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19 Posts |
 Posted - 19/04/2010 : 18:46:10
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| Ive just recentally bought my first snow corn snake and am abit worried about the temperatures. ive been on lots of different web sites and there all coming out with different temperatures. at one end i have a heat mat and the other end is a 60watt heat bulb which was recommended by the pet shop. last night i left the heat bulb off and put on the heat mat. is it right to turn off the heat mat when the the heat bulbs on. am i doing this right becuase the temperature seem high reaching 100F after the heat lamp being on for only an hour. is there any way to stabilise both sides? thanks |
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Sta~ple
qeeun speler
United Kingdom
6129 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 18:50:18
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I think most people will tell you to get rid of the bulb as a heat source and just use the heat mat and just use the bulb when ever you want to see your snake.
That's way to hot, temperature should be around 28c at the hot end and room temp at the cool end. The heat mat should cover half to a third of the floor.
Do you have a thermostat for the mat or the bulb? That will control the temperature |
   
A very special super, duper thanks for K :3 |
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19 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 18:56:24
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the pet shop actually told me to put the heat mat against one side of the back wall of the viv because laying it down might burn the snake, is that right?
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DannyBrown91
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
3070 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 19:00:02
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I would deffinitely get rid of the bulb, especially with that and the mat being at different ends of the tank. Do you not have the bulb on a pulse or a dimmer stat?
Is your mat statted. Im not great with faranheit but believe temps shoud be around 83-85F, which if im correct is around 27-29c.
Have a read of the caresheet for this website, that has the main information on including temps in both celsius and faranheit.
Edit - No the heatmat should be on the floor and thermostated, if it is not thermostatted then the mat could burn your snake, wether it is on the floor or on the wall.
The reason it is best to have it on the floor is because snakes gain heat through their bellies.
Do you monitor temperatures with a digital thermometer?
Any information that you recieved from a pet shop it is best to check on a site such as this, many of us know far too well just how unreliable pet shops can be,very often giving people wrong information. |
0.0.1 Ghost Corn - Casper
0.0.1 Diffused Corn - Reggie
0.0.1 Amel Corn - Candy A.K.A Baby
1.0 Commom BCI - Rocky
0.1 Japanese Akita - Sasha
Location: Liverpool |
Edited by - DannyBrown91 on 19/04/2010 19:02:32 |
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gmac
The Scottish Admin
United Kingdom
5319 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 19:04:55
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I would have the mat the base of your viv and cover with lino or something similar, as heatmats only heat up on contact and do not really heat the ambient temperatures.
I would only use either a heatmat or the light certainly not both, and whatever system you decide to use must be regulated with a thermostat, the temps in the hot end should be between 27-30 degrees with the cool end at room temperature around 22ish.
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HannahB
The Corn Snake Moderator
United Kingdom
5491 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 19:09:18
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agree with everything thats been said already but few things 
it seems like we are coming down on you hard but if you get rid of the bulb and get the mat on the base of the viv and on a stat your snakey will appreciate it!
corns get their heat from the ground rather than the air so whilst it would survive ok with a bulb its not really ideal and he would do better with just a mat,
have you got a thermometer in both the warm and the cool? a digital one is a must have for the warm end - can get some real bargains on ebay
also i dont know if you were told but if you leave your snake for a week it gives them time to adjust to their new surroundings and helps them settle in a bit |
2.0 Normal Royal Pythons - Q and Little One
1.0 Chihauhaun Mountain Kingsnake - Simba
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deleted
19 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 19:20:08
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Thanx for all the info, yer av got a thermometer at each end of the tank to monitor the temps, just worried about them getting high.
is it best to just use the heat mat for the source of heat for the snake then??
what kind of lining would be best for covering the mat to prevent any burns occuring?
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punumbear
Hatchling
United Kingdom
483 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 19:24:26
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| they digital therms? |
love my animals more than i like people.
the gang
1 ridgeback
2 kids
1 anery-lil aney
1 m, 4 ft candy cane corn.. aka kellogg..
1 carolina corn-claret/carrot
Newest additon.. f whiteout corn-pastel??
1african house snake - Bob |
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Sta~ple
qeeun speler
United Kingdom
6129 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 19:25:20
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You could keep the bulb holder and replace it with a normal bulb that doesn't give off heat so you can see him if you wanted to get him out or clean his viv.
You don't have to cover the mat, you can just weight it down with hides and other things as long as he can't get underneath. You just have to be careful of how much bedding you put onto of the side with the mat. |
A very special super, duper thanks for K :3 |
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HannahB
The Corn Snake Moderator
United Kingdom
5491 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 19:27:41
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you can use lino or something similar but its optional as to whether to seal it down or not,
but yeah the heatmat is the best way to go
look forwards to seeing pics  |
2.0 Normal Royal Pythons - Q and Little One
1.0 Chihauhaun Mountain Kingsnake - Simba
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19 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 19:32:18
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me dad has just layed the mat down on the floor, and layed a square piece of polystirene under the mat to keep the heat in, is it necesary to place a vinal kitchen floor tile over it will this be ok or is the mat ok with just the substrate on top?
No my thermometrs are just the plastic ones tha they have in reptile shops |
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HannahB
The Corn Snake Moderator
United Kingdom
5491 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 19:39:06
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what is your snake being housed in and how big is it?
if its in a wooden viv then you dont need polystyrene as it goes straight on the floor of the viv,if its in a plastic faun or rub then the mat goes underneath the faun/rub and you can use the polystyrene underneath the mat to project the heat upwards but you will need to prop the other end up aswell otherwise it would be wonky 
personally id put something over it to keep it in place
oh and you really should think about getting some of the digital thermometers, i got mine for £4 off ebay including postage, they are definately better than the dial ones - they can be out by several degrees which isnt good for snakey, for the time being though, make sure you put them on the substrate surface and not halfway up a wall |
2.0 Normal Royal Pythons - Q and Little One
1.0 Chihauhaun Mountain Kingsnake - Simba
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Edited by - HannahB on 19/04/2010 19:40:55 |
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Sta~ple
qeeun speler
United Kingdom
6129 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 19:39:27
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Probably best to get a digital one. I used to have a mercury and a dial one. The mercury one like explode stuff inside and the dial one is so hard to read I find.
This is the digital one I got http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330415270120&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_3237wt_946
Cheaper than the undigital ones as well lol.
As for covering the mat I have no idea I'm afraid, I myself am waiting for my heatmats to be delivered as I currently use a bulb. I was just planning on weighting the mat down with hides or if they somehow get under the mat after that, I was going to get some like plastic flooring that is in bathrooms and sealing that down. What ever you decide, Have the substrate about 1cm thick ontop of the area with the heat mat and the rest of the area without the mat can be deeper. |
A very special super, duper thanks for K :3 |
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deleted
19 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 19:45:35
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its in a woodedn viv which is 24x12x18 inches, so its quiet a good size for it to grow in.
me dads saying hes put the heat mat on the floor with a plastic vinal tiling on top to stop the snake for getting burnt and secured it with mascing tape to stop it from getting under the mat. should this be ok for the snake to obtain the right amount of heat until i can get a thermostat to help regulate the temp? |
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HannahB
The Corn Snake Moderator
United Kingdom
5491 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 19:54:09
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please dont use tape!! if your snake gets caught it can lose them or worse case die..weve had members on here loose their snakes to tape related incidents,
how big is your snake? if its a hatchling then a 2ft viv is probably too big for him and a small faun would be better, if you do want to keep him in that viv though then really pack it out with hides and hiding places, loo rolls are good and other small boxes from everyday objects
just keep a good eye on the dial temps - how long before you can get a stat? |
2.0 Normal Royal Pythons - Q and Little One
1.0 Chihauhaun Mountain Kingsnake - Simba
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deleted
19 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 20:03:17
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aw have there really :(.
i work with all reptile in college just didnt fink there was this much messing around with the set up.
hes just took the tape off the mat, so now theres only the mat covered with the vinal tile. do you think there will be enought heat for the snake, the mats weighed down so the snake carnt get between. the snakes about 18" long.
do you fink this is wil do until i could get out the weekend to buy the thermoatat for heatmat because im very worried?? the pet shop we bought it from is a joke! |
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19 Posts |
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HannahB
The Corn Snake Moderator
United Kingdom
5491 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 20:11:38
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yeah thats fine,
as long as you keep an eye on the dial thermometer in the hot end and it may mean that you have to turn it off for an hour or so to cool it down a bit,just keep an eye on it - once you get a stat it will be fine
yeah its sounds complicated setting it up but once its set up correctly its dandy
just out of interest where do you live? we have members pretty much all over the country so we may be able to recommend a decent shop somewhere for you |
2.0 Normal Royal Pythons - Q and Little One
1.0 Chihauhaun Mountain Kingsnake - Simba
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HannahB
The Corn Snake Moderator
United Kingdom
5491 Posts |
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DannyBrown91
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
3070 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 20:13:13
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Its ok, i recently had an argument with a pet shop in widnes because he was telling his customers that they didn't even need a heatmat and if they got one to just put it in the viv, no thermostat needed.
It annoys me so much that the people that are selling animals don't even know there care requirements.
Keep a very close eye on the temps whilst you don't have a thermostat, it may also be worth turning it off in the night time. The bulb could be replaced with a normal energy saving one which dosn't cause the temps to increase too much, just don't use it untill you get a guard to cover it.
Atleast you are getting it all sorted now. |
0.0.1 Ghost Corn - Casper
0.0.1 Diffused Corn - Reggie
0.0.1 Amel Corn - Candy A.K.A Baby
1.0 Commom BCI - Rocky
0.1 Japanese Akita - Sasha
Location: Liverpool |
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deleted
19 Posts |
Posted - 19/04/2010 : 20:22:59
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sorry about this, all the help im getting is brilliant but me dad is worried becuase he doesnt want to stress the snake out.
did u mean turn the mat off in the night or the light, becuase there wil be no heat source now im not using the bulb as i will replace the bulb with a normal one tomorrow.
an am from liverpool, it was me dad who got me on this cause he goes on a fish forum and helps everyone out with their fish and thinks there brilliant. just hoping to get this viv right tonight so its not causing any stress to the snake. thaks for all the help |
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1st time owner of a corn snake. need help
