Heating

[SmittenKitten]

I have just recently got a young corn snake, and purchased a starter kit with a heat mat and heat lamp. I used the heat mat first( attached to a probed thermostat) but it did not heat too well (my house is quite cold). I have just recently put the heat lamp on attached to a rheostat with a 50w red bulb. So, is it okay to put both these heat sources on 24/7? Any specific temperatures I should keep the heat lamp or heat mat at? The substrate temperature is currently at 83F on the warm side.


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[Karl_Mcknight]

83F is ok on the warm side. And yes, Ideally you'd want to keep that temperature all the time. You should also have a "Cool Side" though that stays around 70 to 75.

It would be nice if you could accomplish this without a lamp, but I guess you do what you have to do.

 

[HerpsOfNM]

if you need the lamp for additional heating then I'd look more towards replacing the bulb with a ceramic heat emitter (CHE). However, make certain the dome lamp fixture will withstand a CHE. The base should be made of ceramic over molded plastic for it to be rated for use with a CHE.

As Karl mentioned, it would be best to heat without a light, if at all possible. At the very least, the bulb should be turned off at night in order to provide some sort of photoperiod. It is possible that the kit provided heatpad is too small and/or of lower quality. You're wanting a pad that can cover 1/3 to 1/4 of the cage floor on one side.

 

[SmittenKitten]

I now realize that the heat mat is to small, and will most likely be getting a bigger one for my 20 gallon. Any suggestions on how to get the current heat pad off? It is stuck to the bottom of the tank and is by zoo med. Made for 10 to 20 gallon vivs. I think the wattage may be 25 but I'm not to sure.


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[SmittenKitten]

Lol the wattage isn't 25, it's 8


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[DollysMom]

That's the standard wattage heat pad that is most often used with a 20 gallon tank. It's dimensions should be about 6 by 8 inches (15 by 20 cm).

 

[SmittenKitten]

That's the standard wattage heat pad that is most often used with a 20 gallon tank. It's dimensions should be about 6 by 8 inches (15 by 20 cm).

The temperature of the heat pad I had set at 89, yet the substrate surface temperature only reached 79-80 F. Is this okay for temperatures?


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[DollysMom]

Probably. Most of us put the thermometer probe on the glass in the center of the heat pad and set it so the thermometer reads 85-87 F. You do have a hide centered over the heat pad, right?

 

[SmittenKitten]

Yes, but he rarely goes in it. He just hides under his log in the centre of the cage


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[DollysMom]

He should be going into the warm hide after he eats unless the hide in the center is also the same temp with the heat lamp. All of my snakes, bar none spend most of their first couple of days after eating in their warm hides. They spend some other time in them sometimes but always after eating.

Do you have a temp gun? It would help you get a handle on your heating if you don't already have one.

https://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_s...mperature+gun&sprefix=Temperature+gun,aps,161

 

[SmittenKitten]

Yes I do have a temp gun, and the surface of the substrate is usually 83F (On warm side with mat and lamp) and cool side is usually 71F. With just the heat mat surface temps are usually 79-80F on the warm side


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[SmittenKitten]

Decided to just use the just heat mat, any specific temperatures I should keep the mat at? The probe is centred on the heat mat.(Say a couple of degrees higher than intended, etc.) I can get the substrate surface temperature to 82 if the heat mat is at 89-90F


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[DollysMom]

Set the thermostat to whatever it takes to hold the temperature you want as measured by the thermometer.