newsnakeowner1978 said:
Hi, I am new to this. lol. I am getting my corn baby next week and i want to have my tank all ready. i have a heating lamp with the spot light bulb for heating. temperary for now. but anyways. i was wonderin if the light sits on top of the screen or do u put it inside the tank, hanging from the screen. Wnats to know what is best as this is my first snake. And its very expensive ($150) for the snake so whats to do this right. lol. tks and would appreciate any answers. my email is
[email protected]. tks
josh
There are two schools of thought on lighting: 1) it’s not needed, or 2) it should be considered. I happen think a heat lamp makes a lot of sense.
As you probably know by now, the proper way to keep a snake is to provide an enclosure with a heat gradient. There should be a cool end and a warm end. The cool end should have ambient air temperatures in the mid 70s, the warm end should be in the upper 80s. These temperatures refer to the ambient air temperature in the enclosure. The gradient is important so the snake can thermoregulate. Additionally, properly heated ambient air is conducive to a good immune system.
Maintaining the warm end in the mid to upper 80s is not necessarily as easy as it sounds. You can do it, though, in a number of ways. The two most popular methods are the use of a heat lamp, or the use of an under-tank-heater (UTH), either (or both) placed at the warm end of the enclosure.
UTHs are great for heating the glass on the bottom of the enclosure. The theory is that the snake can burrow under the substrate and lie on the warm glass and absorb all the heat it needs. The problem I have encountered is that while the UTH is great for heating the glass, it’s horrible for raising the ambient air temperature. You can use the UTH along with a rheostat or thermostat to control the temperature on the glass.
Lights, on the other hand, do a great job at raising ambient air temperature. They are simply NOT just used for night viewing. Using them in conjunction with a rheostat or thermostat prevents the problem in Nanci’s picture – too high temperatures. A perch or other area under the light gives the snake a place to lie and absorb heat without having to burrow for it.
There are different bulbs that can be used in a heat lamp. Florescent lights can be used, but they can’t be used with a rheostat. They do give off some heat, and some give off UVA/UVB light. I’d avoid lights that give off a lot of UV light as this kind of light over a long term can damage eyes – especially in an albino snake. Incandescent bulbs give off both light and decent amounts of heat. White lights will need to be turned off at night so as not to disturb thr night snakes need. A better choice, IMO, would be a black light bul, such as those made by Flukers or Exo-Terra. Both make purple bulbs that give off very little light, and good amounts of heat. Both are entirely suitable for night viewing. They don’t give off any appreciable amounts of UV light. And they can be left on 24/7 since they don’t interrupt the night cycle.
These are the bulbs I’m referring to:
http://www.flukerfarms.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=46
http://www.exo-terra.com/EN/products/night_glo_i.html
ZooMed makes a red bulb as well that would be suitable, but I have found these to be VERY bright.
http://www.zoomed.com/html/nightlight_red.php
I like the purple lights much better.
I happen to use both a UTH and a lamp on both my vivariums. But if I had to give up one, I’d give up the UTH. My snakes see to much prefer basking than burrowing when they want to warm up. And the often heard argument that “belly heat is better” is not supported by any science I’ve seen – but it is a convenient mantra for those that say the UTH is the only way to go.
Enjoy your snakes. One of the enjoyable things about them is work you have to put into caring for them. You’ll soon see that the many challenges you will encounter in caring for your snake will have more than one solution. This is one of them.
