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New setup

jen murphy

jen murphy

New member
Hey all,

I just set up my new snake-to-be's enclosure tonight. When I can lug the stand upstairs it won't be sitting on the floor. Here it is:

IMG_1682.jpg


20 L (30 x 12 x 12) tank with sliding lid
Aspen bedding (2 - 2.5" deep)
Large water dish (I figured he might want to soak so I wanted it big enough)
Ecoterra cave type hide (hopefully this is decent size for a 9 mo - 1 yr old?)
Fake greenery w/ stick
Digital indoor/outdoor thermometer. Probe is stuck to glass under hide on warm side.
ReptiTherm UTH
Zilla Thermostat
Not pictured: climbing branch (looks crowded enough, I don't want to put a big ole slab of wood in there too until I see how much room the snake takes up!)

I've had it running for a bit and it is cycling between 82.6 - 86.2 F on the glass under the substrate.

BUT!!! Here is the stupid thing that I did without realizing it until now... I bought a UTH for 10-20 GALLON size tank. My mind, thinking in liters, equated 20 L with 20 gal, when in fact the 20 L is LONG and is really 29 gal. So, now that I've stuck my UTH on the brand new tank, I've got a problem. My thermostat has three outlets on it, so I was thinking of just getting another 10-20 gal size UTH and sticking it next to the one that is already on there. I don't see any problems with that, but before I do something stupid again I thought I'd look for opinions.

My other option is to rip off the UTH I just stuck on, assuming it comes off, and just buy a correctly sized one and stick that on.

Here is another thing that concerns me: The indoor temp is ~62 F. That is not atypical for our house in the winter (60-65 F). Is that alright if I get the warm size warm enough?

I was SO CLOSE to getting it right... :awcrap:

At least I'm not experimenting with the snake here :D
 
since you have a 20 gallon long and you bought an uth for a 10-20 gal that should be fine. 60 degrees is a bit too cold imo so id put a lamp in there with a low watt bulb, say 15 watts or so will need to experiment with wattage tho, to bring that up into the low 70s. looks good though. how big is the snake going into the tank?
 
The cool side...hmm...you COULD get a heat lamp and experiment with wattages for the cool side...I would think a 40watt would get it up to the right temp for the cool side.

~OR~
You already have the "wrong sized" heat pad, and a Zilla Thermostat thing...
What I would do: Peel off the small heat pad, and stick it to the cool side, and set the Zilla to the temp you need for the cool side.
Then go buy the correct size pad and another Zilla Thermostat for the warm side.
This will look 10x better than having a lamp uptop, and the lamp could dry out the tank too much.
This is assuming you have the $$ for another heat pad and thermostat.
While you are at it: I would buy another hide exactly like that and put it where the water dish is. Shift the water dish sort of towards the front/middle. You new buddy will appreciate a hide on both ends :D

If you don't have the money get the heat lamp, it will do until you can get the other heat pad...and I'm not saying humidity IS NOT important to Corn snakes...but he/she should do fine for a bit...
Definitely grab another hide though, even if you get the lamp for now :D

Hope this helped!
-Josh
 
Ack! Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about at all. It should be 20 gal, shouldn't it. I wish we just used the metric system in the US because I get confused when you throw in "L"s.

Ok, I don't think I want to spend another $50 on another thermostat, but I can look into a low watt bulb. If I were to rip off the UTH I wouldn't use it again since the wiring would probably be shot. I really pressed it on there.

I'll definitely get another hide and maybe some vines or...something else to fill the void.

I just moved the water dish more to the center & the plant is in the corner. I put a climbing stick in as well. My new guy will be a yearling eating fuzzies, so I am not exactly sure how big that is. Hopefully the cave hide is the right size, and I will get another hide for the cool side.

Once I get the basics down I can do some more elaborate decorating. I just want to get the correct temps and a couple hides. It is still about T minus 2 weeks 'til snake, so I have time to adjust!
 
Don't get me wrong, that is an excellent setup and I applaud you for getting it ready before that snake get's there!! :D

Between the vines, a climbing stick, and the two hides, you should be good on decorations:) My girlfriend always makes me throw in a nice fake flower... :p

If you would like, I there is a link on here that I can dig up for you with a SIMPLE diy dimmer switch for your heat pad, costs $7 to make. No Joke..
Then you'd only need another heat pad...and actually since the one you have works for the warm side, you would only need to buy a small one for the cool side...
Let me know, I'll find the link and post it in this thread for you...
 
Thanks for your help. I did see the $7 rheostat, which I considered. I also considered wiring my own classy thermostat, but I wimped out and went for the convenience factor.

Money isn't really an issue, don't get me wrong. I just don't want to have two thermostats going on one tank. Do you think a smaller size heat pad on the side of the tank plugged into the same thermostat would do the trick? Then I wouldn't have all of my outlets taken up. I'm thinking the rh-7 mini (for 1-5 gal). I wish I could try a bunch of stuff and then buy what I liked!

I don't really want to risk lower humidity with a heat lamp. The 57 % humidity it is registering today is a luxury. Usually it is between 30-40 in the winter.

Of course, another option is that I could stop living in the arctic and turn the heat up in the house to ~68 or so (it is set to 62 now).

Just from running the UTH for a few hours, the heat on the cool side went up a degree. I suppose I'll have to run this for a couple days and see how it stabilizes.
 
you may be ok with that...try it out...if both in the same thermostat doesn't work, build that $7 deal...you can get a power strip to plug them both into, and hide it back behind the tank/stand, that way you only have the one plug from that going to the wall...

good luck, and if you try the rheostat it is really simple. I'm a stooge and did it in 15 min........haven't burned the house down yet :D:D
 
Hahah. Thanks for the encouragement!

I will stop by the pet store again tomorrow and see what I can dig up.

They are having a 20-40% off sale at the Petco near where I work just because they are moving across the street soon. I got my tank w/ sliding lid tonight for $35! I bet I can get a sweet deal on another UTH!
 
Sorry to tell you, but I got the last 20 L. There are two sweet 40's that are on super duper sale as well, you might find those if you hurry!
 
sweet deal jen. Petco also usually has a dollar per gallon tank sale every year...but i seem to miss it every year.
 
Ooooh. Dollar per gallon is an even better deal!

I told one of my coworkers about the sale and she picked up the 40 gal zilla for 70-something dollars.

There are several left...I'm telling you, if you live anywhere near Portsmouth NH you should check out the deals!
 
FYI a light can get a tank very hot!! I used a 40 watt bulb to heat my temporary snake enclosure from the bottom (light was under tank). I tested it before...with the bulb up against the glass it got to 150!!! The bulb ended up being 2.5 feet from the tank (up on a stand, bulb near floor) before the temp was in the 80's.
 
That's because you were trying to use a light bulb for something that it is not...i.e., an under-the-tank heater.

Jen if you have to use a light until you can get another tank pad, put it ON TOP of the screen, since it is not intended to be put under the bottom of the tank on the glass. With a 40 watt bulb there is not possible way for your tank to get 150 deg.F. if it is sitting ON TOP of the screen.
Oh, forgive me...maybe if your house is kept at a piping 135 deg. the 40 watt may make it that hot ;D
 
Jen .... it would do you good to invest into the metal duct tape .... It's holds well but is removable. I stuck my first uth right onto the tank too. I will NEVER do that again!! I tape them all now :D SOOOO much easier and I can move them if I shuffle tanks or whatever
 
True what she^ says...those ZooMed things are dang hard to remove, luckily they seem to stick ok after you have moved them, but getting them off can be a biiiii-otch :D
 
Thanks guys. I appreciate the advice. I'm going to pick up a second UTH and stick it to the side with foil tape, see if I can't get this tank to a decent temp. I don't really like the idea of running any light bulb when I'm not around. No worries, I won't have the little guy shipped up here until I am completely satisfied. I understand what it is like to be cold, I am shivering now!

I figure I will get some ambient heat off the computer, he is going to be set up in the office and I will shut the door. It will bring it up a degree or two at least.
 
New and improved setup:

IMG_1692.jpg


I got the second UTH and stuck it to the cool side (bottom side of tank). It is almost 65 and rising, I'm going to see what it settles at after running it overnight. If necessary, I picked up another thermostat to use with the cool side to get it "cool but not new england cool" ie 70-75ish. If I end up not needing it I'll just sell it.

So I went back to the Petco with the 40% off reptile stuffs sale and went on a bit of a shopping spree. I got some more aspen, a cool vine, some suction cups, another UTH, another thermostat (it was only $30 instead of $50!!), another hide (fake log) and some foil tape.

Does this look a bit better? I would rather live here than my first setup, if I were a snake :D
 
That is really a rockin' setup Jen! Your little guy will appreciate the added hide, and the plants.
If you end up not using that other thermostat, craigslist is the shizznit :D

Congrats!
-Josh
 
jen murphy said:
on super duper sale
Click to expand...

Haha! I love it!
Nice set up, by the way!

LostNFound said:
Jen .... it would do you good to invest into the metal duct tape .... It's holds well but is removable. I stuck my first uth right onto the tank too. I will NEVER do that again!! I tape them all now :D SOOOO much easier and I can move them if I shuffle tanks or whatever
Click to expand...

What is metal duct tape?? I have never heard of such a thing!
 
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