• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Temperature Questions

J

jameskeagie

New member
Hello Everyone,
I'm new here, and just got a beautiful ghost corn last week. I've let him hang out for a week, and he just fed last night - ate his pinkie right away like a good boy, and he handles great so I'm assuming he's pretty happy.

Anyways heres my question - what temperatures are ideal? My apartment sometimes gets about 75-79 during the day, and the thermometer in the tank is reading just about that on the cold side. I think thats a little warm for the cold side - but don't want to have to A/C the entire house for 2 sq. feet of viv to cool down. Is there anyway to cool it down? That temp. may be a little high as the thermometer I'm using is a digital one with a probe (Indoor/Outdoor) and the indoor side's probe is built into the display, and so it gets buried in the substrate a little. As for the hot side - the UTH was getting wayy too hot (up to 120) on the glass right over the UTH. I've heard anywhere from 85 to 95 as being ideal for the warm side right above the UTH. The pet store where I got him said that up to 100 is fine - but I'm not really sure about that, but tend to trust them as they had about 30 kinds of corns, kings, and boas that they breed there - but the kid I was talking to may have been thinking more along temps of warmer snakes. So I didn't want the glass so warm as to burn him so I just unplugged the UTH when he fed last night (when I first got the correct temp f/m a probe on the glass) and used the overhead lamp - and got temp's around 86-87 on the glass today. Its just about summer, and the A/C will be kickin on so that will be going down - so today I made a rheostat for the UTH - a power strip, gang box, and dimmer switch etc. - so I'll now be able to safely use the UTH. What temps do I want for the glass then - just so long as its not too hot to burn him? If I make it 85 at the glass he'll need a hide that gives him direct contact with the glass correct? He's been enjoyin layin on top of the Repti-Bark under a branch - and doesn't seem to like burrowing (even on the cooler side) - so maybe around 90 on the glass? Also with it being Kansas here and warm - do I even need an overtank light then? Its a 50W DayGlo I believe right now and seems to generate a decent amount of heat. Thanks alot and sorry for the long post!

Oh - by the way humidity stays around 45-65% - its naturally that way in KS and it sucks haha
 
You need to buy a thermostat to regulate your temperatures. Your cool side is fine hovering in the high 70's. Warm side should be no higher than 86/88. I make sure my corns are all around the mid 80's mark. But then I have a thermostat to do that for me :p

120 will fry a corn, no wonder he doesn't want to burrow :p
 
Yeah I knew it was way too high - thats why I made a rheostat. But even now its 80.00 on the cool side, and 90 on the glass on the warm side - only heated by the 50W lamp. I'm going to dim the lamp down, but mainly I'm just looking for about 86-90 on the glass? I don't necessarily want him to burrow, but obviously don't want him to be injured - do I need to make a cave for him on the glass for those temps?

Thanks!
 
jameskeagie said:
Yeah I knew it was way too high - thats why I made a rheostat. But even now its 80.00 on the cool side, and 90 on the glass on the warm side - only heated by the 50W lamp. I'm going to dim the lamp down, but mainly I'm just looking for about 86-90 on the glass? I don't necessarily want him to burrow, but obviously don't want him to be injured - do I need to make a cave for him on the glass for those temps?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


The problem with letting the temp on the glass get to 90 is that a rheostat doesn't give nearly 100% control of the temp. If it gets up to 90 and there is any change in the ambient air temp, it wouldn't be unexpected for the UTH temp to get above 90.
I have always aimed for a temp of 80-85 on the glass and never even bothered measuring what the temp was on top of the substrate. I've never had a problem with this method. A lamp and a UTH is usually overkill for heat. As for the cool side, if it gets warm in your house, the cool side is going to heat up. In the summer, the "cool side" for some of my corns easily reaches the low 80's. I just turn the heat off and leave the whole enclosure at ambient temps without any problems.
 
Last edited:
Yeah I'm just using the bulb and even with a hide over the sensor I'm still getting 86 on the glass. I'm just worried about temps getting too cold at night on the glass for him - but ambient temp during the summer here in KS doesn't ever get that low especially inside - so I may just use only the lamp, less chance of burning him. As for a thermostat - whats a decent affordable model? Also, the lamp itself is a 50W DayGlo bulb, and from what I understood was meant mainly to keep up day and night cycles, and get him some UV light. My apt. room is pretty small and he gets plenty of light from a large window - would a UTH on a thermostat be better? Thanks!
 
IMO, a UTH with a rheostat or thermostat is better than a lamp. But I'm biased because I've never used a lamp...never needed to use one. Ambient light is plenty good to maintain day night cycles. UV isn't necessary for corns, IIRC. The best way to get a feel for the temps is just watch them closely for a few days. If he hasn't recently eaten, you could try leaving the heat off for a day and see how the temperatures in the viv look without heat. Of course, don't try that if he's digesting something. Trial and error is the best way to find a method that works for you and your snake. Naturally, always try to err on the side of caution. Personally, I would start with removing the lamp and just using the UTH with some form of regulation and see where that gets you. Good luck :)
 
Oh yeah one other thing, if not using the "DayGlo bulb" would a flourescent light be useful etc. for the day/night cycles?
 
Awesome - sounds good. Right now he just ate last night - so I'm going to keep the glass at a good temp. with the lamp/UTH on very low from the rheostat so he can digest. I'll experiment over the next few days. Regardless if it shifts a few degress (ambient house temp. should stay constant) the rheostat is a much better option than 120 glass temps hurtin Octavious haha - thanks for all your guys' help.
 
Personally I think just the UTH with a thermostat (try getting the "Repti-Temp500R" from "Reptilesupply.com", it's only 19.99+shipping) I used to have a lamp in my snake's tank but then read that the UV rays it produces could possibly affect the snake in a bad way..I've heard it could possibly cause blindness but this hasn't been scientificlly proven...Either way the UTH with a nice thermostat should suffice just perfectly and let the house control the cool side of the tank naturally...in my apt. the temps for the house ranges throughout the day between 72-75 degrees and I was told that those are perfect ranges for the cool side..also don't forget about keeping a good humidity level in the tank by spraying or making a humid hide inside the tank..good humidity levels should range anywhere from 40-50..I usually keep the humidity in the high 30's at least while Maize isn't shedding, when she shows signs of shedding I spray the tank more often to keep it in the high 40's and 50's..This is all based off of what I've read and learned, It really comes down to what your methods and choices are for your snake, good luck :0)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top