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58 Posts |
 Posted - 21/12/2009 : 18:06:12
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Ok as some of you may have read already, poor Acorn has had a rough day so I've been trying to figure out the plans for her new viv so it won't happen again but I'm a bit suck...
My BFs dad has said I can use a small old cupboard for her, don't have the dimensions to hand but I'd say it was 2 and 1/2 foot long, a foot deep but maybe not quite a foot high... This is alot smaller than what I wanted, but alot bigger than the RUB she is in and I don't want to push my luck with the parents too much too soon. I will save up for a good 3 x 2 x 2 asap!
Anyway as for heating I have a small heat mat, about 6 inch by 10 and a pulse porportional thermostat.
I was thinking of getting a ceramic bulb to heat the air temp but I know that corns are best with heat mats so was thinking could I put the heat mat (will prob need a bigger one) at the bottom of the wooden viv with the stat probe ontop, then plug both it and the ceramic into an extention lead then into the stat?
Was thinking this might mean the bulb only comes on a bit as the mat should keep the floor temps up on its own?
Will obviously need to play around with it alot to check all the temps but do you think its possible?
Only other thing I could think of (apart from getting another stat which unfortunately I can't afford yet) is to attach a dimmer switch to the bulb, but prefer the stat way as I feel it would be safer!
Will have to figure out how this bulb and guard would fit in the viv though, may need to make a hole in the roof and cover it will mesh and sit the bulb ontop...
I hope this kind of makes sense to you all! lol
Jen
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0.1.0 normal corn snakey (Acorn!)
0.1.0 Border collie cross (Molly)
0.1.0 Cat (Tess)
0.5.0 Japanese quails (Belle, Ariel, Nala, Beauty, Mary Poppins)
0.2.5 Tropical fishies |
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matty18714
The Count of Corniness
United Kingdom
4428 Posts |
Posted - 21/12/2009 : 18:33:17
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| You wont need a mat and a ceramic, one or the other will do. I would go for the heat mat. If the viv was 3ft or over I would of said go for ther cermaic, but with a short viv you wont get a thermal gradient with a bulb. |
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Paulusworm
The Corn Snake Moderator
United Kingdom
686 Posts |
Posted - 21/12/2009 : 18:34:41
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| One problem I can see possibly occuring is the ceramic. When I had my old corn I installed a ceramic and she wasn't a happy little camper at all. As soon as I put the mat back in, after a month or so, she settled back down to her old self again. It may have only been her but I just thought that I would let you know. Another thing could be the height of the cupboard. By the time you have installed the spacers, porcelein holder, ceramic bulb and guard it may only end up a few inches from the substrate. |
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Edited by - Paulusworm on 21/12/2009 18:38:12 |
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n/a
deleted
58 Posts |
Posted - 21/12/2009 : 19:34:40
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The idea of the ceramic was to raise the air temp as its just too cold for her in the place they want her to go.
I was worried about the height too paul. Thats why I was thinking about trying to sit the ceramic above the tank?
Can you get really low power ceramics to try and get a good temp gradient?
I would use just a normal red bulb but with only having the one pulse thermostat I can't :( |
0.1.0 normal corn snakey (Acorn!)
0.1.0 Border collie cross (Molly)
0.1.0 Cat (Tess)
0.5.0 Japanese quails (Belle, Ariel, Nala, Beauty, Mary Poppins)
0.2.5 Tropical fishies |
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Paulusworm
The Corn Snake Moderator
United Kingdom
686 Posts |
Posted - 21/12/2009 : 20:06:51
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What are you like at diy? If you could build a 3 x 2 x 2 yourself or convert a piece of furniture from Freecycle/Freegle it would be a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a viv. The only problem I can see with mounting a ceramic outside the viv is that they get very hot so even with a dome reflector fitted you would still have to be very careful around it. When they are mounted inside the viv the cage negates that hazard straight away. Is there any way that you could increase the height of the cupboard? If you could post a picture and some measurements it would be helpful. I'll go measure how far the ceramics hang down in my snake viv and post the measurement on here for you.
EDIT: Just found a guard I'm not using at the mo and the drop is just under 6.5" |
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Edited by - Paulusworm on 21/12/2009 20:12:59 |
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New Viv Design
