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Is heat necessary?

C

cornsnakejunkie

New member
I have been flirting with this idea for a while now and just got up the balls to ask. Is there anyone on here that has kept corns for long periods of time (ie.years) at room temps with no temp gradient? I currently have my snakes supplied with a gradient but was just wondering. I did a search and got a few people saying that they don't need a temp gradient and some that say they do, but no one who said they don't mentions how long they kept the snake in those conditions, and if the snake seemed to thrive. So, lets say in a room with a constant temp of 75 sometimes getting to 80, will a corn snake thrive in those conditions? The reason I ask is my house does in fact stay at 75 and the room my tarantulas and snakes are in is the hottest room in the house(sometimes getting to 80), and if I can get away with these conditions I can expand my collection at a much more decent=(I'm cheap) price. OK, I'm ready, I put my flame retardant pants on, give it to me. :grin01:

:sidestep:
Matt
 
Yeah man, what a stupid question!! How dare you ask that!!!!

LoL, just playing with you of course.

All of my snakes are kept in my apartment room with no temperature gradient and all have done fine. Most big breeders dont have a temperature gradient either.

No reason you'd get flammed for asking, and yes, you can expand your collection if you have a room that's at a stable temp (75-80ish).
 
All but 2 of my enclosures are at room temp or perhaps a little warmer. The 2 I provide a gradient for are my big display terrarium and my 'maternity ward' where the females get put to lay their eggs.
 
I get "human" heating pads at walmart for about $10, and use them for new hatchlings that I acquire for a few months until I'm sure their digestive systems are working. After that they are kept at room temp :cheers:
 
Until recently (last month), all the snakes where I work were kept at room temperature. This also includes a 7 foot long rat snake who was recieved 14 years ago as a hatchling. He is obviously thriving under such conditions, and all of the other 5 species seem to be doing fine as well.
 
As has been said, many folks just use a room they keep a little warmer than the rest of their house to house their snakes...Also, the water evaporating from the water bowl cools the air some, providing a naturally occurring temp. gradiant too, as long as you have decent ventilation for the water to escape :*)
 
Thanks alot for the replies, thats why I love this place. I guess heating pads, lights ect. do have their advantages(in some cases), but not mine. Personally, I like to keep simple animals, this is why I have no Tree Boas-Corallus hurtulanus, they happen to be one of my favorite snakes but with the constant attention to humidity and snappy temperment I just admire them over the internet. :shrugs: Again, thanks ALOT.

:sidestep:
Matt
 
I recently spoke to a breeder about this theory and boy did he have some passionate views on this topic.

He stated that if corns have lived forever in the wild with no belly heat and only sun heat from above to maintain their temperatures then why is it people spend so much money to maintain this "perfect belly heat" when they can do just as well without it. he said its like poeple who buy a puppy and even tho it can be perfectly happy sleeping on a folded blanket on the floor and eating perfectly good, middle class dogfoods such as iams or eukanuba...they say that their dogs MUST have a heated bed with flannel covers and must eat richie-rich dogfood to survive happilly

now while i provide my corn with the "ideal" temperatures, he has no belly heat and seems to be able to eat and digest food fine and is perfectly healthy and active.
 
Willow771 said:
I recently spoke to a breeder about this theory and boy did he have some passionate views on this topic.

He stated that if corns have lived forever in the wild with no belly heat and only sun heat from above to maintain their temperatures then why is it people spend so much money to maintain this "perfect belly heat" when they can do just as well without it. he said its like poeple who buy a puppy and even tho it can be perfectly happy sleeping on a folded blanket on the floor and eating perfectly good, middle class dogfoods such as iams or eukanuba...they say that their dogs MUST have a heated bed with flannel covers and must eat richie-rich dogfood to survive happilly

now while i provide my corn with the "ideal" temperatures, he has no belly heat and seems to be able to eat and digest food fine and is perfectly healthy and active.
Click to expand...


I agree with a lot of that but they do get belly heat by basking on rocks and earth that have been heated up by the sun...and since industrialist humans took over their world, they bask on hot roads.
 
I currently keep my snakes in sterilite bins, in a rack that has heat tape running vertically along the back of the rack. I do not provide belly heat. The heat tape is just there to keep the temps around 80 degrees. I do this, because I live in an uninsulated house that changes temps according to what is happening outside. In the winter, when the temps are in the low 30's, inside the house is only about 3 or 4 degrees warmer. so the heat tape is needed in my case. Someone that can keep a room at a constant temp without fluctuations, can get away with out any kind of heat. When I lived in my apartment, the only thing that I added to my glass tank, was a florecent light for viewing.
 
Paul...do you have any problems getting the racks up to temp when the ambient house temp is so cold? I was just curious...I know heat tape is great but it does only provide SO much of a heat rise over ambient temp...at least without moving to a higher wattage or using insulation...or both.
 
When the temps are so cold, I usually drape a blanket over the open front of the rack. This still allows air exchange through the Peg Board in the back, but helps to keep in the heat.

I have a shed in the back yard that I am working on cleaning up and making into a Herp building. When I do this, I will have an insulated building that will be heated by a small space heater and will allow me to keep the herps at correct temps in the winter time, and in the summer.
 
Are you going to have to air condition the outbuilding to keep the temps DOWN in the summer??

Can't wait to have a reptile building of my own...

Another couple of years...
 
unfortunately, because I live in TX, I will have to have a very small window Air conditioner in there so that I can keep the temps in the low to mid 80's. In the winter, I should be able to use a small space heater to keep the temps between 60 and 70, dropping lower at night and during Brumation.
 
Right on...should work well for you though...
As long as the AC is on a thermo...shouldn't be a prob...

I never though of the fact that brumation should be a SNAP...

Great idea...
 
yea, the AC will be a digital control unit so it will be able to keep temps really well. I just have to worry about springing the cash for it.
 
I hear you...
Is the AC unit digital itself?
You should be able to hook a cheapy window unit up to a Johnsons, Spyder, or Helix...unless that is what you mean...
Don't know if it would be any LESS money...but always worth a shot...

I know the Johnsons are reversible for cooling purposes.
Never tried it with a Herpstat(Spyder) or Helix...but I would assume they will do it as well...
 
the AC itself has a digital control on it, so you set the temp that you want on the unit, and it keeps the room at that temp. really a nice addition. We (Wife and I) Currently have one in our room and it works wonders.
 
Intriguing . . .

The temps in my house are usually around 70 degrees, give or take. Would this be suitable for corns?

Is it possible that all the hype about temps and gradient is just that?!? Oh geez. Or is this thread mainly in reference if you have a room that you can keep a steady/highish temp in?

I have no desire to keep my house, or even a room, at 80 degrees.
 
to tell you the truth, there has been talk about the temp gradient being not needed. I dont' know how true that is though.
 
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