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Cold Climate (heating worries)

S

smale492

New member
So I know that my soon to be snake needs a cold and warm side, and I plan on getting a heat mat and such to be able to regulate the warm side (still looking for a thermostat I can hook in to the heat mat to help do that any suggestions would be great).
My main concern is that I will be in wisconsin and Illinois where it gets pretty dang cold. I am just worried the cold side might get a little too cold, and i have no idea how I would deal with that if it were to occur.

Also do people recommend just a heat mat for corn snakes or a lamp mat combo. Thanks in advance.
 
What temperature do you heat your house to? If you feel your house gets too cold in the winter, and you don't want to heat the whole house/room up to room temperature, you can always have a second heat mat with a second thermometer set to room temperature on the cold side of the cage. My house drops to probably as low as 65 degrees at times, and I've never noticed any ill effects on my snakes. In fact, they don't even move over to their warm side at those temperatures. They'll still hang out on the cold side and seem perfectly happy.
 
albertagirl said:
What temperature do you heat your house to? If you feel your house gets too cold in the winter, and you don't want to heat the whole house/room up to room temperature, you can always have a second heat mat with a second thermometer set to room temperature on the cold side of the cage. My house drops to probably as low as 65 degrees at times, and I've never noticed any ill effects on my snakes. In fact, they don't even move over to their warm side at those temperatures. They'll still hang out on the cold side and seem perfectly happy.
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At home I am not worried temps probs are always around 65 or so. Do you know any good ways to monitor/ regulate a heat mat. Do you have to set the temp you want the mat to output based on the air temp of your house or do you always have it cranked up to 85. For the warm side that is.
 
I use the Jumpstart digital heatmat thermostat (link below) to regulate temperature. I like it because it shows both what the temperature is set to and what the current reading is, unlike some of the non-digital ones. I keep the hot side always set to 87 actually, so the snakes have the choice to get as hot as that or move to various regions in their cages to select what temperature they want to be at. I just set it and don't mess with it. I also have a separate thermometer to double check the readings. Both the thermostat and thermometer have probes that I make sure are under the substrate right against the glass/cage bottom.

https://www.amazon.ca/Jump-Start-MT...63865684&sr=8-1&keywords=jumpstart+thermostat
 
Hello - I'm also from a cold climate (upstate NY) and in the winter, I just have a space heater in my snake's room for overnight because I tend to let the temp drop to the low 60s in the house. But 2 heating pads also works. THIS is the thermostat I use, as do many other members. It is cheap, safe and works great with UTHs.

Also, with the UTH you are measuring the floor temperature, not the air temperature. Let us know if you have any other questions!
 
albertagirl said:
I use the Jumpstart digital heatmat thermostat (link below) to regulate temperature. I like it because it shows both what the temperature is set to and what the current reading is, unlike some of the non-digital ones. I keep the hot side always set to 87 actually, so the snakes have the choice to get as hot as that or move to various regions in their cages to select what temperature they want to be at. I just set it and don't mess with it. I also have a separate thermometer to double check the readings. Both the thermostat and thermometer have probes that I make sure are under the substrate right against the glass/cage bottom.

https://www.amazon.ca/Jump-Start-MT...63865684&sr=8-1&keywords=jumpstart+thermostat
Click to expand...
Interesting good to hear do you have any other tips? This has been very helpful. Can I just start a baby for in a 20 gallon due to the fact I will be off at school and dont want to have to swap out tanks anytime soon.
 
As long as he has lots of cover and places to hide, I'm sure he'll be fine in a 20 gallon. I think lots of people do.
 
albertagirl said:
As long as he has lots of cover and places to hide, I'm sure he'll be fine in a 20 gallon. I think lots of people do.
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Ok thanks for your help. One more question what is the difference between the the temperature gauge/ thermometer thingy haha that you linked and the one the other person linked. One is more expensive than the other.
 
I'm willing to bet mine was the more expensive one. Haha. Mine was from Amazon.CA, theirs was Amazon.COM. Sorry, I'm in Canada and was too lazy to pull up the American Amazon. You will want to use their link. ;)
 
I've not seen any law that says you can't have 2 heat pads and 2 thermostats, a hot side at 85 deg, and a cool side at 74 deg.

Ooops.... wait....... silly me, that's what I do. Why would anyone else wanna do that too?
 
I ran 2 heat mats also, one on each side, to get my temps right, when I had Ayasha in the 40 gallon tank. I couldn't get the cool side above 65 in the winter without the second mat. Each mat gets its own thermostat. Once we're having warmer days, the mat won't need to be on. Then I'll be putting ice packs in to cool things down! Lol.
 
Genlisae said:
Add another that does 2 under tank heaters.
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Im just worried because as a college student I am not made of money and dont really want to drop more money on uths if it isnt needed. Is it common just to have a uth and not a heating light for corn snakes though?
 
It is not only common to use just a UTH, it is recommended. Lights are difficult to regulate properly (more thermostats required so you don't accidentally cook your snake which leads to the light going on and off at all hours of the day and night messing with your and the snakes day/night pattern), can dry out the environment too much leading to difficult sheds, are a potential fire hazard and some bulbs are outright dangerous for the snake.

That is not to say lights can't be used, they can and have been quite successfully. It is just that there are better/safer ways and a thermostat regulated UTH (or 2) is the most recommended.
 
I should also add that my second UTH for winter use is not on a thermostat. It is a small UTH (smallest available as it is for supplement only) plugged into a lamp dimmer cord (Usually far less expensive than a thermostat) which I adjust manually as the temperature drops. I am usually home most days and have multiple thermometers with high/low alarms so I am comfortable with doing that. If I wasn't home I don't know how I would feel about not having a second thermostat, though I do know many here on the forums who use the lamp dimmers exclusively year round. If that is something you think would work for you, I suggest looking here on the forums to find out how others do it.
 
smale492 said:
Im just worried because as a college student I am not made of money and dont really want to drop more money on uths if it isnt needed. Is it common just to have a uth and not a heating light for corn snakes though?
Click to expand...

How much is the health and well being of a pet worth?

If you can't afford to house the animal correctly maybe you should not have a pet snake.
 
Genlisae said:
I should also add that my second UTH for winter use is not on a thermostat. It is a small UTH (smallest available as it is for supplement only) plugged into a lamp dimmer cord (Usually far less expensive than a thermostat) which I adjust manually as the temperature drops. I am usually home most days and have multiple thermometers with high/low alarms so I am comfortable with doing that. If I wasn't home I don't know how I would feel about not having a second thermostat, though I do know many here on the forums who use the lamp dimmers exclusively year round. If that is something you think would work for you, I suggest looking here on the forums to find out how others do it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your help it is very much appreciated. I am not to worried about not being around often due to the fact I am in college and have a good grasp on how often I will be around my house. That being said I will probably start off with a single heat mat for the warm side and see how cold our house gets in the colder months and move on from there. Thank you once again for your help.
 
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