Need help getting my UTH under control

[XenDrgn]

I have only had my corn snake for a week now, but this past 7 days has been a nightmare when it comes to temperature issues. Thank heavens my little snake is nice and placid and doesn't seem to mind it too much as I struggle to learn how to fix this issues as they arise.

Story to Date:
Day 1: My hubby and I went to the local Petco for their Reptile Meet n Greet, and pretty much fell in love with a gorgeous little red and white corn hatchling (you can find pictures in the photo gallery). We didn't get her right away. After all, even with the awesome sale they were running, it is a big investment if you aren't prepared for it. So we went home and talked it over. And over. And over. And oer some more. Finally, 30 min before closing, we ran back and snatched her up. (I HAVE NO REGRETS!) However! in our rush, we got everything we needed except for one tiny little crucial tidbit - The Thermometer. Now, we keep our home at a steady 76 degrees, so I know it was never going to be too cold for her. But I did worry about her having a warm spot. So I got home, set up the tank, placed the UTH as directed put down two layers of paper towels, about a half inch to one inch thick layer of Aspen bedding. Hut - Check. Tree - check. Water bowl - check.

Day 2: Find her outside her hut in the cool area under her tree, think, Great! variant temp, mobility, all's well until I get a thermometer. Go to petsmart, grab a nice digital zoo med probed thermometer. Get home. Install. Doesn't turn on. Uninstall, check everything find no battery. Well. Shoot. Read instructions again (not that there were many, i mean its pretty much, push button and stick to glass) check - confirmed battery SHOULD be included. It wasn't. Great. Well, petsmart is over 30 min away so can't go back today. Everything still seems to be going well, few more days shouldn't hurt. Right?

Day 3: Time to set up tank in permenant location, move to office. all going well.

Day 4: Skittish. Not bitey or agressive, but suddenly very jumpy at even the smallest touch or approach. Question and count the days. Four days since last feeding, though possibly longer if she isn't the one they told us she was. Figure she's hungry. Off to petco this time, grab a pack of pinks and come home. Wait till her set 'dusk' time, transfer to a feeding container and offer a thawed pink. Scarfs it like a greedy hungry little lady should. She literally just stretched up towards it, kissed it. Licked it, bit it right on the back of the neck and pulled it down. Perfect feeding. Wait till its swallowed down and a good two inches in, transfer feeder tub to her tank and let her work her own way out back back into her hide over the heater.

Day 5: She spends the entire day in her hide.

Day 6 AM: Still in her hide. Get concerned, pull her out and inspect. Looks good, pink seems wel digested. Couldn't bring myself not to have a few minutes of contact time, so just letting her nestle and roam over my hands at well. Get a good 15 min of playtime before I joined the Poop Club. SMELL LEARNED. Get over musky poop smell trickling down my hand put her back in her habitat. Clean hand. And desk. And phone. .... clean again. And then a third time as husband laughs his a$$ off. Grumble.

Day 6 PM: Clean a 4th time. (phone still smells like poop. Thanks Twizzler.) Still in hide. EVen more concerned now. Check tank. No recognizeable difference in temps between hot/cold sides. Roam entire home looking for small enough battery to fit stupid thermometer. Finally butcher child's noisy toy and find one. Test temp. Steady 76. Check UTH. Plugged in. No switch, no controlls. Either on or off. But, not warm. At all. Start panicking that I have to drag entire tank in to have store test heater. Spend hour fiddling and finally learn outlet is switched. Spend 30 minutes cursing builders and then working on restoring warmth.

Day 7: Heat is on! Great! Right? now heat is too much. I have the probe placed on top of the substrate but underneath the hut. Notice the temp is creeping up to 90, unplug it. Spent the rest of the day onitoring it and plugging it back in (or unpugging it) when temps got too hot or too cold.


LONG STORY MADE SHORT: Using a UTH made for a 10-20g tank on a 10g tank. pad says it will keep tank 5-10 degrees warmer, but it is actually keeping it more like 15-20 degrees warmer.

 

[MysticExotics]

I have only had my corn snake for a week now, but this past 7 days has been a nightmare when it comes to temperature issues. Thank heavens my little snake is nice and placid and doesn't seem to mind it too much as I struggle to learn how to fix this issues as they arise.

Story to Date:
Day 1: My hubby and I went to the local Petco for their Reptile Meet n Greet, and pretty much fell in love with a gorgeous little red and white corn hatchling (you can find pictures in the photo gallery). We didn't get her right away. After all, even with the awesome sale they were running, it is a big investment if you aren't prepared for it. So we went home and talked it over. And over. And over. And oer some more. Finally, 30 min before closing, we ran back and snatched her up. (I HAVE NO REGRETS!) However! in our rush, we got everything we needed except for one tiny little crucial tidbit - The Thermometer. Now, we keep our home at a steady 76 degrees, so I know it was never going to be too cold for her. But I did worry about her having a warm spot. So I got home, set up the tank, placed the UTH as directed put down two layers of paper towels, about a half inch to one inch thick layer of Aspen bedding. Hut - Check. Tree - check. Water bowl - check.

Day 2: Find her outside her hut in the cool area under her tree, think, Great! variant temp, mobility, all's well until I get a thermometer. Go to petsmart, grab a nice digital zoo med probed thermometer. Get home. Install. Doesn't turn on. Uninstall, check everything find no battery. Well. Shoot. Read instructions again (not that there were many, i mean its pretty much, push button and stick to glass) check - confirmed battery SHOULD be included. It wasn't. Great. Well, petsmart is over 30 min away so can't go back today. Everything still seems to be going well, few more days shouldn't hurt. Right?

Day 3: Time to set up tank in permenant location, move to office. all going well.

Day 4: Skittish. Not bitey or agressive, but suddenly very jumpy at even the smallest touch or approach. Question and count the days. Four days since last feeding, though possibly longer if she isn't the one they told us she was. Figure she's hungry. Off to petco this time, grab a pack of pinks and come home. Wait till her set 'dusk' time, transfer to a feeding container and offer a thawed pink. Scarfs it like a greedy hungry little lady should. She literally just stretched up towards it, kissed it. Licked it, bit it right on the back of the neck and pulled it down. Perfect feeding. Wait till its swallowed down and a good two inches in, transfer feeder tub to her tank and let her work her own way out back back into her hide over the heater.

Day 5: She spends the entire day in her hide.

Day 6 AM: Still in her hide. Get concerned, pull her out and inspect. Looks good, pink seems wel digested. Couldn't bring myself not to have a few minutes of contact time, so just letting her nestle and roam over my hands at well. Get a good 15 min of playtime before I joined the Poop Club. SMELL LEARNED. Get over musky poop smell trickling down my hand put her back in her habitat. Clean hand. And desk. And phone. .... clean again. And then a third time as husband laughs his a$$ off. Grumble.

Day 6 PM: Clean a 4th time. (phone still smells like poop. Thanks Twizzler.) Still in hide. EVen more concerned now. Check tank. No recognizeable difference in temps between hot/cold sides. Roam entire home looking for small enough battery to fit stupid thermometer. Finally butcher child's noisy toy and find one. Test temp. Steady 76. Check UTH. Plugged in. No switch, no controlls. Either on or off. But, not warm. At all. Start panicking that I have to drag entire tank in to have store test heater. Spend hour fiddling and finally learn outlet is switched. Spend 30 minutes cursing builders and then working on restoring warmth.

Day 7: Heat is on! Great! Right? now heat is too much. I have the probe placed on top of the substrate but underneath the hut. Notice the temp is creeping up to 90, unplug it. Spent the rest of the day onitoring it and plugging it back in (or unpugging it) when temps got too hot or too cold.


LONG STORY MADE SHORT: Using a UTH made for a 10-20g tank on a 10g tank. pad says it will keep tank 5-10 degrees warmer, but it is actually keeping it more like 15-20 degrees warmer.

You need a thermostat, to regulate the temps. A Thermometer will tell you the temp, but will not regulate it.

Also, no matter how much substrate you put on top of where the UTH is, you cannot rely on that to diffuse the heat. They can burrow down to the glass and get burned.

You're on the right track, but you will need to get a thermostat.

 

[jagodzinski]

I never used a thermostat until about 1 week ago, and the purchase was 100% worth it. I feel so much safer now and I no longer am checking temperature every hour and worrying. But for the snake's safety and health - I recommend a thermostat. The one I bought is the Hydrofarm, because it was not too expensive and is known to work well with snake setups. It is very simple to control, basically you set the temperature and it works by just turning the UTH on and off to maintain the right heat. This one also is not too expensive (only 35 dollars on Amazon). Of course, there are much more expensive ones designed for reptiles like the Herpstat but Hydrofarm works fine (at least for me) and is cheap.

What I do is a place my probe outside of the vivarium between my UTH and vivarium. I find I have to set the temperature on the thermostat to about 103 degrees to get the inside of the tank 88 on the glass floor and 85 on top of the substrate. But there are lots of different setups you can use.

To monitor temperature I use an infrared heat gun and I also have a digital probe by my snake's warm hide.

Good luck with your new snake!

*I'm no expert, this is just my opinion with 6 years of my snake.

 

[XenDrgn]

Thank you. I will certainly look into getting a thermostat as quickly as I can. Luckily, she really isn't burrowing much right now. She did the first day but has pretty much stayed on top the substrate (for now) but I know that's no guarantee. So i'll just have to keep monitoring the thermometer until I can get the thermostat in.

 

[MysticExotics]

Thank you. I will certainly look into getting a thermostat as quickly as I can. Luckily, she really isn't burrowing much right now. She did the first day but has pretty much stayed on top the substrate (for now) but I know that's no guarantee. So i'll just have to keep monitoring the thermometer until I can get the thermostat in.

No heat at all is better than unregulated heat. It is safer for the snake.
I'd disconnect the heat until you can get a thermostat set up.

 

[Gina Hyena]

No heat at all is better than unregulated heat. It is safer for the snake.
I'd disconnect the heat until you can get a thermostat set up.

^ This.

Plus with your home's ambient temperature at 76 degrees and the fact that your corn isn't currently digesting, no UTH for a few days shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

[Karl_Mcknight]

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.
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[XenDrgn]

Most of the time I just leave it off, unless its feeding day then it stays on for a few hours which gets it up to about 87-88, then I switch it off. Waiting for payday to look into a thermostat of some sort.

 

[blacktip]

As the others have mentioned, the thermostat is the way to go. I also use the Hydrofarm and have not had any issues in the last 2 1/2 years.

You can find them on Amazon, often with free shipping. It's well worth it.

Link to Amazon here --> Hydrofarm on Amazon

 

[IrishInIsengard]

Just to throw in a 2nd option out there....

When I was ordering my snakey stuff, the Hydrofarm Thermostat was sold out. Instead, I bought an R-Zilla brand thermostat (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018CLYNG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00).

What I like:
- It's analog, so if the power goes out and comes back on, it doesn't need to be set up again.
- No issues
- A bit cheaper than the Hydrofarm ($27 vs 35).
What I don't like:
- No digital readout temp (the small digital $5 thermometers work in it's place)
- The dial on the front doesn't translate to the temperature reading I get. Some experimentation is necessary before the temperatures read out correctly. Even though my hot spot reads at 84 degrees, the dial on the thermostat reads 95 ish. Not a big deal once you hit the sweet spot.

 

[hamslice182]

I have just been given a corn snake and she is about 4 years onld and never had a heat mat under her tank she has had her whole life with just a heat lamp her tank constantly reads about 36 degreese and 8m weary that if i turn the lamp off at night she will get cold. Would it be better to just go and buy a uth for her and see how she goes or just leave her as she is?

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[jagodzinski]

Hi Hamslice. I would recommend starting your own thread.

36 degrees (I assume we are talking Celsius) is a little hot. Also, corn snakes really need belly heat for digestion so I will always recommend a UTH as the way to go and to ditch the light. When you do measure the temperature, you want to make sure that you are not measuring the ambient (air) temperature and instead are measuring the temperature down on the substrate where the snake is. And to get the best temperature gradient, I recommend a UTH under 1/3 of the tank regulated by a thermostat. And you should have some sort of digital probe thermometer or infrared thermo gun to measure temperature (avoid stick on because the snake can pull it off and get stuck on the sticky side).

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[hamslice182]

Thank you for getting bak to me today i have been and brought a uth for her and a new thermometer for the tank. With the light on it reads about 32 on the substrate i have been advised to keep the lamp untill i get her new viv in 3 weeks and then completly change her set up arround. I have taken her to the reptile center and she is healthy feedind well and shedding well ao i will just keep an eye on her untill the change. What thermostat do you recoment and what is the beat way to bath her. Thanx again

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[jagodzinski]

The best thermostat is a Herpstat but they are very expensive. I use a Hydrofarm thermostat which is designed for plant but lts of people use it with their snakes. It is safe, works well and not to expensive.

As for bathing... Corn snaes do not need baths. Only if they have a bad shed you can soak them. Just make sure you have a water dish large enough for your snake to soak in to help them shed and that should be good enough.

Sounds like you are doing a great job! Congrats with your snake.