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heating a critter keeper

S

slothlips

New member
i am new to the group! so hello everyone!!!!! anyway we got a baby corn snake about a week ago and are keeping him in a very large critter keeper as i am too afraid he will escape from anything bigger right now.we have an u.t.h. that says it is safe for plastic on one side. the temp on the side with the u.t.h. is only about 80-82 degrees and around 77-80 degrees on the cool side.i dont think the u.t.h. is getting it hot enough and i was wondering what i could safely use to heat it as it is plastic.i was told i could use a regular u.t.h. for like a five gallon.dose anyone know if this is true? any info you can give me would be great! thanks so much!

safely
 
I'm pretty sure that if you are regulating the UTH with a thermostat or rheostat, then the UTH isn't going to get hot enough to melt the plastic. It will just be warm to the touch. As for the UTH for a 5 gallon, the same thing applies. As long as it is regulated, then it should be fine.
 
Your temps sound good to me. Are your recording them on the sides of the critter keeper? Have you tested the temp of the critter keeper floor directly above the UTH?

I've been playing around with critter keepers and UTH's to see what works and even the smallest UTH gets very warm. So far I've had good luck with zoo meds smallest UTH (3x5?) stuck to the side wiith half of it wrapping around underneath. The whole thing underneath makes things too hot. Have you fed in this set up already with no regurges?
 
As Carol said, your current temps are fine if they're measured on the bottom of the critter keeper. Those are nice for babies, but can be hard to regulate your temperatures. I've personally used a very low temp heating pad that came out of a pet bed with a critter keeper. The standard UTH's made things too hot. I've also used a UTH beneath the critter keeper with the viv raised by a couple of inches. You could raise it on books, blocks, or whatever is handy.

Welcome, by the way - and good luck with your baby!
 
i have a digital termomiter that i sit inside the keeper to check the temps. i sit it on the warm side than on the cool side to see what the temp is. this may sound like a dumb question but how do you regulate a uth with a thermostat? i have fed him 3 times and he has not regurgitated.
 
You buy a rheostat and plug the UTH into that or a thermostat. With a rheostat its just a dimmer switch you will probably set to low- with a thermostat you can set actual temps. If you are measuring under the substrate those are the more accurate temps btw then on top. I just put mine under 1/3 of my KK's and they work fine.
 
slothlips said:
i have a digital termomiter that i sit inside the keeper to check the temps. i sit it on the warm side than on the cool side to see what the temp is. this may sound like a dumb question but how do you regulate a uth with a thermostat? i have fed him 3 times and he has not regurgitated.
Click to expand...

Then I'd say if it's not broke, don't fix it. :)
 
yeah i guess it is ok then,i was just worried as i wanna make sure i do everything right. i am feeding him pinkies twice a week. how do you know when to increase the size of the mouse?
 
How big is he? Usually when they are under one people feed once every 5-7 days only- twice a week may not be a great ideal. If he is over 20-25 grams you may start with one and then a half of another pinkie every 7 days for a feeding or two and then just go to 2 whole pinks for awhile every 7 days.
 
Pinkies are usually fed one every 4-5 days, with feeding less frequent as food size increases. If you search for the "Munson Plan" this is a great starting point.

As a guide, the food you offer should be around one and a half times the width of the snake's body (not the head or neck). It should leave a visible lump in the belly for around 48 hours. When it no longer does that, you can try the next sized mouse up.
 
hes maybe a foot long,not quite he eats the pinkie so fast.just picks it up and swollows it down,lol.usually by the next day you can no longer see the pinkie in him.the pinkies i had were very small.im thinking he needs a bit larger pinkie.
 
If you can't see a "food bump" in his tummy after 24 hours, it's time to move up to the next size of prey. Like bitsy said, the Munson plan is an excellent guide. (Here it is, from Roy Munson's Serpent Lounge forum)


The Munson Plan (Sample Feeding Chart): Revised 06/08/08

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-When they're on single pinks (2-3g), I feed every 5-6 days. (Snake = 4-15g)
-Double pinks (3g x 2) every 5-6 days. (Snake = 16-23g)
-Small fuzzies (5-7g) every 6-7 days. (Snake = 24-30g)
-Regular fuzzies (7-9g) every 6-7 days (Snake = 30-50g)
-Hoppers (9-12g) every 6-7 days (Snake = 51-90g)
-Weaned (14-20g) every 7 days (Snake = 91-170g)
-Adult (20-30g) every 7-x days (Snake = 170+) See below.

Note: Adult females are fed more frequently than adult males (especially following brumation). Adult females are fed every 7-12 days; adult males are fed every 11-14 days.

This is by no means scientific, and not all corns will cooperate 100% with the schedule. The weight ranges I gave for the prey and snakes are approximate.

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If you don't have a scale, you judge the proper prey size by the girth of your snake. Food items should be about 1.25-1.5 times the width of the snake's body at its widest point. If you happen to have a supply of smaller food items on hand when it's time to move up in size, it's perfectly fine to double up on the smaller ones until they're gone.
 
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