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Temp concerns for new corn snake?

H

hawkeye956

New member
Hi everyone! I will be getting my first corn snake next week and have setup my tank. I am using Kritter Krumble as substrate because I like the look compared to aspen shavings. However I am having trouble holding heat from my UTH I don't know if this is because of the substrate or not. Has anyone had issues with Kritter Krumble? I currently have my tank set up with a layer of paper towels then the thermostat sensor and temp sensor with about an inch and a half to two inches of Kritter Krumble with another temp sensor under the hide. Currently I have it set to 94 degrees on the temp sensor at the bottom to give me 81 at the hide. I feel like that is way too much heat to dissipate I believe. To reach a temp of 84 which I read is a good temp to have on the hot side do I want to set my thermostat to 97 which could be really hot if the little guy wanted to dig. Or should I keep this as is and have it at 81 at the top? To me having it at 84 on the top sounds like the ideal situation however not sure if two inches is too much substrate? Let me know what you guys think. And thanks in advance!
 
I just put my thermostat probe right at the surface of the substrate inside the hot hide. That way I'm not having to guess about substrate thickness and what temperature I need to set it to to get the "correct" heat. Corns (unlike most pythons) are pretty good about avoiding too-high temperatures and won't generally burrow where they could be burned. So long as the surface temperature is good and the hide is sufficiently dark and cozy, your little guy probably won't feel the need.

Be sure to post a pic when you get him/her next week! ^_^ We'd all love to see your little cutie.
 
Set the temp you want directly on the Glass bottom. That way if he burrows into the substrate (and he will) he will not burn himself on the hot glass. The temp you want should be under the substrate not on top of it.
 
I would put the probe on the glass so that you can monitor the temperature where it is going to be hottest. As previously stated, snakes will self regulate but it's best to keep things within an acceptable range. If you're curious about the temps at the surface of the substrate, I'd suggest getting a temp gun. I got mine fairly inexpensively on EBay.
 
Dragonling said:
I just put my thermostat probe right at the surface of the substrate inside the hot hide. That way I'm not having to guess about substrate thickness and what temperature I need to set it to to get the "correct" heat. Corns (unlike most pythons) are pretty good about avoiding too-high temperatures and won't generally burrow where they could be burned. So long as the surface temperature is good and the hide is sufficiently dark and cozy, your little guy probably won't feel the need.

Be sure to post a pic when you get him/her next week! ^_^ We'd all love to see your little cutie.
Click to expand...

This sounds like a great idea! I will definitely post pics once I get her I am pretty excited!
 
Kalista said:
I would put the probe on the glass so that you can monitor the temperature where it is going to be hottest. As previously stated, snakes will self regulate but it's best to keep things within an acceptable range. If you're curious about the temps at the surface of the substrate, I'd suggest getting a temp gun. I got mine fairly inexpensively on EBay.
Click to expand...

I do have a temp gun it is a really awesome tool to have! This is how I know that at the top of the substrate at the hot end to achieve a temp of 84 degrees the bottom of the glass is at 97 degrees. I just thought it was abnormal to see a 13 degree difference through the substrate.
 
Also something else I have noticed I am not sure if coconut husk substrates tend to do this or not but towards the bottom of the terrarium I can see beads of water forming on the hot side and it appears wet compared to the cool side. Is this condensation from the heat? It also feels a bit wet compared to the hot side.
 
I think coconut husk substrates are meant to hold in moisture for humidity. You don't want your corn snake on a wet or damp substrate as it may cause heath problems. Maybe you could remove it and let it completely dry out?
 
Yes - you always want to be careful with humidity and corn snakes because too high humidity can cause an RI (respiratory infection).
 
I was going to use Kritter Krumble as well, but I had the same issue with water beading on the sides of the tub. The humidity was WAY too high. I'm saving it for the winter when our apartment is ridiculously dry from the central heating and using shredded aspen instead.
 
Thanks I will keep an eye on this and make sure the humidity doesn't get too high. Out of the bag I bought it in it is not wet I believe the moisture is coming from the heat but to the touch it is not wet just appears wet at the bottom of the terrarium. I will keep an eye on it though these next couple of days and make sure it doesn't get wet throughout. Thanks for the advice! Definitely don't want an RI for my new snake that would be bad!
 
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