97 98 99 00 01, 2x 1157 T25 BAY15D 2057 Red 18 LED Car Turn Brake Tail Light Bulb Lamp, LED RED 3RD BRAKE LIGHT CENTER STOP BULB LAMP T10 906 912 921 922 2825 168 a/J,