Facilities

Caging

Our Habitat Systems environments were built to our specifications and represent the culmination of everything that we have learned over the years in raising and reproducing Amazon Basin Emerald Tree Boas.

Temperature Control

Each cage has a 40 watt heat panel mounted on the left side of the cage ceiling which creates a substantial temperature gradient for the snake. We use Johnson Control thermostats to maintain our daytime and nighttime temperatures. The thermostats sample ambient temperature from the opposite side of the cage from the heat panel. 

Perch System

Our adult and sub-adult cages use epoxy resin sculpted perches from Ron Rundo of InsertsWork. The perches are hand made and painted with acrylic paint and then coated with semi-gloss polyurethane for durability. The perches use a pin system that allows them to simply lift out making the removal of an animal quite easy. 

Water & Misting System

Living in Colorado presents quite a challenge in maintaining humidity in our Basin cages. The typical year round humidity in our snake rooms ranges from 60 to 70 percent. The humidity range we need to maintain for the Basins is in the 60 to 80 percent range. Consequently, we designed a misting system using misting heads from Kimist, programmable digital timers from Intermedic with multiple zones and pumps from Pro-Products and Reptile Basics.

The Rain Chamber

Some collectors live in climate zones such as Florida that are suitable for taking their animals outside and allowing exercise on specially built "jungle gyms". Frequently these collectors will "rain" on these animals with a hose which often stimulates the Basin to defecate. Living in Colorado, we do not have this luxury and therefore have developed a device we call the "Rain Chamber".

Cage Floor Substrate

From our experience, Basins periodically like to rest or crawl on the cage floor. As such, filling the bottom of the cage with water can be quite restrictive for your animals. We have found that using disposable underpads is a good solution for providing a suitable substrate for holding moisture from the misting system in order to maintain humidity and for providing a surface for your animals to occasionally crawl on, rest on or give birth on. The pads fit the bottom of the cage perfectly and seem to be resistant to mold. The pads need to be changed every few weeks depending on how quickly they become soiled.

Network Cameras

In order to observe our animals remotely without disturbing them, we use Nest network cameras.

These cameras also have an infrared mode in which our Basins can be observed, filmed or photographed while in complete darkness.

Our set up allows for camera control and observation from anywhere in the world through Internet or Smartphone access.