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heating a Viv in Virginia?

H

Hartman3216

New member
Hello,

Before I go out and pick up my first Corn I want to make sure I get temp. regulated and overall Viv setup correct. Living right outside of D.C. tempuratures stay pretty warm year round. Specifically in my house the A/C and in the winter the heating stay right around 71-74 F. My questions are, can I get away with just a UTH for the Viv or should I also invest in heat lamps?

Also as far as getting a thermostat I've read about putting the probe center of the UTH on the actually floor, not in the Aspen, or in the air. Do I need to go about spending $100+ on the Helix 1000 or Herpstat 2? I don't intend on breeding or getting mass quantities of snakes (at least not now). Is it alright that I just get one with a probe from wal-mart, Target or Home Depot?

Any answers in these matters would be of great help!
 
OK, first, yes just a UTH is all you need (well a UTH and a thermostat/rheostat to regulate it and keep it from getting too hot).

All you really need to provide is a belly-heat area in the mid-80's. Corns aren't really basking snakes and don't appreciate a true 'hot spot'.

As for thermostats/rheostats. You could get the Herpstat model (I love them), but yeah they are expensive. Your other options are:

1) there's a cheaper probe-type thermostat made by Hydrofarm that folks also recommend as a more affordable option.

2) you could use just a Rheostat (ie lamp dimmer type) [along with a thermometer to measure the temps]. Rheostats work just fine, but you have to keep a much closer eye on them. They keep the power-level to the UTH set at a specific level, but that means that it doesn't adjust for temp changes in the room like a Thermostat will.

I've never seen any probed thermostats at any of the big stores, rheostats yes but thermostats no. They might have them, but I've never found any.
 
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