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Heating a rept

A

Aubreyea

New member
Hi all! I am fairly new to the world of corn snakes and just got my snake, Jake, yesterday. He is in a 65 gallon rept. and I was wondering what would be best to heat it? I have a basking lamp that I was thinking of getting a red heat light for so that it can stay on all day/night.
Also, does anyone know of a good place to get things to put in the rept such as logs?
Thanks so much!!

Oh...
:-offtopic
What color is Jake? http://tinyurl.com/294jrb
 
Welcome to the forums!

There are *many* heating options available. Personally, after doing my research, I chose to go with a UTH (undertank heater). Most breeders seem to use heat tape or heat cable, and still other people strongly advocate for heat lamps.

I really can't tell you about anything but the UTHs, though, but here goes: I liked the UTH because belly heat is what aids in digestion, not the ambient air temperature. They do need to be regulated though. You can do this using a rheostat/lamp dimmer, or a thermostat. Again, my personal choice was a thermostat, because I feel that there's too much adjusting needed with a lamp dimmer. Whatever you get, make sure you get a *good* thermometer with a probe. (These are usually under $10)

Here's a good site with fairly inexpensive supplies with a lot of what you'll need:
http://www.reptilesupply.com

By the way, the color varieties of corns are referred to as "morphs". I'm definitely not the best at classifying morphs, but I would say Jake is a Normal (also called a Classic).

:)
 
Welcome to the world of corns...

I'd recommend your best heating option as a UTH (under tank heater.) Heat lamps can work, but they do dry out the air in the tank and snakes may well benefit from belly heat, especially when digesting food. Your heat source must be regulated by a thermostat or rheostat; unregulated, temperatures can get high enough to burn your corn, if not worse.
 
Welcome! I would also go with a UTH, you can buy one at any pet store that sells herp supplies. You can probably get a thermostat there too, I got mine for about 30 bucks and I'm so glad I did. I didn't have one at first (bad me) and when I checked the temps it was FAR to warm.

Jake looks like a very nice classic, and he looks HUGE! I hope my little guy gets some size like that :)

Congrats, and good luck!
 
Wow, what a big guy!! We need to see a picture of his entire back- he's got some sort of cool, unusual pattern there!

Another vote for UTH with a thermostat.

Nanci
 
problem with UTH

Here's my only problem with a UTH.
I have a reptarium, not an aquariam so would it still work being mesh? If it'll work, I'm game but I'm not sure how it would...
Thanks so much for your responses and I'll work on getting another picture today :)
 
What is a rept.

Here is a picture of a rept
35t2t4

It's mesh with pvc type pipes. Mine is 65 gallons.
 
I have the same Reptarium only mine is a 260 gallon setup. I use two 50-60 gallon uth mats to heat the Reptarium. My Reptarium has a soft tray liner inside to keep the substrate from going everywhere. I attached the heat mats to the bottom of a custom built piece of glass. I also have two silicone pot holders sitting under the heat mats for added protection. You can never be too safe.... so it's the silicone pot holders sitting on the carpeting. Then it's the heat mat attached to bottom of the glass. Then the Reptarium is sitting on top of the glass. I also use two 150 watt bulbs on top of the Reptarium but mine are NOT resting on the mesh as shown in your picture. If you decide to rest it on the mesh, the buld must be at least 2 3/4 " away from the mesh or it can melt the mesh.....not good. Ours are attached to a track light so they don't come in contact with the mesh. I also run a night light outside of the cage at the bottom. It's attached to my son's computer desk. I have a black sheet covering three sides of the cage to help keep humidity levels up. It helps.
I'll attach a few pictures......
 

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PS....I do not use the Aspen anymore. I did not care for it at all....Originally I used cage carpeting but it was a pain. Then I switched to Repti Bark and liked it very well. It keeps the humidity levels up higher than with the Aspen and it doesn't stick to everything. I went with the Aspen because I was told it was better with the heat mats. I found it just the opposite....my own opinion of course. I switched back to the Repti Bark a few days/week ago and I prefer the look and the way it works with my heat mats, Reptarium, etc.....
 
rept

Thanks so much!
I don't suppose a heat lamp would work well enough for a rept? I was thinking of covering part of it to keep the heat/humidity in. Does your snake use all of that area? I would love to get a bigger rept! Also, where did you get your vines and things?
 
I can't answer that question because my enclosure is 260 gallons. I would not trust it to be heated with ONLY heat lamps.....but that's for my own enclosure. It's not a big deal to have a piece of glass custom made. Just be sure to have all sides beveled so it's safe.
I did tons and tons of temperature/humidity level readings for weeks on end before I put Markey into her enclosure. I wanted to make sure that things were perfect so that she would be safe and healthy.
I purchased a lot of my bendable vines from DrsFosterandSmith.com. I purchased the hanging vines from Hobby Lobby. They are much cheaper! Be careful because some hanging plants/vines have a small metal wire in them which can harm your snake. This happened to us and we took all the vines out and started over. The ones I purchased from Hobby Lobby do NOT have metal in them anywhere......
My hides are from PetSmart. My Rocks are now removed and one Extra Large Rock hide has replaced it. I got that from Pet Supplies Plus for $17. Markey went right in it a day ago and has yet to come back out. She loves trying out new things!
She uses at least three of the four levels in her setup. She actually went to the third level and had a perfect shed last week. It looked so cool sitting up in the vines. She always poops when she sheds so that was a mess to clean up off of the hanging vines....but that's part of having them. It happens.
 
Reptariums really aren't made for housing snakes. They were created for creatures such as Chameleons that require a considerable amount of air flow.
 
blckkat said:
Reptariums really aren't made for housing snakes. They were created for creatures such as Chameleons that require a considerable amount of air flow.
Click to expand...
Even though that is true, it doesnt mean you can't house a snake in one. It's harder to keep it humid sure, but aslong as your heat/humidity is right, whats the difference? :shrugs:
 
Jordan G said:
Even though that is true, it doesnt mean you can't house a snake in one. It's harder to keep it humid sure, but aslong as your heat/humidity is right, whats the difference? :shrugs:
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You can pretty much do what ever you want, but the heat/humidity issue is enough for me. Using glass aquariums I've needed to run a humidifier 24/7 this winter just to keep the level at 40 and still have a couple snakes whose shed breaks off 1/3 of the way from the tail. A viv with no walls would be way too much maintenance for me and possibly uncomfortable for my animals.

I also like to take the advise of those who have been doing this much longer than I have. All I've seen recommended are glass aquariums and rack systems.

just my $.02.
 
Jordan G said:
Even though that is true, it doesnt mean you can't house a snake in one. It's harder to keep it humid sure, but aslong as your heat/humidity is right, whats the difference? :shrugs:
Click to expand...

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should do something. Just as what one thing works for one person, it could not work for another.

Reptariums are known for being insecure (in regards to snakes), difficult to provide the proper heat & humidity, and can cause nose/head rubs.

Their are plenty of other options available and going this route I would not recommend.
 
Truthfully I've kept three different kinds of snakes in Reptariums and haven't had any problems. As long as you keep an eye on the humidity and don't have a problem with the levels (which can happen in an aquarium just as easily) it's not bad. You would still want a UTH and you can attach it to a piece of glass or tile so that it makes the Reptarium and SofTray easier to clean. You do want to be careful with the heat but keep in mind if it will hurt plastic it will hurt your snake.

~Katie
 
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