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11 Posts |
 Posted - 09/09/2009 : 10:20:44
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i have just bought a new wooden vivarium, it is 4ft x 2ft x 2ft.
there is a light fitting, but what wattage bulb shall i use and what size heat mat(s) to heat sufficiently.
advice please!!!
thanks!! |
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Kehhlyr
ǝʞɐɔ sǝʌoן
United Kingdom
8173 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2009 : 10:49:47
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An energy saving bulb will be fine, any wattage if it's only a decorative light. But a light guard is a must.
With a viv that size, i'd use about an 18 or 15 inch mat. Usually they're about 12-15 inchs wide as well, which should do it.
General rule is that the heat mat is NO bigger than 1/3rd of the viv.
And Hello and welcome to the forum as well.  |
-=Kehhlyr - The Resident Loon
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11 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2009 : 10:58:42
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thanks for that, i was worried i'd need a light to give off heat?!! I have a heat mat that is about 12" x 18 inches or there abouts, that alone will be enough will it?? i guess it'd take up less than 1/3 of the viv, probably more like 1/4 of it.
i have a 4ft x 12" x 18" high viv at the moment which has a small heat mat, only about 6" x 4" and a 40watt bulb, which does ok, but now having this bigger viv i was concerned about heating it!!
thanks a lot for that!
I'm getting it set up tonight for them, then tomorrow i will put them into it once its warmed up to the right temperature, i guess leaving it overnight to heat up to the right temperature will be ok?
thanks :) |
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Stumpy
Hatchling
United Kingdom
418 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2009 : 11:53:05
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If it is for a snake then the heat mat will suffice, as they give off infrared heat and snakes warm themselves by absorbing the heat from the rocks / ground.
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11 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2009 : 12:02:07
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yes it is for a snake, well, 2 snakes actually. 2 adult cornsnakes.
so there is no need for the bulb to give more heat?? I always thought that if the temperature got a little lower than ideal, the light being on would add more heat?? In that situation, should i be prepared to offer another heatmat if the 1 isn;t enough????
thanks :)
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Stumpy
Hatchling
United Kingdom
418 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2009 : 12:13:21
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Snakes thermoregulate so they move from one end to the other, with two snakes the mat must be large enough to heat two hides and there must be enough room for two or more hides at the cooler end.
It is then just a question of where the snakes spend most of their time. |
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lucifer
The Corn Snake Moderator
United Kingdom
780 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2009 : 12:16:32
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quote:
Originally posted by lola33
yes it is for a snake, well, 2 snakes actually. 2 adult cornsnakes.
so there is no need for the bulb to give more heat?? I always thought that if the temperature got a little lower than ideal, the light being on would add more heat?? In that situation, should i be prepared to offer another heatmat if the 1 isn;t enough????
thanks :)
If your planning on putting both snakes in the same viv then I would advise you to have a quick look at this thread if you haven't already:
http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1070&whichpage=1
Your 1 heat mat will be fine, make sure its got a thermostat to control the temperature... You are more likely to overheat the viv in a room temperature environment than it getting too cold. |
 
5.2.0 Cornsnakes: Lucien (Amel), Zero Kiryu (Blizzard), Aura (Butter Stripe), Montana (Normal), Edison (Lavender Stripe), Liberty (Hypo Lavender), Orlando (Anery)
2.0.0 Royals: Q & Little One
Twitter: @BlutAura
DeviantART: BlutAura |
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11 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2009 : 13:49:36
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hello and thanks!
These 2 snakes have shared their viv for sometime now already and get on fine with no problems whatsoever, all i'm doing is "upgrading their apartment" to a bigger one to more easily accomodate them both in terms of hides and space, ability to stretch out better. My older snake is about 15 now and she loves to "sprawl" as i call it!!!
I've always kept Corns together, i have only ever had 1 problem with 2 hatchlings who somehow got in together (well, they both broke out of their little tubs over night) and, well, lets say 1 is no longer with us, but the rule i stick to is to ensure they match in size (not necessarily age, but size) and also i always feed outside the viv in seperate places and wait a few minutes after feeding before putting them back in the viv together. i'm not saying keeping them together is ideal and i know a lot of people disagree but if there is no reason for them to argue with each other, then everything seems to be ok, hatchlings are in a different mind-set to adult corns i think. i have never experienced a canabalistic adult before. but anyway, thats going off on a tangent there, sorry!!! 
the heat mat i;ve got actually will cover almost all the way from front to back and cover between 1/4 and 1/3 of the length, so putting 2 hides over it will be easy to achieve. With it being quite a big vivarium, and having only 2 snakes in it there will be many many hides for them both, they'll have a different place to go to every day i think!!! LOL!! I imagine they can go days without even seeing each other!!!
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vivarium heating
