Temperature question

[Sluggo_63]

I just bought a digital thermometer with a probe as suggested in another thread.

I put the probe on top of the substrate (about 2" of YN) and the temp on the warm side was approx. 86 deg.

Out of curiosity, I buried the probe so it touched the glass at the bottom of the viv on the hot side and the temp shot up to 100 deg! Now I'm concerned. My corn doesn't seem to burrow, but I wanted to turn down the heat (with the homemade rheostat) so he doesn't burn if he does decide to burrow. My concern now is that he'll be too cool on top of the sub if I turn down the heat too much.

Maybe I should switch to aspen if it's a better conductor of heat, that way it'll be a more uniform temperature from the bottom to the top.

Sorry for the long post, but I'm new at this, and a little worried that I'm taking care of 'Godzilla' correctly.

Thanks.

 

[SnakeLuvrs]

I just bought a digital thermometer with a probe as suggested in another thread.

I put the probe on top of the substrate (about 2" of YN) and the temp on the warm side was approx. 86 deg.

Out of curiosity, I buried the probe so it touched the glass at the bottom of the viv on the hot side and the temp shot up to 100 deg! Now I'm concerned. My corn doesn't seem to burrow, but I wanted to turn down the heat (with the homemade rheostat) so he doesn't burn if he does decide to burrow. My concern now is that he'll be too cool on top of the sub if I turn down the heat too much.

Maybe I should switch to aspen if it's a better conductor of heat, that way it'll be a more uniform temperature from the bottom to the top.

Sorry for the long post, but I'm new at this, and a little worried that I'm taking care of 'Godzilla' correctly.

Thanks.

I will assume you have a UTH, if this is the case I would recomend a heat lamp with a 30 whatt bulb...unless your tank is larger then 20gal long...snakes can burn their bellies very easily with the UTH

 

[graffixcs]

Aspen won't conduct heat. The loose fibers of aspen will allow some heat to radiate through it to some degree. I would suggest setting your temps to 84-85F at the glass surface, this is the hottest point your snake can come in contact with, 100F is way too hot. It is just not safe to assume he/she will not burrow.

Don't worry about the top of the bedding being too cold, corns will seek the warmth if they feel the need and are willing burrowers, especially in aspen as it is so easy for them.

Good luck.

 

[pcar]

I agree with Graffixcs. You want your probe at the source of the heat to control it there. not on top. The other thing that you could do to help distribute the heat from the UTH is to get some tiles and place them over the UTH (inside the viv) between the substrate and the glass. This will help to radiate the heat and distribute it more evenly around the area. And, will keep the snake from coming in direct contact with the UTH.

The only problem with using a heat lamp is that they will dry the air out and it will be harder to keep the humidity where it is needed. Especially if you are in a drier climate already.

 

[Wilder]

The only problem with using a heat lamp is that they will dry the air out and it will be harder to keep the humidity where it is needed. Especially if you are in a drier climate already.

Yes... and besides which, corn snakes do better with belly heat. Since they are nocturnal you generally won't find them laying out in the sun to catch some warmth on their back, but they will lay on things like blacktop once the sun has gone down to warm up.

The rheostat is cheap and easy to make, and even buying one isn't so expensive. In using it you can better give the snake a habitat similar to its natural environment. Good luck!