I debated putting this in breeding forum, but I guess it's actually a question of husbandry.
It seems it's standard practice to keep hatchlings in deli cups. Anyway, my understanding is that that's probably what most people do. I actually have MANY more tanks and various types of vivs than I have snakes- so the options are def. there..
Currently I'm housing my hatchlings in 2 of the hatchling racks made by Jeff Mohr.. (And I love them by the way- very well built, sturdy and everything just fits perfectly to rule out escapes..) I'm not able to get much of a heat gradient with them and it occurs to me that this is not because of his design, which actually gives more room than your average deli cup, it's just because we tend to keep hatchlings in small containers in general. I'm heating with 3" heat tape up the back of the racks, and having experimented ahead of time, I know that when I set the thermostat to 85 F, the snake effectively gets from 83F to 78F which doesn't quite reach the high or the low I should want. I don't know if I'm being anal here. Or if this is something you also worry about, what do you do to correct it? I wonder sometimes if I should raise temps to 87-88, and giving them effectively 85 at the back, about 80 at the front, and maybe they'll be a little uncomfortable but better for digestion? Maybe I should be trying to cool my room in general, and then going for the high temp I want- though my feeling is that the confines of your average hatchling container just isn't conducive to much of a gradient..
Also please tell me if I'm just worrying too much. LOL.
It seems it's standard practice to keep hatchlings in deli cups. Anyway, my understanding is that that's probably what most people do. I actually have MANY more tanks and various types of vivs than I have snakes- so the options are def. there..
Currently I'm housing my hatchlings in 2 of the hatchling racks made by Jeff Mohr.. (And I love them by the way- very well built, sturdy and everything just fits perfectly to rule out escapes..) I'm not able to get much of a heat gradient with them and it occurs to me that this is not because of his design, which actually gives more room than your average deli cup, it's just because we tend to keep hatchlings in small containers in general. I'm heating with 3" heat tape up the back of the racks, and having experimented ahead of time, I know that when I set the thermostat to 85 F, the snake effectively gets from 83F to 78F which doesn't quite reach the high or the low I should want. I don't know if I'm being anal here. Or if this is something you also worry about, what do you do to correct it? I wonder sometimes if I should raise temps to 87-88, and giving them effectively 85 at the back, about 80 at the front, and maybe they'll be a little uncomfortable but better for digestion? Maybe I should be trying to cool my room in general, and then going for the high temp I want- though my feeling is that the confines of your average hatchling container just isn't conducive to much of a gradient..
Also please tell me if I'm just worrying too much. LOL.