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Planning for my viv; heat question

H

halblingefrau

New member
I don't have my snake yet (still working on convincing the husband) but I am planning for the viv setup. I want to have the viv up and running for a week minimum before bringing a snake home.

My question is about heating in the winter. We do not have heat in our house; we heat with a wood stove. At times, our house has gotten down into the high 40s at night. I have researched a lot of the posts in this board (probably read about 100 of them) and it seems that most agree that substrate temps are WAY more important than air temps. Still, with an air temp of 49 (let's just use the worst example from last winter), I'm afraid the cool side of the viv will be way too cold. How low do UTH thermostats go? I was thinking that, during the coldest part of winter, I could put a second UTH set to 65 on the cool side of the viv to keep it from getting frigid.

If I need more heat on the hot side during the winter, I've read of people either insulating that area of the tank or even using a UTH on the BACK of the tank.

What are your thoughts about my using a second UTH set to low for the cool side? Or is that unnecessary? Should I just use a heat lamp on the cool side in winter to keep the cold air warmed enough that it doesn't cool down the substrate too much?

I plan on using either butcher paper or aspen bedding.

I realize there are a lot of other considerations to putting together a viv. Right now I'm just working on heat. Then I will work on all the other necessities.
 
I should also add that Flagstaff, AZ lies at 7000 ft altitude. Our summers are relatively mild, with temps rarely reaching the 90s. We get very cold and snowwy winters. Had a -30F wind chill this last January. Not all of AZ is hot. :)
 
Wow..49 degrees inside!! Don’t you pipes freeze??
Mid 50’s is brumation temps. So 49 are pushing it.

Well, like you're thinking, maybe get two uth and two digital thermometers (with probes) and thermostats and play around with it. But I’m not sure which thermostat has the lowest temp. Someone will chime who knows that.
Or ……..usually the uth should cover 1/3 of the floor area, maybe get a larger one that cover more area.

 
Not to worry. If the cool side is too cool, your snake just won't go there for very long. Not that 49 F is an ideal temperature, but your snake will adjust so long as s/he has adequate warmth.

You'll want a UTH with a thermostat, since your home temperatures vary quite a bit from day to night. Cover a minimum of 1/4 of the bottom area. You could actually cover up to 1/2 the bottom if you want. If your viv has a screen top, you could cover it with a towel. Restricting airflow might make it a tad warmer on the cool side.

So long as your snake has an area that's warm enough s/he'll be fine. It probably won't hang out on the cool side, but I'd be surprised if it doesn't make journeys to and through it. You might also consider getting a yearling or older. Hatchlings tend to be more fragile, and the smaller size means their temperatures are harder to regulate.

It's great that you're checking into things and planning ahead. I hope your hubby agrees soon!
 
Thanks for the input. No we don't freeze pipes. USUALLY the house doesn't get lower than 60, but I used 49 as the worst example (it was when there was a -30 wind chill outside). The room I would be keeping the snake in is usually the coldest in the house simply because it's farthest from the wood stove. We don't have room in the living room (where the stove is) or I'd keep the snake in there. It gets hot (85) when the wood stove is roaring, but I would think a thermostat on the UTH would just turn off the heater when the temps get warm. Although, I'm considering moving my ferrets into the cold office room since 85 is WAY too hot for the fuzzies. Maybe I can put a tank on some bookshelves. Oh well, got awhile to think on it. I told hubby that, even if he says ok on the snake, I'm going to wait until September. It's a long way off, but we have a lot of life stuff happening this summer. Besides, in September the Tucson Reptile Expo is going on and I figured I could buy my little guy there.
 
What about getting a heat panel from reptile basics? You can attach it to the top or side of the viv they make them to go either way.
 
If the room is seldom below 60, you really have nothing to worry about. The room where most of my snakes are kept gets that cool in the winter. They still travel around their vivs. They just tend to hang out on the warmer region.
 
I heat with a woodstove and have woken up to low 50s before, it sucks lol. But I wake up in the middle of the night now to fill the wood stove (since I got the snakes I do it mostly for them) and I use a dimmer switches for mine, but if you have that drastic of a change I would definitely use a Thermostat.
 
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