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To thermostat or not to thermostat??

J

Jester37

New member
Hi there,

We are about to get our first baby corn snake but have heard varying opinions on whether or not a thermostat is necessary for the UTH. Everyone on here seems to think so but the 4 reptile stores I've talked to say it is not necessary, that the snake will just move over to the cool side.

Thoughts?

Thank you
 
Thank you for the responses. I just don't understand why these reptile stores are saying that. Now for my other question, we are setting up the viv before we get the snake and have been experimenting with the temps. My wife likes to keep the house cold and the cold side of the tank is getting about 67-68 degrees at night. Is that too cold and if so, what can be done about that?

Thanks again.
 
I second the motion for a thermostats. Before I got mine I just had the UTH and when I checked it with my newly bought thermometer it was at 92F! Yikes! Way too hot. I now have a thermostat to regulate and a thermometer for easy monitoring and I would HIGHLY recommend both. As for the cold side I'm not so knowledgeable on that, my husband keeps our house warm so I haven't had to worry about it. My guess would be that it's ok, I think the recommended cool temp's lowest level is about 70F, but can be allowed to get a bit cooler at night. Your snake should also be able to move to the warm side at night if it so chooses. Anyone with more experience please correct me though if I have said anything wrong! Hope I helped :)
 
Yes, that does help thank you, but here is potentially a really silly question: When going to test out the thermostat tonight, cannot figure out how to keep probe INSIDE the tank and the controls OUTSIDE the tank without having an unsecure lid due to the cord connecting the two. I must be missing something?
 
What type of lid do you have? I have a Zilla with a slide lid that has small cutouts for cords in such a way that it doesn't affect the security. If you have a screen top I'm not as familiar with those, my best guess would be to run the cord over the lip of the viv and then secure the screen over top, but this can cause issues because tiny snakes can fit out of tiny gaps. Can anyone else add their knowledge to this?
 
Yes, I have the same Zilla tank with that lid and did initially set the probe up as you say, but even so the space for the cord seemed to enlarge the opening just a bit. Not sure if that's enough room for a hatchling to escape?
 
If it is big enough for their nose, it's big enough for their body. On mine the cords for the thermostat and thermometer take up enough space that when I close the lid the wires tightly plug the hole. Is your problem that your lid now does not slide shut all the way (ie: cord is too thick) or when slid shut there is a loose gap in the cord space (ie: cord too thin)? If the latter, I would think a dab of aquarium silicone could seal the gap. If the former, I'm looking at mine and as long as it slides shut correctly and snaps shut, I think you're probably ok because the cord would plug the hole and if there are no other gaps around the lid, there's nowhere for the hatchling to go. If your cord impedes the lid closing properly I'm not sure what to suggest except a smaller cord...
 
Well on these Zilla vivs, the space for the cords may or may not be large enough for a young hatchling to get through, but the lid does slide shut all the way. Your suggestion of aquarium silicone is a good one if any extra space is left.
 
IME as long as the lid is slid closed all the way(locks) then there is not enough space for a baby snake to get out. I see this is my young snakes 15gallon and my adults 30 gallon. I love those zillas tanks for snakes, especially babies.
 
You could always tape the thermostat probe to the bottom of the tank/tub where the UTH is going to be (on the outside, of course). That way, it has no chance of getting loose and the thermostat heating up incorrectly. :) Then you don't have to worry about getting the wire through the lid without letting an escape happen.
 
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