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Heating

F

Fauna

New member
So, I've opted to use a heating pad(reptile friendly/tank safe) on the bottom of one side of Shiro's tank for warmth and digestion aid instead of using a heating rock. The reason why is because of all the horror stories I've hear about the heating rocks burning snakes and other critters AND shorting out. It's working wonders, and he still has a cool side a warm side BUT, I was wondering if there's a certain amount of time I should keep it on or if it should be on all the time, it won't go above 90 degrees, so I'm not worried about the tank getting too terribly hot per se, but I'm just trying to be careful.


x-Misty
 
I have usually suggested that any heating element be on a rheostat or digital thermostat, they can and will get above 100.

Heating mat on the outside of tank under the bottom, hooked to the one of the devices above with that temperature probe inside the tank right on top of the glass where the heat mat is located. Regulated to stay around 85. Along with a digital thermometer or infrared temp gun to double check it ( that's just what I do, I'm a bit paranoid )

I try to keep my gradient somewhere between 75-78 on the cool side and 83-86 on the warm side for everything but the babies. the babies are on a different type of heating element and thermostat which keeps the warm side at 84-85 constant.

They spend their time sleeping somewhere between the warm area hide and under their paper towel between the cool side and warm side. Their nights are spent figuring out ways to get out of their shoeboxes.

Just my opinion on the heating thing.
 
Yeah you gotta watch out with anything you heat with. The hot rocks are definitely a "No-Go." But even the pads that go under the tank get pretty hot. I experimented when I first set up my tank. I place the heat pad under the tank, plugged it in, gave it about an hour to warm up and then measured the temp with a hand held infrared thermometer. It was about 110 degrees. Way too Hot!!!!

So I got some old newspapers, folded them, stacked them on top of the heat pad, and then gave them time to heat up. Even with almost an inch of newspaper on top of the heat pad the temp still measured 94 degrees. That's good for a boa but too hot still for a corn snake.

I ended up buying a Rheostat that you plug the heater into. You can vary the temp by turning a dial. If I turn the dial all the way up, I still get about 105 degrees. But if i turn it all the way down I get about 89 degrees. Yup, all the way down and it's still 89 degrees! That's better than before, but it's better to be around 83 to 87 for Corn snakes.

So then I put in the furnishings. I have the "Repti-Mat" covering the floor of the cage, and a few hides, water dish....etc....... These coverings and furnishings absorb some of the heat, and when I took another reading, it was 84 degrees over the area where the heat pad was. I actually turned the rheostat up just a hair and got the temp to where it reads 85 now all the time. I put some duct tape over the knob so it would not get moved.

Every time I do a cage cleaning, I check the temp. It now stays at 85 all the time.

2 things I learned from this - 1). You absolutely need one of those infrared thermometers. They are great! Just point and you get an instant reading. and 2). You absolutely need a rheostat or thermostat to control your heat. The heat pads are just too hot by themselves, and you can't just place your hand on it and go by the way it feels to you. Your Body temp is 98.6, what feels good to you or me doesn't necessarily feel good to an animal.
 
If you are looking for a thermostat recommendation - I use the Hydrofarm thermostat as it is relatively inexpensive but is known to work well with snakes.

Good luck!
 
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