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Heating questions

A

Ahmad Rahim

Corns, corns n more corns
So recently I got my corn snake, i bought a Fluker's lamp, with a 100w bulb for day and a 60w red light for night. A lot of people on this website have told me that I should switch to a under tank heater, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002AQCKA would that size be good enough for a 20g tank, or would i have to get a medium size, or a large size? I also know that i have to get a thermostat type controller for the mat, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NZZG3S is that what i would need? Could you guys also help me on where to place the thermostat. Is there anything else that i would need heating wise? If so please post,

Thanks You!
 
UTH are nice. That is a fact. But you can have success with heat lamps as well. I am about to set up a 40 gallon breeder tank and am planning on using a lamp. If you already have the lamp, don't feel pressured to change unless there is a health issue. And corns don't NEED heat at night like tropical snakes do.
 
Thank you so much, so you think it would be fine to just keep the lamp, i think i might have to downgrade from a 100w during the day to maybe a 90w or so, because the other day i came back from work, and the temperature was at 95f! So i think that if i switch to a 90w or so i will be set, and i also want to get a digital thermostat, i heard that the are much better, especially one with a probe.
 
Eh, I'm the kind of person who would switch to an UTH. Just because some people have had success with lights doesn't mean that it is an acceptable thing to use. Lights will dry out cages and you'll see a lot more bad sheds from your corn. You'd also have to put it on a thermostat and then you'll have a flashing light all day. Corns are nocturnal and the belly heat is nice and aids in digestion, a light does not provide that though. I do agree that they will be fine without heat at night, but I leave mine on because it can get pretty chilly in my house over winter.
 
We all have different opinions.

In over 30 years of keeping snakes, I have not had one that did not eat, grow, shed and thrive using a heat lamp.

As far as corns being nocturnal, there is much debate about that. Many are seen active during daylight hours in the wild. I certainly see mine out during the day.

I believe snakes are not as fragile as we believe them to be.

Again, I am not against UTH at all, and use Flexwatt for belly heat in all of the racks I build. What I am saying is that UTH is not the end all/be all of caring for a snake.
 
AliCat37 said:
Eh, I'm the kind of person who would switch to an UTH. Just because some people have had success with lights doesn't mean that it is an acceptable thing to use. Lights will dry out cages and you'll see a lot more bad sheds from your corn. You'd also have to put it on a thermostat and then you'll have a flashing light all day. Corns are nocturnal and the belly heat is nice and aids in digestion, a light does not provide that though. I do agree that they will be fine without heat at night, but I leave mine on because it can get pretty chilly in my house over winter.
Click to expand...

Please don't make absolute statements without being able to back them up.

You can not tell anyone they will see a lot more bad sheds by using heat lamps. I have seen plenty of bad sheds in racks with belly heat. If humidity is a concern, simply misting the tank will take care of that, as well as covering a portion of the top with plexi.

"Acceptable" is also subjective. Heat lamps are quite acceptable, as is backed up by manufacturers of snake cages that have dedicated tops for them.

The sun is one large overhead heat lamp that warms the earth to provide belly heat. A heat lamp mimics this. And a thermostat is not necessary in a house with fairly constant temps. I always keep a range of bulbs from 40 watt to 100 watt. Find what gives you a good basking are of 85 degrees, plus or minus, and you are good. In the winter, you may need to go up from a 60 watt to a 75 watt for example.

It is not a constant 85 degrees outside. Sometimes it is 105, sometimes it is 85 - in the same week. Keep a cool side around 75 degrees, and a five degree fluctuation in the cage, either way, is not going to do anything at all to the comfort and health of the snake.

We need to stop perpetuating things we simply "hear" without a solid foundation of reasoning.
 
knox said:
Please don't make absolute statements without being able to back them up.

You can not tell anyone they will see a lot more bad sheds by using heat lamps. I have seen plenty of bad sheds in racks with belly heat. If humidity is a concern, simply misting the tank will take care of that, as well as covering a portion of the top with plexi.

"Acceptable" is also subjective. Heat lamps are quite acceptable, as is backed up by manufacturers of snake cages that have dedicated tops for them.

The sun is one large overhead heat lamp that warms the earth to provide belly heat. A heat lamp mimics this. And a thermostat is not necessary in a house with fairly constant temps. I always keep a range of bulbs from 40 watt to 100 watt. Find what gives you a good basking are of 85 degrees, plus or minus, and you are good. In the winter, you may need to go up from a 60 watt to a 75 watt for example.

It is not a constant 85 degrees outside. Sometimes it is 105, sometimes it is 85 - in the same week. Keep a cool side around 75 degrees, and a five degree fluctuation in the cage, either way, is not going to do anything at all to the comfort and health of the snake.

We need to stop perpetuating things we simply "hear" without a solid foundation of reasoning.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot! I'll just make sure to watch the snake. If i see any big problems then I'll just ask some people, and if they say I say that I need to switch to a UTH, then I'll make sure to do that. I'll probably just buy a couple bulbs of different watts, that way I can see which watt works out the best for my snake, temperature wise.
 
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