Specific heating-questions

I have been searching the forum and reading discussions about heating,
but I can't seem to find the answer to some things so if anybody could help me out I would appreciate it.

I have (somewhat unintentionally) gotten quite a big temperature gradient in the viv. The lowest temp (on the cold side) is about 24C/75F while the hot side is at about 35C/95F at it's hottest. Sometimes higher!

Now my question is, that since the viv is quite big (250 lit./66 gallon), is this gradient ok? Since the little guy (that is about to move in) can thermo-regulate by moving from side to side, it should be alright, right?

I'm only asking this since I have seen maximum temperatures mentioned many times, and I'm wondering if this REALLY applies with a gradient?

I should be able to see if he prefers one side and change the temp accordingly, but are there any obvious problems with this setup that you can see?

Thanx in advance,

-sawsehel

I'd see if I couldn't bring the high temp down a little since 95 is a bit excessive. Better safe than sorry.

Aye as DAND said 95 on your warm end is pretty hot, you need to get that temp down to the 80's. If you snake needs warmth you don't want him to get burned if it is above 95.

High temps can cause regurg's and problems for your snake. I don't care how big your inclosure is.

Also how old is your snake that your getting?

What sort of heating are you using? If you are using both an UTH and a light, I would do away with one of them. If you are using just an UTH, you can get a thermostat to turn it down a bit. If you do a search, you can find a way to make your own cheap thermostat.

No matter what, a snake in captivity will choose security over proper temperature. If there is something on the cool side that bothers him, or he doesn't like the hides there, or whatever, he'll choose the hot side. Corns cannot stand temperatures above 90 degrees for more than a few minutes.

Ok.
I got rid of the spotlight and I'm only using a uth now.
Might replace the spotlight bulb with a nighttime light or something so that shouldn't be a problem.

There are plenty of hides around, delicups, a ceramic pot, a piece of bark et.c., so I hope he finds one that is to his liking.

He is a juvenile and I have read much about keeping juveniles in large tanks but I have it decorated in such a way that he really should be able to find a secure place to hide in any place of the viv.

Ok, the temps are going down a bit now. If they still don't fall as much as they should I guess I'll just have to turn the uth down.

Didn't know that snakes preferred security over temperature,
but hey, you learn something new everyday.

Thanx everybody! (Tack!)

There is no way to safley make a thermostatunless you are an electriction...Buy one, you can get a johnson controls for 85 bucks and it will never fail...I even have one ill sell ya...

justcage said:

There is no way to safley make a thermostatunless you are an electriction...

Click to expand...

If you think the problem is the fact that someone is messing with the wiring, this isn't true. Actually, I'm nowhere close to being an electrician (and never will be) and I safely attacted a dimmer to my heating stuff. Its perfectly safe, and very easy. Heck, the instructions are right on the box. I also did the wiring for my own lighting setup for the snakes and the wiring for several other electric projects involving my snakes. It doesn't take a degree in electical engineering, only a bit of common sense. While this doesn't give you automatic temperature adjustment, it can turn down the heat on the heating pad or whatever so it isn't dangerous. Its a good route to go for someone on a budget (like me). Plus, all the hundreds of people using flexwatt tape for their snake racks had to do their own wiring for that stuff and none of them electrocuted themselves (*note: if anyone did, don't mention it...I'm trying to prove a point j/k).

A dimmer is not a thermostat! A dimmer adjusts the tempture to a specified point and stays there. The heating element will raise or lower depending on the temps in the room. A thermostat will raise or lower the temps on the heating element to the specified point you set it at no matter what the room temp is..Better do some more reading...

Well, all right, I wasn't being that technical by calling it a thermostat. However, you don't neccessarily need a thermostat if you are willing to monitor the temperatures in the cage, and the dimmer makes it possible to turn down the UTH. I believe it is called a rheostat? I didn't use that terminology because I wasn't sure whether it was correct.