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Posted - 08/10/2009 : 00:32:24
Got a temperature problem: when the hot end is at a good point (28-29) the cool end won't go below 24.
Have been struggling with it for a while, and have now come up with an idea but need your advice on it:
Disconnect heatmat overnight, reconnect in the morning.
(My place is warm at all times because I can't stand the cold, so room temp won't be below 20 at any time.)
What say you??
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| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
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Posted - 10/10/2009 : 20:03:03
Just a quick add on here. I've got (it sounds like) exactly the same faunarium as you and I was having trouble keeping Cincos cool end at the right temp. I read the care sheet on this site and it said cool end should be 21 and warm end should be 30 but I couldn't get the cool end to stay at that! The whole faun seemed to be about 25 degrees C all over and I was getting really worried!!
I found that, because Cinco likes to bury himself, I'm now using kitchen roll as the main substrate but in his warm end I'm using a layer of Aspen over his heat mat (which is set up exactly as per instructed by this forum!). The temps in the faun right now are 22 in the cool end and 28 in the warm end. It's still not perfect but it's loads better than it was before.
Plus Cinco digests while buried under the Aspen, then he relaxes on top of it. He's eating really well, handling nicely and growing like a mad thing!! |
| devilsmistress |
Posted - 08/10/2009 : 15:18:37
Glad our little chat on the chat room helped and now we are at the bottom of the temp probs!!! |
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Posted - 08/10/2009 : 14:31:51
quote:
Originally posted by devilsmistress
Came across wrong, what i ment is start by putting the heat mat quater the way under if you got a bigger viv.
As for the temp being 24, its not that bad, its what Missy's was sitting at most of sumer and I asked Jenna about it( back in the summer) and she said hers were the same and not to worry. And you met missy and she's fine. I would not advise pulling the mat out though, could cause health probs with the temps going up and down to that extreem
Much relieved to read all of this  ! So it means it's probably ok then and nothing to worry about after all. Ok, in this case I'll just keep monitoring it closely. If need be, I'd move them to larger vivs and rearrange the whole set up, but I hope I won't need to before they are larger.
Thanks! 
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| devilsmistress |
Posted - 08/10/2009 : 13:40:31
Came across wrong, what i ment is start by putting the heat mat quater the way under if you got a bigger viv.
As for the temp being 24, its not that bad, its what Missy's was sitting at most of sumer and I asked Jenna about it( back in the summer) and she said hers were the same and not to worry. And you met missy and she's fine. I would not advise pulling the mat out though, could cause health probs with the temps going up and down to that extreem |
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Posted - 08/10/2009 : 13:03:34
Devilmistress, the heat mat only covers 17-18% (just measured and calculated) can't really go any less than than or there will be no warm end left.
Stella has gone right under the substrate in the warm end, probably trying to get even more heat even though the warm end temp reads 28.4c, probe touching the substrate.
The cool end is at an alarming 24.9. There is no other heat source anywhere near, it seems that the only way to bring the cool end down is to bring the warm end down with it.
I'm now considering the following strategy: for 48 hours after feed, leave everything as is. Then pull out mat overnight to allow temps to drop, return it in the mornings, and keep doing it that way until next feed.
Still unsure, though. 
P.S. I'll pop into the chat shortly to see if you're still there.
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| devilsmistress |
Posted - 08/10/2009 : 11:55:21
Right had a good think about this, and Im sitting in the chat if you need anymore advice. I had the same prob with Missy in the summer, but she was at that time in that small viv (the one you saw that was set up for the new snake) which is why I decided to put her in that old fish tank of mine. It may be a case of getting a bigger tank but no bigger that what missy is in, and really pack it out more than what i had mine. Start by putting the heat mat quater of the way under, monitor temps, if all seem fine move the mat under a bit more and so on. it could also be the reason Shen is not feedign if he is to warm and not being able to thermo regulate? Not saying it is. I will be keeping an eye on my temps in that small viv and hope that now the weather is cooler I dont end up with the same problem I had in summer, If I do then I will be upgrading the small viv to something a bit bigger to.
Something else, maybe put the viv inline with where a window can be opened, and put it cool end near the window, the breeze will bring the temp down a bit(its what I done in summer) But made sure they were not in direct sunlight, or put a fan on the cool end.
Let us know how you get on!
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Posted - 08/10/2009 : 09:23:50
quote:
Originally posted by Bioshock
That is possible, but would you not have the same trouble with the other snakes setup? I am assuming you don't at least.
Same trouble. 
The boxes are identical, and are placed in such a way that they share the same heat mat, with a gap in between them. (btw The snakes can't see each other.) |
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Posted - 08/10/2009 : 03:32:18
That is possible, but would you not have the same trouble with the other snakes setup? I am assuming you don't at least. |
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Posted - 08/10/2009 : 03:28:53
quote:
Originally posted by Bioshock
For a faun that size i would say only about a third should be heated, anymore and the heat will warm the cold end as you are now seeing. Without knowing how much of it is being heated it is hard to know what to do. I am not really sure how large an area four of the black stripes will cover as my heat mats are just split into two black panels.
Another thing that i have noticed altered the temperature in my cold end was the substrate depth. If i had more substrate over the heat mat (with the temp probe laying on the substrate) it would take more for the heat mat to heat the substrate and would therefore throw off the temps on the cold side. I just had to thin it out a little to drop the temps. I am not sure that will work for you though because you could be using paper towel for all i know.
Ok. Much less than a third is being heated. The substrate is something I ordered from triple 8... can't remember the name of it and can't go into the Hawk's room to check without waking him up. I've already thinned out the substrate but it's still no good. I'm wondering if it's got to do with the fact that the whole place here is never really cold, so the inside of the viv would be slightly warmer than the outside, due to the heatmat at the warm end and it being an enclosed environment?
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Posted - 08/10/2009 : 02:45:08
For a faun that size i would say only about a third should be heated, anymore and the heat will warm the cold end as you are now seeing. Without knowing how much of it is being heated it is hard to know what to do. I am not really sure how large an area four of the black stripes will cover as my heat mats are just split into two black panels.
Another thing that i have noticed altered the temperature in my cold end was the substrate depth. If i had more substrate over the heat mat (with the temp probe laying on the substrate) it would take more for the heat mat to heat the substrate and would therefore throw off the temps on the cold side. I just had to thin it out a little to drop the temps. I am not sure that will work for you though because you could be using paper towel for all i know. |
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Posted - 08/10/2009 : 02:38:32
quote:
Originally posted by Bioshock
Sounds like a 1 foot x half foot faunarium to me.
I suppose the obvious question is... how much of the floor space is being heated by the mat?
Very little. Only four of those black stripes (heat mat) are under the viv. Can't minimize any more than that or there will be no hot end at all for the snake.
It's almost as if I need to attach something cold to the cool end to bring the temp down at that end... |
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Posted - 08/10/2009 : 02:35:01
Sounds like a 1 foot x half foot faunarium to me.
I suppose the obvious question is... how much of the floor space is being heated by the mat? |
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Posted - 08/10/2009 : 02:25:41
quote:
Originally posted by Bioshock
Is it the enclosure that your new Miami is in? If it is it will need the heat to digest the food so you cannot just turn the heat mat off.
Is it a rub, faun, wooden viv, glass viv? For glass vivs, fauns and rubs you could (as devilsmistress has said) just pull the mat out slightly so less of the floor space is being heated.
For a wooden viv i would think extra ventilation or a smaller heat mat may be needed.
Hi Bioshock. It's a hard plastic box (viv? faun?) that I got from the rep shop. It measures, in cm, 32 wide 22 high 18 deep. Well ventilated thanks to the top being made mainly of air slots.
Point taken about needing the heat for digestion. Tonight the heatmat is on as usual, didn't want to change anything without seeking advice first, especially as the Hawk (good instincts) was dead against it.
Somehow I need to bring the cool end's temp down.
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Posted - 08/10/2009 : 02:20:44
Tried that, it doesn't work here .
I was thinking that since temps go down at night naturally in the great outdoors, cornsnakes would welcome the same in captivity...?
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Posted - 08/10/2009 : 02:20:23
Is it the enclosure that your new Miami is in? If it is it will need the heat to digest the food so you cannot just turn the heat mat off.
Is it a rub, faun, wooden viv, glass viv? For glass vivs, fauns and rubs you could (as devilsmistress has said) just pull the mat out slightly so less of the floor space is being heated.
For a wooden viv i would think extra ventilation or a smaller heat mat may be needed. |
| devilsmistress |
Posted - 08/10/2009 : 00:57:03
just pull the heat mat out from under the viv a bit, In my small viv i have the same prob so i leave enough mat under for the snake to curl up on and the temps seem fine like that |
