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New Setup Questions

C

ChronicDreamer

New member
Alrighty, time for the thread that I think every new snake owner makes! First, I'll describe the viv (pictures will come later, once my phone is charged enough):
  • Exo Terra Mini Wide viv (12"x12"x12")
  • 1-2" of cypress mulch substrate
  • Water bowl
  • Habba Hut hide
  • Climbing branch
  • Silk foliage for extra cover
  • 50w basking lamp on a dimmer switch, turned almost all the way down
  • Accurite indoor-outdoor temp and humidity reader
I have a dish towel over half the lid to help keep heat/moisture in, intentionally not covering all of it so there's still good airflow. My room is always mid 70s-low 80s, as I live with my parents who can't stand the house being colder than 78 (house thermostat is almost always set to 80-81; the only time it dips into the 70s is during the summer). The viv is set up near an exterior wall and window, but is a good 3-4" away (it's the only place I have room right now).

My biggest concern is the temp gradient. Because my room never drops below 75, her ambient temps are fine. It's the hot spot that's the problem. Until I started reading the forums, I had NO idea that lights could damage my poor baby's eyes; this is part of the reason the heat lamp is dimmed as low as possible. However, I don't want to get a UTH until she's in her adult tank and/or I can afford another Herpstat (the UTH for my ball's tank is set up on one, love it to bits!) What would y'all's recommendations be in the meantime? I have a red heat bulb (one of those nocturnal 24hr bulbs) that my ball is currently not using (duh, UTH!); should I put that in my corn's light fixture for now? The wattage is within the fixture's range and the fixture is the ceramic-base kind.

If you guys notice any problems I haven't seen or have any suggestions, please throw them my way! Since this is my first corn, I'm open to any and all help!
 
You can stick a UTH to a ceramic tile and put THAT under the tank so you don't have to buy a new one when you get a bigger viv.
 
Christaberk said:
You can stick a UTH to a ceramic tile and put THAT under the tank so you don't have to buy a new one when you get a bigger viv.
Click to expand...

How exactly would that work? I'm trying to picture it in my head and it just isn't clicking lol. Would it be, from bottom to top, UTH>ceramic tile>viv bottom?

I think, when I get a UTH, I'm going to use the aluminum foil/foil tape method I've seen here and on ball-pythons.net, which is how my ball's UTH is set up. I don't feel comfortable having one for her until I at least have a Herpstat to regulate it, just because it's what I'm used to and I'm a little nervous about tstats that aren't proportional (that's the right word, right?). My preference would be to wait until she's in her adult viv so I only have to get one UTH, but the Herpstat comes first and once I have that I'll be seriously in the market for a UTH, regardless of her viv size.

Two more questions:
  1. What is the humidity supposed to be for corns? I've seen 20-30% to 40-50%, and seeing as that's a pretty wide range I'd like to know where the levels should actually fall. The levels in her viv are sitting right around 50% right now.
  2. Since my room stays at ideal ambient temperature for corns, and since the bulb I'm using is not a night bulb, is it okay to turn off the light at night? I don't want to disrupt her day/night cycle, but it removes whatever heat gradient she has.
 
We use the hydrofarm thermostat on both our corn snake tank and our leopard gecko tank they work awesome and they are cheap
 
Shirl said:
If it's due to the money the herpstat costs then use this in the meantime http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTP...&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=hydrofarm+thermostat

This is what I use on all of mine and I love them. I also use the foil/tape method with the UTHs
Click to expand...

galsip said:
We use the hydrofarm thermostat on both our corn snake tank and our leopard gecko tank they work awesome and they are cheap
Click to expand...

I'll look into getting one of those, thanks for the suggestion! That and a UTH tiny enough, lol
 
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