Hot in Herre

[Trinity]

Alrighty, I have to have a side tank heater because if I put it on the bottom it charrs the stand and could possibly set it on fire. Which would be way too much heat for anyone's liking. In order for it to attach, I had to put it about an inch and a half above the bottom. I was thinking of putting ceramic tiles under the substrate. Opinions and other options?

 

[Lennycorn]

Let me get this right, your're saying your uth has "charrs" burnt your stand. It so I think I would replace it with a new one. I don't thinks thats' should happen.
I think they sell "open" stands. The viv edges is supported not the base. Then you could use the uth on the bottom if you wish.
Some folks here do use ceramic tile above the uth to help protect from to much heat burning.
I hope that helps a little!

 

[fyrefairy]

Are you using any kind of thermostat or rheostat? Those tools will allow you to control how hot your heat mat is getting. (A rheostat is better than a thermostat - a thermostat turns it off and on. A rheostat acts more like a dimmer, and you use it to turn the mat up or down.) Are you measuring air temp in the tank or actual surface temp of the glass and substrate? Air temperature is less important than the temperatures of surfaces your snake will be sitting on. If the mat is hot enough to char your tank stand, it might well be too hot for your snake.

Lennycorn is right about the open stands. I have a couple of those, and they work nicely with a UTH because you're not touching the stand with any part of it.

I'm not sure how much good putting tiles on the bottom of the tank will do if your mat is on the side. You might get a better result/heat distribution by mounting tiles on the side with aquarium silicone. The ceramic will distribute heat a little bit more evenly, but not if it isn't over the heat.

Again, though, how well is this system heating your substrate? Cornsnakes benefit more from belly heat than from ambient heat. They use it for digestion/etc - not really because they get cold like we do. Snakes tend to bask in the evening because the ground stays warmer longer than the air does. Hope some of this info is helpful.

 

[Trinity]

The heater was part of a kit from ZooMed with a bunch of other supplies and a stick on thermometer. The pad its self only gets about 95 degrees. The instructions said: do not put it on the bottom unless you have an open stand which I don't have or have a place to put. (The tank is on an old dresser) What if I put 2x4's under the tank to support it and put the heater under. What do you guys think?

 

[~slither~]

95* is way too hot. You want it at 75 cool side and 85 warm side, IMO.
And fyrefairy I have to disagree with you, where rheostats are good for a cheap alternative, you wont beat a thermostat for simplicity. Plug it in, plug mat into it, place probe appropriately, set the dial. Let it do the work. You still have to check temps every now and again, but not as often as the rheostat.
Just my opinion though, and I'm biased as I've never used a rheostat, mail-order mode took over DIY mode. LOL.

 

[~slither~]

Oh and as you mentioned on/off, habistat also produce the 'pulse proportional stat' that constantly supplies power, but only as much as is needed. Cost a bit though.

 

[~slither~]

Oh just one more point, you could try piling some more substrate on top of what is already in there. Don't know if that will help though, but pretty sure it will reduce 'belly-heat' temps.

 

[cowboyman13]

Temps gone haywire

I have been placing mine under the tank right on a wood computer desk and have not had it charr. The other two tanks are set up on a plastic foldout table and have no problems there with charring. In the last couple of days my temps have gone haywire i have been able to keep them good at around 82 but its funny they all jumped to around 93 a couple of days ago i unplugged all of them and i am currently housing with no heat. The tile thing sounds intresting but i am thinking that it would cause a little bit more of a charring problem with the heat being trapped between the tile and the surface the tank is currently sitting on.

I realize that it says to put it on an open aired bottom as in a tank stand with just a frame no solid surface. But we all know that once resident numbers start climbing it gets impractical to find room for that many tank stands. I am thinking those of us without racks just do what i do and find any open counter space that would hold a 10 or 20 gallon tank and set it up.

Fyrefairy i agree that a rhetostat or thermostat would be a good soulation. But if you're like me with 4 tanks or lord knows that most the folks around here have many more and there in separate locations you just can afford that many separate regulating units. There has got to be some other way of keeping temps right. I used to be able to just change the amount of substrate in that area of the tank but that now for some reason is not working anymore.

 

[ScottyK]

You can all have accuracy and a good price, even for multiple cages. I use this thermostat from Big Apple Herp.


http://www.bigappleherp.com/Reptile_Supplies/Product/Electronic_BAH1000_Thermostat_924105.html

It cost $32 + shipping and has three outlets. You can use a power strip to plug in even more mats up to a combined maximum of 1,000 watts. I have four heat mats plugged into mine and set the probe into one of them. Even though the mats are different brands an sizes, they all stay within three degrees of each other. You just need to fiddle around with probe placement as some mats run a bit hotter than others. I'm sure that I'll recoup the $32 and then some in saved electriciy. Hope this helps some...

Scott

 

[Jynx]

95* is way too hot. You want it at 75 cool side and 85 warm side, IMO.

95 is way too hot for an ambient (air) temp yes...but for a small hotspot thats about normal. Most heat pads get to at least 95...some up to the 110s.

If the heat pad is burning the stand, then I agree...I would get a new one just to ensure that there was no damage done to the pad. Zoomed pads are not a favorite of mine, and the plastic coating can often melt. I would suggest cobra or t-rex <--(I think??? Clear with black thermal strips running through it??? :shrugs: ) Ceramic tiles are a good idea for putting it under the heat pad so you don't burn the stand anymore. You can try putting newspaper, or seomthing else on the bottom of them cage to add some spacing between heat and snake, and then put substrate on top of that.

 

[Trinity]

It's just a gift from the snake god that my parents are even letting it in the house. So, I'm trying to cut costs where I can (because I'm paying for everything) while still keeping it health and happy. I will definatly put the pad underneath and use a few ceramic tiles. As regard to these thermostat contraptions that cost a week's worth on minium wage: are there any other cheaper alternatives? or will I just have to grin and bear it

 

[ScottyK]

FWIW, what I'm about to say is not meaning to flame you, only broaden your perceptions a bit (hopefully). In general, I don't believe you should be keeping any animal if providing proper care is beyond your financial resources. If $30 is going to break you, think about what will happen if you have a problem that requires a vet visit.

Having said that, the link below is for instructions to build your own rheostat for about $7. It was graciously shared with us by Ddotspot. Hopefully you, or someone you know is handy enough to help you with it. Remember that unlike thermostats, you need to keep a closer eye on them as temps in your room fluctuate.

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19168

Good luck!
Scott

 

[~slither~]

Sorry, I just presumed that as the mat was marking the wood then the temps would be well high, so I took it as ambient. Surely 95* belly-heat is still a little high though?

 

[Trinity]

ScottyK: I've never owned a snake before so if you could please correct me rather than yell at me it would be greatly appreciated. $30 isn't going to ruin me, I was just looking for other cheaper alternatives that will work just as well so when other costs do arrive I will have a more ready to supply to keep it healthy. I'm sorry if I have wasted your time, but I'm trying my hardest and don't appreciate being sworn at in little acronyms.

Now, for all y'alls info. I switched the pad to the bottom and got the substrate in the viv to test the temperature without anything moderating it. Then I will go by one of these nifty thermostats I've been so nicely told to go buy and take it from there.Thanks to everyone who helped out, including my good friend Scotty. I'm going to Lee Watson's Reptile Swap on Sunday and will hopefully find the last thing on my check list...A SNAKE! hehe

 

[ScottyK]

FWIW, what I'm about to say is not meaning to flame you, only broaden your perceptions a bit (hopefully).

LOL- Did you read this part?

I'm not yelling at you, just trying to point out that you are purchasing a living animal. If you can't afford to provide it with proper care, the time to realize that is before you bring it home. If you are ready to take on the responsibility, that's great too!

My wife and I have been fostering abandoned dogs for about seven years. We are affiliated with two local all breed rescue groups. I get to deal with the aftermath of impulsive pet purchases every day, and it gets pretty nauseating sometimes, so forgive me if i'm telling you something you don't want to hear. You're the one who initially said that $30 was a weeks worth of money for you....

 

[~slither~]

:-offtopic Dumb question. What does FWIW mean? I've been racking my brain trying to figure it out, and it's probably something really obvious but my brains hurting. lol,
BTW scottyk If that was a flaming, which I highly doubt, then she's lucky cav or someone else didn't say it. He's alot more blunt and to the point than you mate. And what you said was constructive critism, not just 'can't afford = no snake = get a pet rock' was it. She didn't even acknowledge the rheostat idea.

 

[ScottyK]

Internet acronyms used to drive me crazy too, so don't worry about it Dan

FWIW = For what it's worth...

 

[Vicki M]

With regard to putting more substrate on top of the heat source. I tried this and its a bad idea. The heat will get trapped between the substrate and the pad and these temps will be very very hot, so if the snake decides to burrow it will be exposed to extreme temps. I tried this as an experiment in an empty viv and temps went to over 100 (underneath the substrate) although surface temps were fine. Prehaps something for others to look out for too.

All mine have thermostats and its the only way to go really. I dont think you need to spend loads on one as small temp varients arnt a major problem, its the over/under heating that causes probs. I use habistat mat stats and also habistat temperature thermostats with good results.

Good luck with your new snake and well done for seeking advice before you get it as so many people dont and thats when the problems really start.

 

[~slither~]

Aha, vicky you recommend the mat-stat, but surely instead of spending £20 on a sooped up dimmer switch (cos thats all it is), why not spend the extra £4, thats the difference on faunology.co.uk, and get the calibrated stat that does all the work for you?? No checking temps several times a day to raise or lower the power input. If you order online then the shippings the same aswell.

 

[~slither~]

Aha scotty, cheers. New it would be something that simple, but I could of been thinking all year and not got that.