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too hot?

S

squashy

New member
hi i have a corn snake in a 3 foot wooden vivarium so the heatmat is inside the cage i have wood chips as a substrate and the part where the heatmat is under just feels a bit warm not hot but was just wondering whether this is too hot for the snake :shrugs: i do have a thermometer but it only measures ambient air temperature although i will be purchasing a probe thermometer soon
any replies will be helpful thanks.
 
Im not sure if that could harm the snake, but you might be better off having it outside the cage or putting something other than the bedding to cover it up.
 
No, heat mats are supposed to go inside wooden vivariums.

You may like to invest in a thermostat to make sure the temperature is correct. :)
 
I've been ready alot lately that the heat mat will get hot enough to burn a snake in about an hour. Thermostat seems to be a must.

I've got one on the way for my little guy.
 
Try putting a peice of tile or glass over the heat mat so the snake can't burrow down and come in direct contact with the mat.
 
i dont think it is too hot i think it is ok but i am unsure whether something that doesn't feel hot to me would feel hot to a snake. he seems to be fine using the warm hide just a little less than the cool hide
 
I dont even think it is ok to keep a heat pad inside the tank. They can get extremely hot And direct contact even at lower temps can be harmful. Not to mention the potential threat of electricutiondue to exsposed wires near water. Or a snake getting in to the heat pad it self and touching the raw heating element. I believe any heat pad should be kept outside the tank.
 
In the uk wooden vivs are more common than the glass tank with screen lid, And heatmats are sold that have no exposed wires to be used inside the viv.
imo the real isssue here is the lack of a thermostat (or rheostat and digital thermometer), so the poster is checking the temps by touching the mat, and seems to be running a big risk of their snake getting burnt.
 
I just picked up a thermostat from ebay, they have loads including some second hand one's, well worth a look. :cool:
 
If it feels warm to the touch at all its probably too hot. I believe skin temp is about 91 F so if it feels warm it's hotter than that. I agree with the others, a rheostat or thermostat is needed, as well as a digital thermometer with probe to monitor it as you've mentoned getting.
 
If using it inside a wooden viv, you can build a false floor - a little platform, so that the heat mat sits underneath it and the snake (and poop!) can't come into contact with it. If your snake poops on the connector part, that isn't waterproof. You risk electrocution of the snake and an electrical fire. Sounds dramatic and it is only a possibility, but these guys have a habit of picking the most onconvenient places to relieve themselves!

You shouldn't put anything down directly on top of the mat, as they need a bit of airflow over them to avoid damage (even with a stat). If you use a sheet of glass, attach small pads of cork mat around it, so it's slightly lifted off the mat - only needs to be a millimeter or so of clearance to keep things safe.

A thermostat is a must. The post above that talks about human body temp, is spot on. Our body temp is above a Corn's ideal maximum. If the mat feels warm to you, it probably feels scalding to the Corn. An unregulated mat can easily reach 110 degrees or higher.

Put the probe of the stat in the substrate immediately above the mat. You need to be regulating (and measuring) temps at the point where the Corns come into contact with the heat source, which will be the floor with a mat.

Good luck!
 
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