HEATING: pad + lamp too much??????????????

Discussion in 'Other Colubrids' started by jackiet, Jan 13, 2004.

  1. jackiet

    jackiet New Member

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    170
    :)
    Ok thanks for the information about tank size.... that will help me tremendously :)


    Here is my hypothetical situation: A 20-25 gallon glass tank with locking screen lid, (30-35 inches long,) housing full grown corn.

    Would the tank need 2 forms of heating- like a heating pad to one side. and above it a heating lamp? I heard that you would leave the pad on 24/7..... but use the heating lamp to follow normal seasonal lighting patterns........
    If this is just a bunch of baloney... what would be the best form of heating?



    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Jackie~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. BoaMan

    BoaMan New Member

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    You only need what is necessary to get 85 degrees on the hot side. If you can get it done with only a heat pad, fine, if you can do it solely with a lamp that's fine too. Both can be over kill, but can also be necessary considering what the climate in your home is like. So get a thermometer and do some testing with one or the other and decide if both are right for you.
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. Axe

    Axe Well-Known Member

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    Good advice BoaMan, that's about what I was going to say :)

    It basically depends on the ambient temperatures of the room. Our house's AC is set to keep the house between 70-75 degrees, which is great for the cool ends on pretty much all our herps. Then we just use whatever's necessary to bring the warm end up to acceptable levels (small heatpad for corns, mercury vapours for the beardies who like it a bit warmer, etc).

    But usually a heatpad will do fine. And, don't be fooled that just because the air temperature is less than 85, that the snake isn't getting the heat. They will get a lot of heat from the surface that could dissipate very quickly in the air.

    Surface temp is often more important than air temp. You might want to get one of those infra-red temperature guns (You can pick them up for about 30 bucks). You just point it at a surface, press a button, and you've instantly got the temperature of that surface.
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. jackiet

    jackiet New Member

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    ok..... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
    The teperature in my house on a typical day is 65 Degrees F in the Winter, and can get up to 85 Degrees F in the Summer (I live in Las vegas-only gets mild Winters, scary hot Summers outside)
    Thanks for the advice...... I will definetly take all these things into consideration----- Over the next month or so, I am slowly buying EVERTHING for the soon-to-be-mine-cornsnake's habitat. I want to be fully prepared-- but not overkill............ this wesite is really helpful

    thanks

    ~jackie~~~
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. strobe212

    strobe212 Embryo

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    well heres my heating issue. i live in upstate NY where its very cold and dry. my house temp is usually btw 60-70* F. i ha ve a 10 gallon tank with an UTH. i also have a 50 Watt Red bulb on the hot side. the tank usually reads as about 80-85* F, but my corn is ALWAYS on the cold side. ive noticed that when i turn off the light she moves back and forth from warm to cold. i want to turn off the light for good, but im worried if i leave my window open at night or when i feed her, b/c i hear that the temp needs to be 85* F for her to digest right. any ideas?
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. Axe

    Axe Well-Known Member

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    During the day, they tend to stay somewhere cool to snooze because they never know how hot it's going to get. They don't want to cook while they're sleeping.

    Then, when the lights go out, out she comes to hunt, or just wander around & get the heat to digest. Here in Florida, you see them out on the roads basking in the evening as the sun is going down absorbing the heat from the road. During the day they stay hidden somewhere as cool as they can so as not to get overheated.

    So I wouldn't worry about it too much strobe. It sounds like your girl's just doing what comes naturally. :lol:

    As long as the temperature is available to them, that's all that matters. If you turn your lights off, just leave the heatpad on, that should be plenty.
     
  12. sapphire_moon

    sapphire_moon Embryo

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    strobe212 how are you measureing your temps if you have both a UTH AND a heat lamp? UTH's can get WELL over 100 degrees and usually need to be controlled with a rheostat or lamp dimmer.
     
  13. jackiet

    jackiet New Member

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    170
    ok......... this might sound dumb---...... but makes sense to me------
    I would think having the two heating elements on a dimmer........... and have one of those sticky(cheap) thermometers directly ON the glass over the UTH<---has anyone tried this????
     
  14. sapphire_moon

    sapphire_moon Embryo

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    actually yes I have, but then every time I wanted to look at the temps for the snake I had to move the hide, move the snake, and pull up the substrate, so I just went and got a digi thermometer from wal mart for $13 and put the prove right over the uth under the substrate. Much much easier, and I wasnt' moving the snake on a daily basis to check the temps.
     
  15. caliking

    caliking New Member

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    Stick with just the heat mat. reptiles need to thermoregulate by moving from areas of high temperatures to low temperatures. They should be kept at around 26 degrees. If you have the heat lamp aswell then the corn overheat and become dehydrated very quickly.
     
  16. biochic

    biochic Well-Known Member

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    26 degrees? You mean Celsius right?
     
  17. jackiet

    jackiet New Member

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    i was wonderring that too.................
     

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