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Temperature Concerns

H

hypergirl20000

New member
This Saturday i am going to get my very first corn snake. What has been worrying me is the extreme temperatures of my house. I do not have central heat and air, so when it is hot outside, my house is as well. At the moment it is snowing outside and my house is freezing except for my wall heating unit. I do have a heat lamp, so i am thinking that the winter will be ok. Is that right? Also, i live in Texas, so it gets very hot here. What will i do to protect my snake from the hot weather? Could it hurt him?

Thank you for your help!
Stacey

P.s. how can i tell if the snake is a boy or girl? Just wondering...
 
In the summer it depends on how hot you are talking. If you have a basement, that might be an option (since they tend to be cooler).

In the winter you will likely need a heat source if your house is cold. The heat lamp would work, but I suggest getting a UTH (under tank heater) and not using the heat lamp. Lamps tend to dry the air. Plus, belly heat is generally considered to be more favorable for digestion.
 
You should get a UTH (Under Tank Heater) with your setup, along with a thermostat to check temperature. If you have a problem maintaining the correct temps, then maybe add a heat lamp to augment the UTH. Because temps are so important in the caring of a snake, I would suggest you get your setup up and running, with good temps being maintained, before you introduce a new snake. Fix any problems first, then it's smooooth sailing.

When it gets hot in Texas, how do you keep cool? If you use an air conditioner, don't have the airflow directly on the snake's home. If a fan: have it fast enough to circulate the air in the room the snake's in (and a ice cube in his water bowl couldn't hurt). Just make sure the humidity is at the proper level.

As for sexing your snake: GO TO A VET! But to "see" how it's done, click here. (Professional personnel, in a controlled environment: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!)
 
In the summer, my house is pretty much a constant heat of about 85-90 F. I do not have a basement. I will be sure to remember the ice cube. I have a window unit that i can put by the location of my cage. Would that work out? With it i can keep the house at about 70 F.

Thank you for all of your help!

Stacey
 
85-90 isn't so bad. A fan on high to keep air moving *should* keep your snake reasonably comfortable. The native range of these animals is the southeast US, so they can handle some fairly high temps and humidity. As long as the ambient temperature inside the vivarium is not a CONSTANT 90+*F, you should be OK.

Heck...at my house, the average summertime temperature is 105*F. We regularly hit 115. I haven't had mine in my house through the summer yet. I'm gonna have to work on thermoregulation of my apartment something fierce. I'm expecting some fairly high electric bills from my a/c unit this year :rolleyes: ...

I wouldn't recommend putting a cooler near the viv. Blowing cold air can cause extreme drafts and respiratory problems in snakes. As long as the ambient temperature in the room you are keeping the snake is not stiflingly hot, you should do OK.
 
_But_ in the southeast it still cools down to the 70's at night in the summer. Is there a cooler room without windows that you could keep him in in the summer? Otherwise, the room with the window AC would be fine. Really, if you only cool the room to 80, that would probably be ok. It was 80 in my house today!

Nanci
 
I keep Demeters habitat at a constant 85-90 degrees. If she wants to get out of the heat, she has a hide that she can cool down in. Arent snakes awesome?
 
Stock350 said:
I keep Demeters habitat at a constant 85-90 degrees. If she wants to get out of the heat, she has a hide that she can cool down in.
Click to expand...
Do you mean you keep the warm side at 85-90 degrees, and the hide is on the cool side? What is the temp on the cool side?
 
Temp

Joolz68 said:
Do you mean you keep the warm side at 85-90 degrees, and the hide is on the cool side? What is the temp on the cool side?
Click to expand...


The warm side is between 85-90. Not real sure what the cool side is, I have yet to get a temp gage for that side. Its a ten gallon tank, and the heat lamp is on the left side with the hide on the ride side out from under the heat lamp.

She seems content so I havent made any drastic changes to the habitat.


I dont have an UTH, any advice if you think I should make any changes?
 
Yes...have a hide on each side of the viv, and use a UTH with thermostat or rheostat. While she may not be showing signs of stress, a heat lamp alone on a ten gallon tank can actually heat the whole thing and provide no heat gradient. Get a second thermometer to measure the temps on the cool side, and than make the investment kinto a UTH and thermostat or rheostat.

But above everything else, have a hide on both sides of the aquarium...
 
My kitchen does just have one window, and it usually is the one that stays coolest, summer or winter. I'll check out the temperatures. Also, would it be best to use a heating mat on the bottom of the cage? I really want to be sure that i have everything right before i go get my snake. I am worried about the substrate, as well. I hear astroturf works fine, but i also hear that i should use a sort of mulch-type bedding.

Thank you to everyone for all of your help,
Stacey
 
I've heard astroturf is fine although it's recommended that you get two lots so that you can lay a clean one down whilst washing and waiting for the other to dry

I'm swapping from corn cob to aspen when I next clean the tank out fully. Seems to be recommended as much as other other and it's cheap!

My heat mat is under the tank rather than in it and I've got polystyrene tiles under the mat to prevent the heat escaping
 
Hypergirl,,did I read it right,"your home runs between 85-90 in the summer"??
:sidestep: DANG,,thats HOT.I keep my house at 68 to 70 in the summer.
Texas would kill me :eek1:
 
RachelS said:
My heat mat is under the tank rather than in it and I've got polystyrene tiles under the mat to prevent the heat escaping
Click to expand...

make sure you aren't going to start a fire there
your snake would be the first to go
followed quickly by everything else you own

these UTH's really scare me
especially when people put stuff under or around them
 
well, the forcast for this weekend is 8" of snow, so i think i will wait till next weekend or so. I really don't want it getting so cold, since the place i have picked out is in front of a window. Once it hits spring, i suppose that would be the best time. I have already set up the cage and i am going to starting monitoring the temps that i receive. I am really afraid of getting the snake and not having everything set up. I want to take really good care of it. Thank you so much for your support.
 
I would recommend you not put a tank in front of a window. In the summer time especially, but in the winter also, the sun shining through the glass walls of the viv will cause it to overheat rather quickly.
 
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