hi, a couple of days ago i bought a 2 year old corn snake complete with full setup, the snake is fine no problems there but a couple of things worried me abot the(wooden) vivarium. the first thing is that there was a light in the tank that i was told had to be kept on all day, but the light was stuck on loosely with tape and didnt have a guard so i took this out straight away. the second thing is that the heat mat is on the side of the tank, i am not sure if this is ok as the snake cant lie on it to digest its food, any help will be great thanks.
-
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.
heat mat position
- Thread starter talc22
- Start date
bitsy
Owned by Corns since 1991
You're right that belly heat is preferable for digestion in Corns.
You can put the heatmat on the floor inside the viv, as long as you cover it with something to prevent poop leaking onto it (risk of electrical shorts, electric shock to snake and damage to the mat). I use a layer of ceramic wall tiles over the top of the mat. The ridges on the back surface of the tiles allow for airflow over the surface of the mat to prevent overheating. I also provide extra protection where the wire joins the mat.
Make sure you use the mat with a thermostat if it goes on the floor. A Corn's ideal maximum temp is around 88 degrees and an unregulated mat can easily reach 120 degrees. For some reason, it doesn't occur to them to move off of an overly hot surface, so you run the risk of burns without a stat.
You did the right thing getting rid of the light. Corns don't need artificial light as long as the room they're in has natural sunlight. And a mat alone will be fine as the only heat source.
You can put the heatmat on the floor inside the viv, as long as you cover it with something to prevent poop leaking onto it (risk of electrical shorts, electric shock to snake and damage to the mat). I use a layer of ceramic wall tiles over the top of the mat. The ridges on the back surface of the tiles allow for airflow over the surface of the mat to prevent overheating. I also provide extra protection where the wire joins the mat.
Make sure you use the mat with a thermostat if it goes on the floor. A Corn's ideal maximum temp is around 88 degrees and an unregulated mat can easily reach 120 degrees. For some reason, it doesn't occur to them to move off of an overly hot surface, so you run the risk of burns without a stat.
You did the right thing getting rid of the light. Corns don't need artificial light as long as the room they're in has natural sunlight. And a mat alone will be fine as the only heat source.
hi, when i got up today my snake has managed 2 get in behind the heat mat on the side of the viv, she is ok no signs of burns or anything( she actually looked happy ). i got a digital thermometer yesterday and the temps on the mat have been between 85 and 90 degrees. i tried to move the mat to the bottom but it covers up half of the tank and i thought this would be too much, i do have a much smaller heat mat, do you think she would benefit more from this if it was on the bottom and covered with a tile. thanks.
bitsy
Owned by Corns since 1991
Climbing behind the mat when it's on the wall, seems to be a pretty big hint that she needs improved access to heat. Not sure how a Corn "looks happy" though!
The heat mat needs to cover about one-third of the floor area at one end, so one that covers half of the floor might be a bit too much. You don't want less than a third of the floor area covered though - I'd have thought that the warmest place needs to be big enough for the whole of the snake's body to be in contact with it at once.
Could you use the larger mat outside the tank, undreneath it, and leave part of it sticking out at one end? The only alternative I can think of is to buy another mat, around the correct size for the floor.
The heat mat needs to cover about one-third of the floor area at one end, so one that covers half of the floor might be a bit too much. You don't want less than a third of the floor area covered though - I'd have thought that the warmest place needs to be big enough for the whole of the snake's body to be in contact with it at once.
Could you use the larger mat outside the tank, undreneath it, and leave part of it sticking out at one end? The only alternative I can think of is to buy another mat, around the correct size for the floor.