Heating help........

Today I put my new snake into a new 10 gallon home. I have had her for a week and living in the plastic shoebox type box with a mini uth on the far side of one end. She has eaten twice with no problems so I figured everything to be alright. Tonight I go to checking the temps, just to make sure everything was o.k. before I went to bed and came across something. I have the aspen shavings (1/2" - 3/4" or so) along the whole bottom of the floor, water and one hide on one end and another hide on the heater end. I felt the top of the bedding above the heater and could feel a little bit of warmth coming up so I dug a little deeper and when I hit bottom it was VERY hot to the touch. I dug through and felt around some more and the farther away I got the cooler it was. It seems to be that the glass is the hottest right in the middle of the heater (like only quarter to half-dollar size) and not as much around the outsides of it. I did read a good idea on here somewhere and put a piece of glass from a picture frame between the uth and my wooden stand.

A few questions:

1. Surely the snake is smart enough and has senses to know when it is getting closer to something that keeps getting hotter, so she will not burrow down into the bedding to touch bottom?

2. Is this safe on the glass in the long run? Will it start to crack or stress in that spot?

3. Do they make any type of a thermostat or something that can adjust the heat on the uth? This one just plugs into the wall and has no way to set it to a desired temp. Maybe I bought the wrong kind, but it was kind of expensive.

I know that I need a different type of thermometer as all that I have is the kind you stick to the inside of the wall (mine is even/flush with the top of the bedding). I have read here on the forums about the digital kind but have not yet found one. I just need some help in this current situation to see if there is anything I can do.....or not do. She seems to be fine, not really acting weird and is moving around better. As a matter of fact she has moved alot more this evening than in the last week total. Just cruising around, checking everything out. Maybe thats because of her new home?????

Sorry to sound stupid (it's 1:15 am), I just don't want to damage the snake or her house if I am not doing something right. It seems to me if all of these heaters are made to stick to the bottom or sides of tanks then I should be experiencing exactly what everyone else does. :shrugs:

1) Although a lot of people don't I have always worked on this principle. Using a thermostat if the temp on top is right the snake can go to a spot which is the right temp.

2)I have never used a heat mat on glass but I think it should go either above or below a ceramic tile (someone else can confirm this.

3) you can build a reostat but personally I would just get a cheap thermostat at your LRS

4)Using your strip try to get the temp about 30C on top. Personally I would try to get a digital and prob ASAP. Just add the right thickness of substrate till the temp is right. If you add too much you can get heat pockets building up so be careful.

I onlu use heat mats which don't stick but are made to sit underneath. Sorry I probbly wasn't much help.

If the substrate is feeling even slightly warm to you, it is probably too hot for your snake. Definitely get a digital thermometer with a probe. They can be found at Wal-mart, Target, Home Depot, or similar type stores. I prefer the ones that show both indoor and outdoor temps and humidity at the same time. That way, I can put the probe on the hot end and the unit on the cool end and get readings from both sides. You will need to put the probe directly on the substrate, though I prefer to put it directly on the glass since this is the hottest spot the snake can come into contact with.

Snakes are not overly intelligent creatures. Yes, they will burn themselves. I've seen pictures of burned snakes and it's not a pretty site. While you are in Wal-mart, Target, Home Depot, or a similar type store, pick up a plug in lamp dimmer. They cost about $8 or $9. This way you can control exactly how hot the glass is getting. I don't know if the glass will stress from the heat, but this will solve that problem, too.

Good luck with your snake.

To add to the last part of BeckyG post. Here's a link to build your own rheostat.

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19168

Good Luck :cheers:

I am sorry, I thought that all peeps attatched their uth to the tank. I just figured that the glass will always be hotter than the top of the substrate so I guess the only way you control that is by how much bedding you have to use to get it to the right temp. I put her hide right over the top of the hot spot so she could not touch the glass directly. I was also thinking that I had to have some fancy digital with long probe and all kinds of wires or something. We have a normal digital thermometer like humans use here at the house, will try that. Thank yall for your help.

gwb8568 said:

I am sorry, I thought that all peeps attatched their uth to the tank. I just figured that the glass will always be hotter than the top of the substrate so I guess the only way you control that is by how much bedding you have to use to get it to the right temp. I put her hide right over the top of the hot spot so she could not touch the glass directly. I was also thinking that I had to have some fancy digital with long probe and all kinds of wires or something. We have a normal digital thermometer like humans use here at the house, will try that. Thank yall for your help.

Click to expand...

Most do!!... Some just attach a plane of glass or ceramic tile to it to help disperse the heat. I didn't do either, I just duck taped mine on the bottom of the Viv. Most folks use something to regulate the amount of heat the UTH put out with either a thermostat or rheostat. To get good reading of the temperatures of the substrate where the snake is... use a indoor/out door type of thermometer with a probe and place the probe in the substrate above the uth where a hide should be. This is better than a stick on one that measure air temperatures above the substrate and snake.

It sounds like your uth is defective! I use uth's underneath some glass aquariums, and on the side of others where I can't put underneath. (Underneath is best.) None of them have one little very hot spot, and the rest cooler. Did you remove it from the plastic shoebox then restick it to the glass? I've done this a few times, but I know there is always a chance of breaking the wires in it. (The manufacturers usually warn not to do that.) You may want to take it back to the store where you bought it and trade it in for another if its defective. What brand and what size are you using? This makes a big difference. There are heat mats that are much hotter, I think made for snakes that like warmer temps. Mine are all Zoomed, and I use the mini size for my ten gallon. Even though it says "up to 5 gallons, its the right size and temp. I don't use the small size which is a 10-20 gallon one because its just too big, made really for the 20 gallon. Tell us more about your set up.

BTW, my temps have been consistent, though each uth varies just a little, so I haven't used a rheostat, (or whatever,) though many recommend it. I think a lot of folks here have big rack systems instead of aquariums/terrariums, so they tend to use things like flexwatt and fancy heating systems.

Update.........

I finally found this last week and after a few days of messing with it, got it set and working. Bought it at Home Depot for $9.99 after three different employees did not know what a rheostat was or had any idea of what I wanted. Seems to be working pretty good for me so far and thought I would share it with anyone else. Thanks again for your help and replies.