| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| kezmendez |
Posted - 20/06/2012 : 23:08:58
hi all, i've inherited what i think is a nearly fully grown 4/5 year old corn snake ( i have know idea what kind) which we named bo and are really pleased with but she is in a small homemade viv with a tiny heat matt and not much else other than a new hide and water bowl. After a little bit of research i decided the setup was far from ideal so i went and bought a new vx 48 today and the girl in the shop advised me to get a new heat matt which covers just under half the viv and a basking lamp. after reading different posts i ended up getting rather confused as to what is the best set up for her. could you please advise me as to what is best in regards to matts/lights and stats. the reason the girl said i needed lights was because my house is so dark and bo needs a day/night cycle??? sorry if this sounds like a lot of waffle but i'm a complete newbie and want bo to be as happy as she can be. thank you in advance  |
| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| kdlang |
Posted - 21/06/2012 : 08:41:54
Hi and welcome. SOunds like you are making good progress already. If you are using a mat then you really don't need a basking lamp. If it really is dark in his viv then you could install an energy saving bulb and have it on a timer for daytime. If you have any bulb installed then make sure it has a guard around it. Even though energy saving bulbs don't give off much heat, snakey could still crush the bulb.
I find pulse proportional stats are more consistent however most of my stats are the basic matstat and they do a perfectly adequate job. Make sure you have a digital probe thermometer to monitor the temperatures. The probes for the thermostat and the thermometer need to be both together lying directly on the surface of the mat and you only need a thin layer of substrate over the mat. I don't fasten any of my mats down, just put the hide over the top. Sometimes the mats bury themselves underneath but as long as the probes stay in place then snakey won't get burnt. I use a hot glue gun to stick my probes in place. Hope that helps |
| coxymk2 |
Posted - 21/06/2012 : 06:53:27
Hello and welcome |
| Elicia |
Posted - 21/06/2012 : 00:17:10
Hello and welcome :)
Thermostat is the most important thing! Just get this one- cheapest and does the trcik! Ive never had any problems with it and hold temp great. (only for 100w mats though)
http://www.bluelizardreptiles.co.uk/reptileheating/thermostats/5027407002494
I wouldn't bother with lamp unless its a really pitch black room, my lounge is pretty dark but you can still tell the difference between am and pm and my snakey is fine. As for the heat mat, I made the silly mistake of taping it to the viv floor (soon found out that is the wrong thing to do!) I didnt like the idea of the mat just 'flapping about' but mine has been unsecured for months now and is fine. I just put the hide on top of the mat to stop Percy moving it about.
Hurry with some pics :)
Elicia. x
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| kezmendez |
Posted - 21/06/2012 : 00:07:59
As soon as everything is set up and running i will get pics up of her, she is a beauty. Tomorrow i will be out and buying a stat and digital thermometer, and most likely some more decor for her to hide in.. thank you for your advice donnie, very much appreciated  |
| Donnie |
Posted - 20/06/2012 : 23:53:00
Personally I think the Habistat pulse proportionate stats are the most accurate at holding temps. My corns are still young so not in vivs yet and I run a ceramic heating set up in my viv for my JCP so not 100% on how they fix the mats in. I think some people use a hot glue gun to hold them in place, other people with more experience will put on some ideas for you.
Pictures of your snake are required so the sooner you post them the better for us all |
| kezmendez |
Posted - 20/06/2012 : 23:45:49
thanks for the info donnie, can i ask what stat you would recommend? i have a 23" x 11" habistat mat and also what is the best way of putting the mat in? i've read that some people make a false floor to house the mat, is that necessary?
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| Donnie |
Posted - 20/06/2012 : 23:35:01
Hello, glad to hear you have got a bigger viv for you new acquirement if you felt the old one was not suitable. A 3' viv will be fine for an adult corn but the 4' will give it a bit more room to manoeuvre. Just make sure you put lots of furniture/decoration in there so snakey has lots of places to hide. Without knowing how dark your house is it is hard to say if you do require a light or not. Corns do not normally require any additional light and normal daylight will be fine. The mat should cover 1/3 to 1/2 of the floor space of the viv and it will need a thermostat to control the temperature. A digital thermometer will be required as well so you can monitor the temp at the hot end as the dials on the stats are not that accurate (the dial on my stats is about 2 deg C different to actual temp). Feel free to ask more questions as people on here rarely bite |
