CornSnakes.com Forums  
  Tired of those Google and InfoLinks ads? Register and log in!

Go Back   CornSnakes.com Forums > The CornSnake Forums > Husbandry and Basic Care
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

Husbandry and Basic Care General stuff about keeping and maintaining cornsnakes in captivity.

Heating Question(s)
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-08-2018, 05:37 PM   #11
Karl_Mcknight
Do you have any "Proof" that thermostats fail in an off position?

I have researched this and found they can and do fail in both the open and closed position.

And if it did fail while "On" according to you, this will not hurt the corn snake, and if it failed in the "Off" position according to a lot of other people, corn snakes can and do tolerate room temperatures just fine.

So how is either case detrimental to the snake?

In reality, the heat pad adds to the Comfort of the snake, and possibly the long term health, but if the thermostat fails for a day or two, it's probably no big deal.

After saying all this, I have used both Cheap Thermostats and Rheostats, and currently have a pretty nice more expensive thermostat, and in 42+ years of keeping snakes, I've never had a thermostat to fail.
 
Old 01-09-2018, 08:50 AM   #12
AwesomeO81
The thermostat I was using was the zilla dial one. It seemed to have good enough reviews. I took the advice here and bought a temp gun at Lowes. If anything, it was running 2-3 degrees warmer. So the hide is now at varying temps between 85-90. The snake is pretty active and eating well. All seems to be going according to plan.
 
Old 01-09-2018, 11:58 AM   #13
Dragonling
Quote:
Originally Posted by daddio207 View Post
By adding a way to control the temp of a UTH you are adding an item that when it fails it fails in the OFF position. Since stats are unnecessary with corn snakes specifically, why add something that could cost the life of the animal if it fails.
I'm still not sure I understand why corns specifically somehow inherently don't need regulation with heat mats. I have a small mat on a tub that is appropriately sized for a 10g tank that unregulated sits at around 95-97°F below the substrate. It's fine for the BP it's currently heating, especially since she doesn't seem interested in burrowing, but I don't think I'd put a corn in there. My very large ZooMed mat hits 140°F, and while that certainly helps properly heat a 40g tank, that's still quite a hot spot for a corn snake cage.
 
Old 01-11-2018, 11:32 AM   #14
Twolunger
Quote:
Originally Posted by Karl_Mcknight View Post
Do you have any "Proof" that thermostats fail in an off position?

I have researched this and found they can and do fail in both the open and closed position.

And if it did fail while "On" according to you, this will not hurt the corn snake, and if it failed in the "Off" position according to a lot of other people, corn snakes can and do tolerate room temperatures just fine.

So how is either case detrimental to the snake?

In reality, the heat pad adds to the Comfort of the snake, and possibly the long term health, but if the thermostat fails for a day or two, it's probably no big deal.

After saying all this, I have used both Cheap Thermostats and Rheostats, and currently have a pretty nice more expensive thermostat, and in 42+ years of keeping snakes, I've never had a thermostat to fail.
Thermostats do indeed fail in either position, however, it is more common to have them fail in the off position. Boa and python breeders recognize that fact and often use what they call "redundancy," a back up thermostat on their systems. Failing in the on position can be a disaster, and I have read reports of fires or damage to rack systems because of heat tapes or cables. A friend of mine had his shed burn to the ground because of a failed thermostat. The typical forum member doesn't have to worry about that, but should monitor the heat in the vivarium often, or take notice of a change in their snake's usual hide preference. If a corn prefers a hide on the warm side but stays as far away from it as possible, you should investigate. I have used unregulated UTH on my glass vivs in the past, but my ambient room temperature was kept at a constant 78 degrees. Checking the warm side of the viv showed a temp of 84, which didn't fluctuate. For those living in the north their ambient room temps could be as low as 68-72, thus more heat would be required in the viv. The heat could be provided by using a larger UTH and regulating it. Some may opt for a heat bulb, and while I wouldn't suggest it, I can guarantee someone is using one as I type this. The one thing most of us can agree upon is that proper heat is necessary for our corn snake's comfort, and extremely necessary for proper food digestion. As I have mentioned in the past, I don't trust any electrical device, so have thermometers with alarms. I test them often too.
 
Old 01-11-2018, 05:36 PM   #15
Karl_Mcknight
Quote:
Originally Posted by Twolunger View Post
Thermostats do indeed fail in either position, however, it is more common to have them fail in the off position. Boa and python breeders recognize that fact and often use what they call "redundancy," a back up thermostat on their systems. Failing in the on position can be a disaster, and I have read reports of fires or damage to rack systems because of heat tapes or cables. A friend of mine had his shed burn to the ground because of a failed thermostat. The typical forum member doesn't have to worry about that, but should monitor the heat in the vivarium often, or take notice of a change in their snake's usual hide preference. If a corn prefers a hide on the warm side but stays as far away from it as possible, you should investigate. I have used unregulated UTH on my glass vivs in the past, but my ambient room temperature was kept at a constant 78 degrees. Checking the warm side of the viv showed a temp of 84, which didn't fluctuate. For those living in the north their ambient room temps could be as low as 68-72, thus more heat would be required in the viv. The heat could be provided by using a larger UTH and regulating it. Some may opt for a heat bulb, and while I wouldn't suggest it, I can guarantee someone is using one as I type this. The one thing most of us can agree upon is that proper heat is necessary for our corn snake's comfort, and extremely necessary for proper food digestion. As I have mentioned in the past, I don't trust any electrical device, so have thermometers with alarms. I test them often too.
You're "preaching to the Choir dude."

Go back and read what Daddy O Posted. I was responding to him.
 
Old 01-12-2018, 02:30 AM   #16
Twolunger
Quote:
Originally Posted by Karl_Mcknight View Post
You're "preaching to the Choir dude."

Go back and read what Daddy O Posted. I was responding to him.
I was agreeing with you. Thermostats can fail in either position, although off position is more common.
 

Join now to reply to this thread or open new ones for your questions & comments! Cornsnakes.com is the largest online community dedicated to cornsnakes . Registration is open to everyone and FREE. Click Here to Register!

Google
 
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:42 PM.





Fauna Top Sites
 

Powered by vBulletin® Version
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Page generated in 0.05696607 seconds with 11 queries
Copyright Rich Zuchowski/SerpenCo