What do you use to heat your aquarium?

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Originally Posted by HelloSonya

Btw, I didn't end up buying the BP today. I want to make sure I get these temps. pretty close to nailed first.

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that's what i did as well. got everything ready (with the help from this forum) and then went and picked up dexter... much better than having the snake and then trying to figure out what to do. ;)

good decision!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HelloSonya

Btw, I didn't end up buying the BP today. I want to make sure I get these temps. pretty close to nailed first.

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Where's a standing ovation smiley when you need it?

Keep asking questions - it won't be long before you're here sharing all your firsts with us! (first feed, first poop, first shed!!!)

I use a human heating pad with no auto shut off, though it's on medium instead of low. It has all the heat needed for my BP.

That's a great decision you've made--wish everyone was so responsible. Fear not: With an attitude like yours, you'll have a happy snake in no time.

Don't get me wrong... it's SO hard not to just drive out there and buy him! I'm really just worried for the animal, because of the risks of stress and therefore eating problems, and shedding problems, etc.

I THINK it's going to be today though. We'll see! -_-

I moved the tank away from the window and it seems to help. I can definatly feel a temperature difference now when I put my hand into the tank.

- Here's a question: Maybe it's just my crappy humidity reader, but it's showing a humidity of 90%! Even if this is wrong, what's a way to bring the humidity level down?

There is nothing wrong with a dimmer switch to regulate the heating device. I've used them for years. While thermostats generally keep a steadier temp and may be more reliable, rheostats (dimmer switches) work perfectly fine as long as you keep an eye on them from time to time. I've switched most of my racks over to thermostats, but I still have some cages and racks on dimmers and they work just fine. (and while I'm not a REAL big breeder, I AM over 225lbs) ;)

This is what I used to do when I still used aquariums.

Zoo med heat pad, stuck to the bottom of the aquarium in the corner on one side. get two square plastic or rubber furniture coasters (those things you put under the legs of your chairs or tables to protect your floors) Cut them in half diagonally and silicone the pieces to each of the four corners of your aquarium. This is important as it will raise the bottom of the aquarium off the ground and you'll get air flow underneath it. If you don't do this the heat could be trapped in the space under the aquarium and could build up to the point where it could crack the glass. I've cracked a few aquarium bottoms before by overheating them. It also seems to make it easier to regulate the heat. I'd then plug the zoo-med heat pad into an extension cord into which I had spliced a dimmer switch. I've got a bunch of these I made out of 6 foot extension cords, a dimmer switch, a plastic electric utility box and a face plate. In order to measure the temp, buy a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer that has a remote probe on a wire. Tape the probe directly over the heat source on the bottom of the aquarium and cover with your substrate. If you don't want to put tape inside your cage, and there are many good reasons not to, you can pry up a corner of the heat pad and place the probe on the bottom side of the aquarium sandwiched between the sticky heat pad and the bottom of the tank. Do this carefully or you could damage the heat pad. Adjust the dimmer so that the temp on the thermometer stays around 90-92 degrees. I've always found this to be more then adequate without the need for other heat sources.

Mark

Yes they can be used, but are trickier to use. Especially if your temps in the house can change.

Don't rely on your hand to tell you what the temp is. A digital thermometer (a $12 Acurite from Wal-Mart or equivalent) is the only way to go. I'm not sure where MarkS lives, but I (again) think you're going to have a tough time with undertank alone unless you boost the ambient temperature in the room to about 75. Just keep fiddling until you nail it. I know it's REALLY hard not to dash out and get a snake pronto, but believe me: There are plenty out there, and a few days, even a week or so, won't make any difference given that this animal will live a couple decades. What you absolutely don't want is to have it come down with a respiratory infection (a byproduct of wrong temps/wrong humidity) that necessitates an expensive trip to the vet, not to mention the stress involved. Keep us all posted. We're rooting for you.

Well, I guess this whole thing is going to be postponed just a little longer.

The person who I was taking care of the milksnake for has had some other obligations she has to attend to... So I am left trying to find this milksnake a new home before I can get myself a BP. A few of my friends have shown interest, so once I get the 'ok' from one of them and help them create their setup, I can get back to dealing with my own snake.

Thanks for all the help. Hopefully it won't be too long. I don't think I could stand waiting a month or more. :zerb:

I live in MN, it's always cold here. I keep my herp rooms between 75-80 degrees, but even when I've kept the animals in a 68 degree room, I haven't had trouble. Respiratory infections are caused by germs, not temperatures. Too low temps can cause stress to an animal which can exacerbate an ALREADY EXISTING CONDITION, but they do not CAUSE respiratory infections.

If you're worried about ambient temperatures you can alway heat the air in the cage with a light bulb, the problem with these is that they tend to dry the air out as well. Another option is to put a hide box partially over the heat source. An enclosed hide box will trap heat inside and will create an area where the air temps as well as the belly temps are nice and warm. Just make sure it doesn't get too hot.

I guess my main point for the original poster is to point out that belly temps are the most important temperature aspect in the cage. Ambinent air temps, while important, are not as crucial as belly temps, and if you have an unregulated heating pad, it's easy to burn your snake.

Mark