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*need to soon* how long a snake be alone with out a heat lamp????

darkmorning1

darkmorning1

New member
hey i have peek a boo my corn snake and am going to be gone just for about 3 days. i just fed peek a boo and 2morrow am going to leave. all i want to know is. is it safe to leave peek a boo heat lamp off? or should i really get someone to turn it on and off for me.
 
Well when they really need it is when they're digesting.
If she's still digesting when you're leaving, I say she needs it.
 
Well, the easy way to solve this in the future is to put the light on a timer. You can find them at your local wal~mart for about $6, then you just set the lights to come on at one time and off at another and your problem is solved.
I'd leave them off myself. Most of the time my corns stay on their cold side while digesting at my normal room temps of 73°. Another easy option would be to just not feed until you get back. In the future a timer would be a really handy investment.
 
Timer works good. If she hasn't eaten- well when mine hasn't eaten he will sometimes go from the warm side (80's) to the cool side which can be in the mid 60's. He will literally hibernate for a week-barely moving at all, then come out for food and I feed him and he stays in the warm side for a few days. I think we underestimate the hardiness evolution has provided our little pals.
 
snakewispera snr said:
Why not invest in a thermostate, that'll keep your viv at the correct temps.
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He doesn't really need a thermostat- if you study cornsnakes in the wild they tolerate temps as high as the 90's with high humidity, and in the winters they hibernate up to 6 months without food in 40 F temps
 
vertigofm said:
He doesn't really need a thermostat- if you study cornsnakes in the wild they tolerate temps as high as the 90's with high humidity, and in the winters they hibernate up to 6 months without food in 40 F temps
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"In the wild" and "In the vivarium" are two very different things. When temps in the wild are in the 90s, you can bet that corn snakes aren't hanging around in those temps. They find excavated burrows, or other cooler places to escape the heat. When a viv gets too warm, where's the snake going to go? Corns can be kept without thermostats if your heat source never gets too hot, and as long as you still provide a good temp gradient between the low-70s and mid-80s. This isn't easy with lamps. A thermostat is never a bad idea.
 
vertigofm said:
He doesn't really need a thermostat- if you study cornsnakes in the wild they tolerate temps as high as the 90's with high humidity, and in the winters they hibernate up to 6 months without food in 40 F temps
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I think the key word in this sentence is tolerate. The snake may tolerate it, but that doesn't mean it's comfortable for them. When it gets hot in the summer, it doesn't harm or kill me, but the heat makes me feel uncomfortable. :shrugs: A thermostat ensures your snake stays safe and comfortable, and heat sources get extremely hot. I've seen reptile heaters, uncontrolled, reach temperatures of more than 120F.

To answer the original question - what are the temps with and without the lamp? Still, I would recommend you invest in some type of control for the lamp. IMO it's more or less essential. Good luck! :)
 
Plissken said:
I think the key word in this sentence is tolerate. The snake may tolerate it, but that doesn't mean it's comfortable for them. When it gets hot in the summer, it doesn't harm or kill me, but the heat makes me feel uncomfortable. :shrugs: A thermostat ensures your snake stays safe and comfortable, and heat sources get extremely hot. I've seen reptile heaters, uncontrolled, reach temperatures of more than 120F.

To answer the original question - what are the temps with and without the lamp? Still, I would recommend you invest in some type of control for the lamp. IMO it's more or less essential. Good luck! :)
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Don't get me wrong- I'm not advocating improper care, I am just saying that as long as you keep the temperatures within a range it is ok, even a heat gradient is subject to the snakes pref. I've seen my snake leave the 80 range to go to the far side where it gets sixty, most of the time it stays in the middle where it's the low 70's
 
I think a thermostat would be unnecessary. Back when I used lights I would by trial and error find the appropriate wattage of bulb to get the desired heat and leave it at that. My house ranges from 20-25°C (68-77°F) so it would change the head of the hot end a little, but not more than 3-4°F. Another much more cost effective method would be get a dimmer to control your light levels.
I've since switched to UTH heating because lights are impractical in a rack system, but I still use dimmers over thermostats because they cost way less and other than the odd adjustments that come with the new seasons I set them and they maintain a very nice steady temperature.
Thermostats are a great way to go, but if it seems to costly for you there are cheeper solutions.
 
I personally do not use lamps for any of my snakes. Now my lizards are another story but snakes, don't need them. I use other means to regulate their temps. Seriously, find another means to heat your pet's cage and you should be fine.
 
I am a lazy sort of herper. I cant be bothered to keep my house within 2-4 degrees, or mess about with lamps and dimmers and wattage an things(I worry too much). So I rely on ceramic heaters. UTH and thermostates. It really is the best most uncomplicated system by far, though not the cheapest.
 
tricksterpup said:
I personally do not use lamps for any of my snakes. Now my lizards are another story but snakes, don't need them. I use other means to regulate their temps. Seriously, find another means to heat your pet's cage and you should be fine.
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Snakes do need UVA or UVB (I cant remember which). My vet has been doing exotics for 40 years (at Zoo's) and he told me the biggest myth so far is that snakes don't need (again can't remember which one) UVA or UVB.
 
Do snakes need ultraviolet B wavelengths, too?
No. When snakes evolved from lizards some 120 million years ago, they also evolved other ways of dealing with the issue of calcium metabolism. Snakes are carnivores, consuming, depending on the species, a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate prey from which they obtain the D they need. There is some speculation that snakes may need some UVB given the habits of some crepuscular and nocturnal ones in the who regularly emerge before sunset and "bask" in the setting sun. However, these same species have been kept for decades in solid enclosures indoors where they are not exposed to any more UVB than what little permeates through window glass and the glass of their enclosures.

There is some evidence that some reluctant feeders may be enticed to eat when exposed to a UVB/A light for sunlight for a while (during day time hours for up to a week). This has worked with corn snakes that I know of. I don't know the mechanism at play - maybe they are responding to the UVA and so things look more appetizing to them. Care must be taken when exposing your snake to sunlight. Too many owners have found out the hard way just hot hot it gets inside a glass tank set outside on a sunny day - and just how quickly their snake becomes toast. Make sure your snake has a cool area to retreat to, and that it is not exposed to sun during the hottest parts of the day, nor left unattended when exposed.
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from
http://www.anapsid.org/liteheat.html
 
vertigofm said:
Well thank you for enlightening me- off topic but do you know about the debate as to whether Leopard Gecko's need UVA or UVB?
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Yes but we are not talking Leopard Geckos here.
 
vertigofm said:
LOL well I was just checking whether Leo Geckos need UVA/UVB?
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Well most nocturnal reptiles do not need UVA/UVB. I do not think it would harm the animal but I know a lot breeders who keep them in Rack systems just like snakes.
 
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