Those of you with BPs and corns...

You could always plug one of those Lutron Credenza(home depot) lamp dimmers into the tstat and lower the temps slightly on the corn's heatmat. I use this method on the cool side(11" flexwatt) of my juvie-rack and it works great. Temps are kept very stable and the dimmers can hold up to 300w.

ooooh great suggestion becky!!!

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

the requirements for a corn snake are: 75-80F for the cool side, and 80-85F for the warm side. try to avoid temperatures below 70F and above 90F... so, that said... she could put a little newspaper on the bottom of her enclosure and then her aspen and VOILA a lower temp in her cornsnake enclosure.

certainly less expensive than setting up a whole new flexwatt and t-stat ;)

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I disagree totaly here.My reasons are that corn snakes burrow into whatever the substrate is and will have direct contact with the higher heat source.I never allow my corns to be in temps higher then 80 to 85 ever.My reasons are because if you ever intend to breed them temps higher then 85 will cause the males to have low sperm counts,tis the reason they breed in the early parts of spring time basicly in the wild.I am actually surprised you prefere a less expensive way of setting up a enclosure for a corn snake.You do not have to spend alot of money on a thermostat for corns like you do for ball pythons.A simple $25 t-stat from www.reptilesupply.com will do what you need to keep your corns in perfect temps.I am not trying to start a fight here with anyone just giving my :twocents: and my experiance with both snakes.

Thanks for all the suggestions--wow, I didn't realize this topic would take off! I like the idea of plugging in a dimmer. Any objections on that score? I didn't realize about corn snakes being burrowers... although, could I place the heat tape farther from the enclosure (i.e., with a gap between it and the tub, as opposed to smack against the tub the way it is for the bp) and accomplish the same thing, while removing the option for the corn to burrow and get too close?

I'm not trying to unduly cut corners, and I don't actually have plans for a corn right now. I just prefer to keep things simple as possible when reasonable, and am wanting to get as much info now before I get serious about adding another snake of any sort.

Thanks again!

Heather

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Originally Posted by heatherhead42

Thanks for all the suggestions--wow, I didn't realize this topic would take off! I like the idea of plugging in a dimmer. Any objections on that score? I didn't realize about corn snakes being burrowers... although, could I place the heat tape farther from the enclosure (i.e., with a gap between it and the tub, as opposed to smack against the tub the way it is for the bp) and accomplish the same thing, while removing the option for the corn to burrow and get too close?

I'm not trying to unduly cut corners, and I don't actually have plans for a corn right now. I just prefer to keep things simple as possible when reasonable, and am wanting to get as much info now before I get serious about adding another snake of any sort.

Thanks again!

Heather

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Well the only thing that could go wrong with leaving the gap would be not getting the correct temps needed.Thats the only thing i could think would happen and then it might not,i guess you could do a trial run and see.Let us know if you do and the results.

i would think that lowering your heat tape so it isn't touching may work... although you'd have to check the temps to really be sure about it.

joe,

i'm curious. why can you use a cheap t-stat for corns? it is my understanding (which may be flawed) that cheap t-stats are unreliable.

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

i would think that lowering your heat tape so it isn't touching may work... although you'd have to check the temps to really be sure about it.

joe,

i'm curious. why can you use a cheap t-stat for corns? it is my understanding (which may be flawed) that cheap t-stats are unreliable.

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The reasons i said its ok to use the $25 ones for the corn snakes is they only need temps in the 80 to 85 range.I have never had a problem out of the t-stats i have(the $25 ones i have several) and i know of a few others that use them with 0 problems.In this world everything has a few flaws or bad apples if you will when it comes to technology,so some have problems some dont.Recently we had a thread where a t-stat stopped working properly and i think it was a higher dollar one.Thats the chances we take when buying anything now days and its sad in my opinion:( .

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

You could always plug one of those Lutron Credenza(home depot) lamp dimmers into the tstat and lower the temps slightly on the corn's heatmat. I use this method on the cool side(11" flexwatt) of my juvie-rack and it works great. Temps are kept very stable and the dimmers can hold up to 300w.

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Gah, I bought a separate thermostat to control my cool side! :P

1. Corns can burrow to the bottom of the tub no matter what amount of substrate you use.

2. There is no temperature range etched in stone for any particular species. Many species of reptiles have thrived under many different temperature ranges... that being said I would not just pluck a range out of the sky for no reason, but read or get advice from some reputable keepers and find out what works for you and your snakes.

Thanks guys! What a wealth of information and opinion.

If I do decide to get a corn, I'll get the tub and tape and all and get it set up, and just play to see if I can get a consistent temperature range just a few degrees below the BP temp without purchasing a bunch of new expensive equipment. If I can do that, then I'll go for it. If not, I'll wait and decide if I want to invest in more equipment. And I'll keep ya'll posted on what I do or don't do. :)

Thanks,

Heather