A few years ago I have a couple enclosures custom built for my bearded dragons. One of my beardies passed recently, and it's a very nice enclosure but I don't plan on getting another beardie. I have a california kingsnake and I'd like to make a few adjustments to the cage so she can live in it. The main thing that needs to change is the method of heating. I obviously can't use the built in heat bulb, as it's inside the cage and she'd get burned. Besides, belly heat is better. I spoke to the folks who made my enclosure and they recommended flexwatt heat tape, it works very well with the material the enclosures are made of. I know I need to get some type of thermostat or rheostat to control the temps. I just don't know much about the differences between the two. I don't have a whole lot of money to spend. I'm looking at these two products from reptilesupply.com http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=77 http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=75 Does anyone know much about these? I want something that will adjust, like a dimmer, but not actually shut off and on to control the heat. It would also be nice if I could use it like a dimmer with the heat bulb for my beardie cage as well, but that's not a requirement, I don't even know if that's possible. The important thing is that it be able to maintain the internal floor temp of the snake cage at the right temp. Also, I have a temp gun, so I can monitor the temps inside the cage, without having to drill a hole in it to insert the probe from whichever heat control device I'm using.
Hi, Personally I dont like floor heating for snakes, I had a mat and the thermostat it was attached to failed and the snake had very serious burns to belly, it did survive but took months of intensive care, since then I've never used mats, on floor, in snake cages. I do use heat mats but these are fitted to either the side or back of enclosure so they cant lay directly on top of it and found it to work very well. The two products you talk about. That Rheostat does not have a probe, it dims according to the ambient room temp not the temp in cage. Guess we are lucky here in the UK, the dimmers we have here do have a probe, and increase/decrease heat source without switching off, within the cage itself. In your case I would go for the 500R, although it's an on/off type the variation in temps is fairly small. It's no big deal to drill a small hole near bottom of your tank for probe to enter. I have no idea what that "Flexitape" is like, not available here, but I would think, used with the 500R will work very well, if probe was placed directly on top of it. Another solution would be to make a cage/guard to fit round existing heat lamp. I have used a 1/4" mesh to make them from, got it in 3ft x2ft sheets, from garden supplies and found that ok, just cut and fold to shape then attach to roof or around lamp. So it looks something like this. This is a commercial one available here. Hope this helps.
Thanks Bruno for the reply. The rheostat is actually what the lady at Animal Plastics who talked to me about the Flexwatt tape recommended. She said since I had a temp gun to monitor the temp inside the enclosure, I could just figure out the difference between the ambient temp and temp inside and make the necessary adjustments. I just don't really know, and I'd hate to spend $40+ dollars on the flexwatt and rheostat to end up struggling with it. I read somewhere recently while I was researching this that heat from light bulbs isn't good for kingsnakes, since they are nocturnal and the light causes stress for them. I just wanted to make the changes that are best for her. But then again, I've used heat bulbs with her since she was a baby and she's almost ten now, she seems to be doing fine with them. She does have a lot of dark hides to curl up under during the daytime, and with the bigger enclosure she'll have even more. Making a guard for the bulb would be the least expensive option, since I do already have an outlet for the bulb built into the enclosure. Also, this is a VERY nice cage, and I'd hate to make any other adjustments to it such as drilling holes in the side or bottom. So I guess ideally, as long as I'm not causing her undue stress with the light, sticking with the bulb is my favorite option. What do you think?
Hi kephy, The problem I see with the rheostat is the room temperature. If the room temp drops at night, which it usually does, then that rheostat is going to increase the temp in cage, which to my way of thinking is not good. You will need some method of getting the cable out of cage with that Flexiwatt, you still need some sort of hole. I believe this new cage is much bigger than existing one, therefore I suspect the heat lamp will have to big a much higher wattage to get correct temps. Is the lamp holder in new cage capable of taking a ceramic heater? Most normal holders will take up to 100w of normal lamp. Could that holder be changed to accept a ceramic, needs to be a porcelain holder or at least designed for ceramics. This may be your cheapest option, a ceramic holder, ceramic heater and a guard, you could set it on a standard household dimmer switch and monitor the temps with the IR gun. I think this would keep the temps in cage more stable, no need for a seperate thermostat then. It would also overcome the problems of very bright lights. None of my snake cages have lights in them, just heaters, I found the natural lights through windows is enough to give them sense of day/night. All my snakes are over 10 years old, one is 17 and none of them seem to have had any problems using this method.
The build in holder is porcelain and will work with a CHE, so I will consider that. I think either way, I'd like to try to use the built in bulb socket before investing in a whole different way of heating the enclosure where I'd have to drill more holes in it and everything. We'll try to build a bulb guard ourselves. If it doesn't work out, well, it was cheap so no harm done. I've been able to heat these enclosures for the bearded dragons up to 105F with standard 65watt flood bulbs and a slightly elevated basking spot. So I think getting 85-90F shouldn't be too hard.
I would say go with the existing holder in that case. No drilling holes etc. I would suggest the Exo-Terra HeatGlo 75w, that should provide the nessesary heat, also provide some view light without extra bright lamps. That setup on a household dimmer would be ideal. Just a question of building a guard. Very little extra expense involved.
We use belly heat for all our snakes. We also use a proportional thermostat to regulate the temps, granted we use a rack system for most of our snakes, so 1 T-stat is controlling any where from 6 to 22 enclosures. While it is still believed snakes can not see red light, studies have been done that have found constant exposure to the red light can cause a python to have eye problems. Also most terrestial snakes are nocturnal living their days out in holes in the ground and such. Lack of UV light exposure has not shown any negative affect on ball pythons, blood pythons, borneo pythons, children's pythons, anthill pythons, spotted pythons, etc. UV light tends to only be benificial to Arboreal snakes. I have also been to BHB reptiles, RDR reptiles, Neil Golli reptiles, and several other large breeders that all use belly heat. BHB is the only one I remember viewing colubrids at, but they used belly heat with them as well if memory serves me right. Snakes use belly heat to aid in digestion of food. Some method needs to be developed to get the heat to this point. Belly heat is the easiest, but some over head source such as a radiant panel can be used with stone on the cage floor. If it was me I would use belly heat with a quality proportional T-stat. Proportional T-stats are relatively expensive. An on/off T-stat can be used as long as it is mounted directly in contact with the heating element. They will generally only allow that heating element to vary 1 or 2 degrees. A rheostat is only good when the enclosure is kept in a "room" that has a very tight temperature control in and of itself. If the room gets hot the heating elemet will only get hotter since it will maintain the same voltage across the heating element regardless of the actual temperature of the heating mat. That voltage and the constants surrounding a heating element make it possible to directly translate the voltage into BTU's of heating. BTU's of heating don't care about the starting point, all they want to do is add to it. Sorry to be long winded. This is just my opinion and experience. Use it at your own discretion.
Thanks for the tips, and all the info you provided, Gloryhound. I don't use an infrared light, I've always used a normal bulb on a timer. I'm reading and have read a lot of caresheets that say heat bulbs are an okay source of heat for snakes, as long as the snake can't touch the bulb and get burned. I know everyone has different opinions and I respect them, I do understand belly heat is the preferred method, but this is how I've always provided heat for her in the past, so I hope it will continue to suffice for her. If I notice any problems with her I will immediately try something else, but I'd like to start with the simplest and most cost effective solution and work my way up. Bruno, do you think that Exo-Terra bulb is really any different than a normal 75 watt flood/spot on a dimmer? I've never used a reptile specific bulb for my snake, since the UV isn't really the important part, as long as I get the heat gradient she needs. If I have to buy something reptile specific, I'll just go ahead and get a CHE. But I was gonna use a regular bulb in the meantime like I always have. I have questions about the "regular household dimmer" you're referring to, also. I'm looking online at some hardware stores but all I see is something that looks kind of like a lightswitch. Is that all it is? I was expecting something more... I dunno. Can you post a picture of what you're talking about?
Hi kephy, Sorry for the confusion over the type of lamp, I suggested the exoterra as it gives off very little light, you can use a regular household spot/flood as you have been doing as it's not very bright. I was thinking you would have to use a much higher wattage than that, to get correct temps. The dimmer switch. I have looked on Home Depot and Lowes sites and the ones shown are actually replacement switches for the regular light switch. Rightly or wrongly I was under the impression that the dimmers I refer to are units (with a rotary knob) which plug into the wall outlet and the lamp/mat etc, plugs into that. I recall seeing several threads, where people had used these, but cant find them. So I'm unable to post any pictures of one. May be if you put a post in beardie or snake forums someone might be able to help. I would just try the regular household lamps and see what temps you do get, with the extra length of tank I sure you will get a good gradient with plenty of hides so he has a choice.
Thanks again. My husband and I finished building the bulb guard today, I think it will work well. Has plenty of space between the bulb/fixture and the actual wire mesh, so she won't be able to get close to it at all. Now it's just a matter of making sure I can get the right temp gradient, and she can move in! I'll post a photo when I can.
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Well I got her all set up. Using a 65watt flood, soft light, I got perfect temps. The warmest spot in the enclosure directly underneath the light is 89F, the warmest hides are both 87F, and the cool hides are 78F and 75F. She seems to really enjoy scooting around and trying out all her different hiding spots, and I'm confident the bulb guard we built is very secure and safe. Thanks again for all the help you gave me Bruno!
Hi kephy, That looks a great setup, I'm sure she will settle in ok. That guard looks good a well, it shouldn't cause any problems and she's not that big anyway. She looks happy with all that extra space and she will do well in there. Well done.
FWIW, I too feel belly heat is good for the snake. One way to take advantage of the overhead source, on the floor of the tank, is to place a piece of slate or other dark flat rock (or tile) under it. It will absorb and hold the heat, and the snake can thermoregulate by laying on or near it. Just make sure you place a good, large, cover over whatever you use in the fixture that's there. Ceramic heat emitters, if that is what you use, get very hot, and a metal cage too close to it will too. Good luck with it. Jeff
That's a good idea, Jeff. I have plenty of extra slate tiles, so I will do that. However, I have a pretty good feeling, just knowing her, that she'll prefer to burrow under any tile I put in there rather than lay on top for belly heat. Do you think I should move the substrate out of the way and stack the tiles flat on the floor to discourage that, or does it really matter? She'll be able to get some warmth even if she's under it, but if I don't leave her room to burrow there's a chance she won't go near it. What do you think? As for the fixture, no worries. My husband took apart the fixture and threaded the wires through the mesh before putting it back together. So the mesh is pressed flat against the top of the enclosure, and the entire fixture and bulb are inside it. There are a few inches of clearance on each side from the bulb. I've been feeling the mesh with my hands during the warmest times of the day and it's not getting hot. And the enclosure is made of CDPVC so it won't get too hot either.
I would not worry about attaching it to the bottom of the tank. If the snake feels more secure burrowing under it, let it. It will still get heat. If the snake wants more heat, it can always come out and lie on top. Eventually it will become more comfortable in it's new housing, and movement and basking will not be as regulated by fear. Good luck with it. You are thinking about the right things. That King snake is very lucky. Jeff
I would not go to the trouble of securing the tile to the floor. If the snake feels more comfortable burrowing, that is ok. It will still get the heat it needs. If it wants more, it can still come out and bask. Eventually, it might feel secure enough to just lie there anyway. It will take some time in the new enclosure. Good luck with it. You asked good questions. That is a good looking King snake, and lucky to have you. Jeff
