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Best way to heat a glass cage in a cool house?

NewCornGirl

NewCornGirl

New member
Hi guys,

I've been doing some reading and starting to make a list of what I'll need for my new corn snake before I get him/her--and I'm a little confused as to heating. I've decided I'm going to use a 20 gallon Critter Cage as a home for my future corn, and from what I've read so far heat mats with a thermostat/rheostat seem like the way to go. I tend to like my house cool, though--it's usually between 65-68 degrees, even in the winter. So if I use a heat mat for the warm side of the cage--would it then be too cold for the corn on the cool side, given this room temperature? Should I use a heat lamp for the cool side if this room temp would be too cold--or a second, smaller heat mat? Thanks in advance for any help!
 
In all likelihood your corn will be absolutely fine. We keep our house pretty cool in winter and I have had no problems. You could use a 40 W light bulb on top of the cage to heat up the ambient temps a bit ( I would put it on the warm side) but you don't have to. The 40 watt bulbs are getting harder to find and the 60s could raise the temps too much.

If you are going to get a hatchling you might want to keep it in smaller enclosure at the beginning so it is not overwhelmed. If not then use a lot of hides. The rolls from paper towel and toilet paper work well.
 
Bear in mind that a heat mat is designed to heat the floor surface, which is exactly what a Corn needs as it lives at floor level. As long as you're measuring the temp on the floor surface above the mat, and you're using a thermostat, then the temp of the floor will stay at whatever you set using the thermostat.

A low ambient room temp just means that the stat will keep the mat turned up/on for slightly longer - it won't mean that the heat mat will run cooler.

IMO, there's no point worrying about the air temp in the tank above the floor, as the Corn will never be up there. Even if you provide climbing equipment, as long as there's a warm floor are of the correct temp with a nice secure hide on it, the snake will use it when it needs to.
 
I completely agree with bitsy. The snake knows what temp it needs to be. As long as you provide the proper heating, the snake will regulate itself. :D
 
I am very new and still learning, but wanted to chime in on something. I bought a rheostat to regulate my uth. It didn't do what I needed it to do at all. I have a small uth under a 10 gallon tank. Even with the rheostat set on low, it allowed it to go up to 100+F. I am taking it back today and waiting for the digital thermostat to be delivered. Petsmart only carries the rheostats....don't waste your money. JMHO.
 
You should be fine at that temp. You can put plastic-covered fiberglass insulation around the sides and back and a terry towel over the top to keep heat in if you think your viv is too cold. Or you could run two UTHs on two thermostats, one set for 85 and one set for 75, each covering 1/4 to 1/3 of the floor, with another half or third unheated. That would be pretty extreme, though!
 
I'm actually having the same issue with my corn right now. It has started to get pretty cool in our house and the ambient temperature has dropped in the tank as low as 62f. His under tank heater is still working great but it's only covering a 4th of the tank. In the past few days he has started abandoning his favorite hides and burying himself in the aspen which he hasn't done much in the past. I'm just wondering if this is his way of telling me that he is too cold and I should get a heat emitter or light to warm up his terrarium.
 
jtjacob said:
I'm actually having the same issue with my corn right now. It has started to get pretty cool in our house and the ambient temperature has dropped in the tank as low as 62f. His under tank heater is still working great but it's only covering a 4th of the tank. In the past few days he has started abandoning his favorite hides and burying himself in the aspen which he hasn't done much in the past. The reason why he is "burying himself in the aspen" is because he is thermoregulateing himself. I'm just wondering if this is his way of telling me that he is too cold and I should get a heat emitter or light to warm up his terrarium.
Click to expand...

jtjacob - First you are not giving us the info we need to help you. I do not need ambient temps. I need actual temps of the substrate on the cool side and the warm side. Even better is actual temps of the top of the substrate and actual temps of the bottom of the substrate.

Cool side temps really do not matter unless they get to like 50.

What matters is that the warm side stays around 85 degrees on the top of the substrate and no more than 90 degrees on the bottom of the substrate. The way you reach that is by the thickness of the substrate.
 
Well I have been messing with it all day checking temperatures and in order to get a temperature around of around 85 on the top of the substrate, the temperature under it is 110-115! I know that this is way too hot, but the substrate is less than 1 inch thick... not sure what the deal is. Suggestions?
 
jtjacob said:
Well I have been messing with it all day checking temperatures and in order to get a temperature around of around 85 on the top of the substrate, the temperature under it is 110-115! I know that this is way too hot, but the substrate is less than 1 inch thick... not sure what the deal is. Suggestions?
Click to expand...

With temps like "110-115" I am going to say you do not have a T-stat. So, the first thing you need to do is get a T-stat for the UTH(Under the Tank Heater). If you do have a T-stat the probe is in the wrong spot or the T-stat does not work properly and needs to be replaced.

You could have a rheostat that is letting the UTH get to hot. To fix that problem you need to buy the correct rheostat.
 
My hubby keeps our house very warm in the winter time! Even more so now that his has his python! Its so hot at times I use a fan directly on me to sleep at night LOL. Im not worried about my corn snakes the times on the warm side are fine and i provide a cool hide and warm hide in their glass vivs...
 
Fatman608:
I do have a thermostat and the probe is under the substrate... the problem is that I have to have temperatures of around 115 on the glass to get 85 on the substrate which is already very thin. From what I have read about 2 inches of substrate is pretty good but I'm down to an inch or less now. I know that 115 is dangerously hot but I can't find a way to get a thermogradient without those high temperatures from the uth.

I really appreciate your input so keep it coming if you know what else I can try.
 
jtjacob said:
Fatman608:
I do have a thermostat and the probe is under the substrate... the problem is that I have to have temperatures of around 115 on the glass to get 85 on the substrate which is already very thin. From what I have read about 2 inches of substrate is pretty good but I'm down to an inch or less now. I know that 115 is dangerously hot but I can't find a way to get a thermogradient without those high temperatures from the uth.

I really appreciate your input so keep it coming if you know what else I can try.
Click to expand...

The temp on top of the glass matters far more than what is on top, since they will most likely burrow themselves to the bottom anyway. Set it to 90 degrees and leave it at that.
 
AliCat37 said:
The temp on top of the glass matters far more than what is on top, since they will most likely burrow themselves to the bottom anyway. Set it to 90 degrees and leave it at that.
Click to expand...

I tried to give you rep and it wouldn't let me. :(

OP- What substrate are you using that is sucking up THAT much heat? I'm using super finely shredded aspen and only losing 1-2 degrees from the glass to the top.
 
jtjacob - Set the T-stat to 90 degrees and make sure the bottom is 90 degrees. Remove more of the substrate until the top of the substrate is around 85 degrees. Do not forget to add a hide on the warm side.

What type and brand of T-stat.
 
Ok I will be sure to do that. I have a Big Apple Herp thermostat. It does a very good job of holding the temperature within a few degrees, but the numbers on the thermostat are not accurate of the temp it puts out so I have to use my lazer thermometer and tweak it till it gets to 85.
 
jtjacob - I can not believe this Texan is helping an Okie with a corn snake issue. Don't you know you have some of the finest looking Bull snakes in your area IMO.
 
Fatman608: I'm actually from San Antonio lol. I'm in Oklahoma to go to school at OSU. I did look at Bull Snakes, but this being my first snake, I thought that a more docile snake would suit me better as a beginner. I also really like the size, morphs, and just about everything else about corns. If I get to the point where I can afford another snake I may have to look into Bulls again but I think I am leaning towards a JCP or Woma Python.
 
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