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to bask or not to bask?

jennixnay

jennixnay

New member
Hey,

When we adopted Clementine, her previous owner was using a heat lamp -- but advice on here had suggested corns don't need to bask, so uth is preferable -- which is what we've been using.

However, we just picked up the Kathy Love Corn Snake book -- which has also been highly recommended -- & the book says that corns do and NEED to bask.

What to do?
 
im somewhat of a newbie, i have the same book, i use to have a heat lamp on my corn but with the uth the heat can go really high i found, some people told me not to use a heat lamp..my corn is prefect without it, i had it for a while but i stoped using it and just use the uth !
 
On page 50 it states that in nature snake like to ""bask "" on surfaces that is warm from the sun.
Go down farther and it says that a "'heating device under or inside on one end of the cage.
 
What Lenny said ^^

Corns don't need to bask underneath an overhead heat source. They like to rest on top of warm surfaces and this seems to be good for their digestive process - I think this is what Kathy's book means.
 
Kathy Love's Book, Corn Snakes the Comprehensive Owner's Guide, says to use a UTH or a spolight, but a UTH is an easy way to provide a heating gradient. You need to read Chapter 3: Basic Caging and Housing Requirements,. Look under the section HEATING. It does NOT say to use a basking lamp, or that captive corns need to bask. It says under the LIGHTING section that natural light is thought by some to make corns act more naturally, so exposing them to natural sunlight is good- or simulating natural sunlight. She says DO NOT leave a light on 24 hours a day, because this can be stressful. What book are you reading, and what is the quote that you are reading?
 
Not to bask! Basking lamps are not necessary for corn snakes and can actually be harmful with potential to burn the snake or decrease the humidity in the tank to the point they have trouble shedding. Besides that, they can melt the cage furnishings and are pretty expensive to maintain with bulbs that may cost about $20 each and seem to need frequent replacement.
 
I use a heat emitter with a thermostat and it seems to work. If you use overhead heat, make sure you place the probe for the thermometer on the surface of the substrate and not on the glass like you would for a uth. Use a heat emitter or a black/red light for overhead heating if that is what you are going to do.

That being said, a uth is preferred by most here.
 
All :

I know UTH is what's recommended/preferred by most folks here, & that's what I'm using. & I have been told repeatedly here that corns don't need to bask. I do not have a light for the cage at all -- the tank is in a room that gets indirect bright sun several hours a day, & in the evening, it's dark.

Naagas, I am reading Kathy Love's Corn Snakes: The Comprehensive Owners Guide, & Chapter 3 (Basic Caging & Housing Requirements) is exactly to which I'm referring, in the section HEATING. On page 50-51, after discussing heating pads & heat tapes & heat rocks, she then says:

"Spotlights or hooded reflectors may also be used to direct incandescent light to a special basking rock or branch that the snake can utilize easily...The basking temperature on the perch site directly under the lamp should be in the 90s F. This slightly "too hot" spot allows the snake to thermoregulate properly to reach the temperatures it desires or needs, but also lets it move away from it when warm enough, just as it would do in sunlight."

I have been paying attention since before our snake arrived to EVERYONE here who told me no bask, no bask, no bask -- I was just surprised to read in what is apparently the corn snake Bible such specific instructions for setting up a spotlight & basking rock/branch, which implies that it's recommended, esp given her claim on page 50 that:

"Basking in sunlight is by far the method [for thermoregulating] corn snakes use most often. They can count on the sun on most days of the year in the wild range."
 
Immediately followed by the ominous:

"Denying this vital freedom to them is surely an important factor behind many of the health problems that arise in the often-restrictive, constant environments that many keepers provide for their pets in captivity." (p 50)
 
I've never seen a corn snake exhibiting basking behavior, even when I had a lamp for heating. Sure, you can use a lamp to heat up the tank, but it won't be as efficient as UTHs. My corn usually doesn't leave his hide except for eating and cooling off (he wraps around the mounted thermometers and swims in his water bowl.
 
jennixnay said:
Immediately followed by the ominous:

"Denying this vital freedom to them is surely an important factor behind many of the health problems that arise in the often-restrictive, constant environments that many keepers provide for their pets in captivity." (p 50)
Click to expand...

Then the next paragraph says to give them this freedom by using a UTH.

They don't bask, they lay on surfaces which are warmed by the sun.

If you have further questions on what the book means, I bet Kathy Love would answer a pm.
 
Just to put in my two cents, my corn snake cage is right next to my gecko cage. I have a hard time maintaining high enough temps for the gecko's cage in the winter using just a UTH so there is a red bulb over the top. While my corn snake has its own UTH, her favorite place to rest is still nestled against the side of the glass where the red light spills over into her cage. She basically ignores the rest of the heat pad. On the other hand I would not put a red light over either cage if I could reach proper temps with only a UTH for all of the reasons others have listed above. Just wanted to point out that I think my cornsnake would be ok/prefer having a basking light.
 
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