Tub owners, how do you keep your cool side temps up?

I followed the advice here and went with a tub over a tank. I'm finding that just 1 warm hide regulated by a thermostat/UTH is not enough. The cool side just reflects room temp which is 74 and too low. So I'm wanting to know what my options are and what most people are doing in my situation.

I can't decide if I wanna heat the entire room (expensive), or if I wanna buy a 2nd UTH / thermostat (also expensive), or if I wanna go back to a tank / light setup, or if I just wanna forget perfection and let the cool side stay 74 year round with 90 on the warm end.

my room is usually around 80 degrees right now during the summer

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Originally Posted by atp151415

my room is usually around 80 degrees right now during the summer

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Why doesn't anyone mention this when they recommend tubs? To use a tub setup properly, you apparently need a warm ambient room temp. For me this is hard because I live in a small apartment. I don't want a space heater going 24/7 in a small closet and I don't want my entire place being 80 all the time.

Bleh, tanks are sounding really good right now.

My tubs are in an enclosed rack system made by Reptile Basics and I have no issues with low temps or humidity. I have 1 thermostat running 16 tubs in four racks.
I also have cages made by Reptile Basics and have no issues with temps or humidity. I have one thermostat running each three cages.

I would suggest, before buying another t'stat, that you maybe check out Reptile Basics offerings; it could be good for your situation :)

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Originally Posted by starmom

My tubs are in an enclosed rack system made by Reptile Basics and I have no issues with low temps or humidity. I have 1 thermostat running 16 tubs in four racks.
I also have cages made by Reptile Basics and have no issues with temps or humidity. I have one thermostat running each three cages.

I would suggest, before buying another t'stat, that you maybe check out Reptile Basics offerings; it could be good for your situation :)

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But what is your ambient, room temp?

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

That's what I use currently for the warm side. I guess I can do the same with the other side, I just don't want to throw down another $80 for a thermostat. I guess flexwatt + rheostat or dimmer would work fine. I also might try a zoomed UTH since those aren't such a snake cooking risk.

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Take it from me, like I said in your past threads I manage with ambient temps in the 68 degree range. All its takes is tweaking and a little effort. Your best bet is to get some flexwatt to warm the cool side and run that off of a dimmer. You said you had a good central A/C so you shouldn't have to tweak it too much once you get it stabilized. $30 will correct your problem.

Switching to a tank will not correct the issue your having. It will probably get worst since there is more air space inside a tank for the heat to get dispersed in.

4 inch strip of flexwatt running across the cool side, controlled by a dimmer; thats what I would do.

Oh boy. I live in the high desert. Summer months are June, July and August. Summer day time highs are anywhere from 80-93F and night time is typically 35-45F. We don't have air conditioning. We have about 9 months of chilly to coldness. Winter time averages day temps of 20's to 30's and night time temps of friggin cold!!

Our indoor ambients have a huge range since we have no air conditioning and leave windows and doors open at night in the summer. In the winter, average indoor temps are about 67-68F. We have ambient humidity year round of about 22-28%.

I can't wait to move full time out to the ranch where the air is warmer, there is more humidity, and the winter time is shorter and not so cold..... ;)

get another strip of flexwatt, run it along the cool side of the tub/s and set it to high 70's low 80's if your temps are too low. you dont need to heat a whole room. thatd be a waste and a headache.

I use an oil-filled radiator to heat my snake room, but I have close to 50 snakes in one room. My ambient temp is usually around 77-78. My hot sides in my rack systems are kept at 92. I do not worry about my cool sides. The snakes will move around the cage to thermo-regulate. If the cool side is too cool, then they will not go to that side.

Tanks are much harder to heat and hold humidity than tubs. Also the snakes feel insecure in tanks. Tubs are in my opinion a much better choice.

Hope this helps.

i agree with eddie. my cool side temps sometimes dip to low 70's. my warm side is always about 89-90.

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Originally Posted by mr~python

get another strip of flexwatt, run it along the cool side of the tub/s and set it to high 70's low 80's if your temps are too low. you dont need to heat a whole room. thatd be a waste and a headache.

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Ditto that. You can use a lamp dimmer with the thermostat. Plug the cool side flexwatt into the dimmer, plug the dimmer into the thermostat. All set!

Mmmm, there are a lot of members on this forum who keep snakes in tanks and would argue that their snakes are secure given that they eat, poo and breed.
That said, I also feel that tanks are tricky to get going so that they are stable; but again, many members are successful with this.
I was speaking of a cage- a reptile cage. I have 6 and they rock!!!

I have an ultatherm 6 by 11 on the way along with a rheostat. I'll see how it goes but it stinks because the rheostat is costing me $25 shipped via amazon.. and the pads was $23 shipped. This is getting really expensive. Overall, I've spent close to $500 on husbandry for 2 snakes.

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

I have an ultatherm 6 by 11 on the way along with a rheostat. I'll see how it goes but it stinks because the rheostat is costing me $25 shipped via amazon.. and the pads was $23 shipped. This is getting really expensive. Overall, I've spent close to $500 on husbandry for 2 snakes.

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Where did you spend 500$??? That sucks, a tub set up shouldn't cost that much... One thermostat can run 2+ tubs depending on the heating elements.

My snake room ambient temp is only about 70F...

But the hot side is about 94F :)

Lots of options!

^^^ isn't that dangerous for the snake? 70 seems too low to be anywhere inside a BP's enclosure.. or are you saying you found a way to get it over 80 without a 2nd heat source? I've been tweaking my tubs and can't seem to get it right.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Where did you spend 500$??? That sucks, a tub set up shouldn't cost that much... One thermostat can run 2+ tubs depending on the heating elements.

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Well a lot of that was purchasing things in the wrong sizes, purchasing too much of stuff, getting the fancy hides, getting too many thermometers etc.. It can run more tubs but since my other snake is smaller it's in a smaller tub as well. Even using same wattage/size flexwatt in the same thermostat, tub size seems to have an effect on temps. I guess its because of the surface area or something, I dunno.

Before switching to a tub all I had was heat lamp and it got the temp gradient perfectly in line, right out of the box. Humidity was the issue I switched to a tub for. Now the concern is temps. And also humidity if I don't have enough vent holes or air flow.

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

^^^ isn't that dangerous for the snake? 70 seems too low to be anywhere inside a BP's enclosure.. or are you saying you found a way to get it over 80 without a 2nd heat source? I've been tweaking my tubs and can't seem to get it right.

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What he's saying is there is more than one way to keep bp's. ;)

Just to give an idea of what a tub set up costs; I just spent $97.01 for my new quaratine set up.

Ranco Thermostat- $69.99
1 foot 11 inch flexwatt- $3.50
1 set of clamps for flexwatt- $5.00
Tax and shipping- $18.52

All I need is a tub which will probably be $3. So grand total I spent $100 for a reliable set up.

I'm a huge fan of tanks. But, I have to caution you. If you can't get a tub to work you will never get a tank to work. It's a LOT harder. I don't pay a lot of attention to cool side temps either. I just regulate my warm sides so that the snake is using both sides regularly. Where is your snake spending most of his time now?

Well, the few tubs I use (mostly for QT) have a UTH on each side for warm and cool temps controlled by separate thermostats. Granted, those t-stats are the ZooMed variety...but they work just fine for QT needs and are cheap enough to allow me to have 5. To raise ambient temps(in winter), I place a lamp about 8-12" above the top of the tub around the middle and use a 40 watt bulb.

With all the heck I've been through with these tubs: getting ventilation right to lower humidity, keeping the temp gradient right... I just really prefer my tanks! However, they are not practical given my limited space...so I'm building a rack that will use 90qt tubs for my adult BPs and I will put up with the endless tweaking to get it right for the extra space it will give me. :) Of course, my corn snakes and my younger BPs are staying in their nice stable tanks. :D

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Originally Posted by Argentra

Well, the few tubs I use (mostly for QT) have a UTH on each side for warm and cool temps controlled by separate thermostats. Granted, those t-stats are the ZooMed variety...but they work just fine for QT needs and are cheap enough to allow me to have 5. To raise ambient temps(in winter), I place a lamp about 8-12" above the top of the tub around the middle and use a 40 watt bulb.

With all the heck I've been through with these tubs: getting ventilation right to lower humidity, keeping the temp gradient right... I just really prefer my tanks! However, they are not practical given my limited space...so I'm building a rack that will use 90qt tubs for my adult BPs and I will put up with the endless tweaking to get it right for the extra space it will give me. :) Of course, my corn snakes and my younger BPs are staying in their nice stable tanks. :D

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Right on Argentra!!! Good for you. My most expensive snake is in a ten gallon tank with no thermostat!!! I only use thermostats for my normals, and on racks. Non of my tanks even have thermostats and they are safe and stable.

I've been experiencing the same problem with my tub setup. Thankfully I'm trying to work it out before I get my snake. I have the hot side dialed into 93-96 degrees F at the heating pad using a dimmer from Lowe's. My room temps don't fluctuate more than 2 or 3 degrees. My cool side reflects ambient room temps (76-78 degrees). This just seems too low for a 12 qt tub, because there really isn't that much space for a proper gradient. Right? If I go to another UTH and dimmer, are the two supposed to cover the entire bottom of the tub (outside of course)? Us newbies need all the advice we can get...

I think, if you have the tub's warm side at 88-95 then it usually should variate enough for the snake to thermo-regulate with no problem.
I don't have a ton of experience with this, but I would assume if they get too hot, they move to the cold side for a bit and can move back to the warm side if they need to. I don't think it is majorly bad if the temperatures on the cold side arn't perfect, as long as you have regular warm side temps.

My cool side temps were too cool as well, so I up'd the ambient temp to just 75-77 degrees (rather than 72) and it is perfect now.

You can get away with using a cool side heat tape too, but then you start killing a fly with an elephant gun, in my opinion. Not to mention, every time you open the tub your snakes get a blast of cold air.

Just my .02.

JonV

I live in a small apartment also, what I did to raise ambient temps is simply close the vent going into that one room, most vents have a lever on them that closes them off, or you can unscrew it and put press and seal behind the vent if you cant close it off. Also make sure you keep the door closed to that room, doing thease things has raised the ambient temps 8 degrees in that room

Heh, I'd love to be able to raise ambients in the snake room that way - especially in winter - but I cannot. The snake room also happens to be the bedroom! :D

Another trick I use, with tanks as well as tubs, is to insulate them. This not only keeps heat in, but it makes the back and sides opaque for more snake security. :)

In this apartment, there's always some tweaking to be done depending on the season: In winter the corns are fine since the house temps are around 71, but the BPs cool side t-stats are always going. In summer, those cool side t-stats hardly come on at all, since the house stays around 80, but the corns are too warm! :rolleyes: Just can't win.

i had the same problem a while back when i used tanks..but i made the switch to tubs..and since then everything has gone perfect..and to maintain my ambient temps..i moved my snakes to the garage since its the summer months; and their daytime ambient temps reach up to 88 degrees and drop at night to about 80 degrees...i've also read in a previous forum regarding cool side temps for tubs you can always place a heatlamp over the cool side to heat the ambient air..and i dont mean cut out a square on the tubs lid and place the heatlamp over the square with a piece of cutout steel..i mean you can go out and purchase a stand like the one below and have it suspend over ur tub setup and it should maintain its temps to at least 81 degrees on the cool side i know haha i had to do it before..i've also had the fear of it melting the plastic but its never happened to me when i did it..also i used a 75 watt bulb. and i'll tell you this..you dont lose humidity when using a heatlamp on a tub as you would when using a glass tank setup.

http://www.arcatapet.com/fullsize/10737.jpg

http://www.petmountain.com/shop/stan...r-reptiles.jpg

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Originally Posted by SGB_74

i had the same problem a while back when i used tanks..but i made the switch to tubs..and since then everything has gone perfect..and to maintain my ambient temps..i moved my snakes to the garage since its the summer months; and their daytime ambient temps reach up to 88 degrees and drop at night to about 80 degrees...i've also read in a previous forum regarding cool side temps for tubs you can always place a heatlamp over the cool side to heat the ambient air..and i dont mean cut out a square on the tubs lid and place the heatlamp over the square with a piece of cutout steel..i mean you can go out and purchase a stand like the one below and have it suspend over ur tub setup and it should maintain its temps to at least 81 degrees on the cool side i know haha i had to do it before..i've also had the fear of it melting the plastic but its never happened to me when i did it..also i used a 75 watt bulb. and i'll tell you this..you dont lose humidity when using a heatlamp on a tub as you would when using a glass tank setup.

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Just be really careful that you don't boil the snake alive using the heat lamp suspended over the tub. You have to check and triple check the temps inside the tub for the first few days. An inch or two closer or further away can make a big difference. One of my tubs got over 115 degrees in less than an hour because I had the lamp too close. Fortunately it was a test run so nothing was living in there, but it could have been a disaster.

That's why I make sure my lamps are a) at least 8-12" away from the top of the enclosure (and that's the BOTTOM of the lamp), and b) that I use no higher than 50 watt bulbs. Doing those two things gets you a good raise in ambients, but doesn't overheat or drain humidity.

Also, those stand things are a rip off. I just built my own using wood: a thin plank for the platform, thick broom-handle-like dowels for the arms linked with a PVC elbow joint and a large hook screwed into the end. Worked great, but in the end I prefer clipping them to a wall shelf (gives extra storage space as well), or suspending from a hook in the ceiling with chain. :)

So are those just regular bulbs or are we talking about CHEs here? I bought a IR heat bulb, but the red glow is killing me. I'd rather not use that...

I use SunGlo bulbs. And for night I use Moonlight, not red. The red was annoying my BF and made him feel he was in a Sith room. :) Reds get warmer than needed anyway.

SunGlo can be ordered online from a lot of places, or bought at most pet stores. Unless it's a really low watt, I find that regular house bulbs are too hot and too glaringly bright.

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Originally Posted by bsd13

Just be really careful that you don't boil the snake alive using the heat lamp suspended over the tub. You have to check and triple check the temps inside the tub for the first few days. An inch or two closer or further away can make a big difference. One of my tubs got over 115 degrees in less than an hour because I had the lamp too close. Fortunately it was a test run so nothing was living in there, but it could have been a disaster.

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yea i forgot to mention as well that my heatlamp has a built in dimmer switch and of course i check the temps..thats a must..haha i feel like i have O.C.D. but i also keep the heatlamp suspended above the enclosure a good foot or so..i dont sit the lamp on top of the tub..then you'll be askin' for trouble...i.e. the smell of burning plastic...just think of heating your snake up in increments...i.e. heat transfer..so start off low and if you dont see your desired temps being reached..increase the heat (power).

The temperature in the room in the winter is about 70-74 degrees in the winter. However, any of the tubs that are not in enclosed racks have extra flexwatt. I've also often run an extra space heater to make sure the room temp doesn't go below 70. If I could set it to 72, I would, but 75 just makes it too warm for me to sleep in there. (The reptiles are in my bedroom).

Yup, I hear that. My snakes are in our bedroom as well, and right now we have a big rotating fan on a timer aimed at the bed since we can't keep the AC up. Snakes love it, but we don't. :)

In winter, the house stays around 74ish, so the corns are happy, the BPs have heat pads on t-stats for both sides, and we have lots of blankets and two space heaters. :)

Interesting thread. As I live in England and have no central heating (you don't miss it after a few years believe it or not, an extra sweater is what's required) it's been very tricky. I use an AP cage with belly heat for the warm side and use a heat lamp (through a cut out grill) to keep the ambient (cool side) temp up. The humidity can be a problem during the winter due to the lamp but I manage it with sprays etc. Although I can keep the snake warm this way it is the lack of central heating that has kept me from buying a chameleon, there's no way I can keep a mesh cage warm enough.

I have had no issues with my 250g 5 month old 0.0.1 Jade. 15 qt set up. low 90's on warm side, ambient temp of 74-75. I have a laser thermometer in addition to my digital thermometer/ hydrometer. The digi's probe is under the center of the warm hide taped to the bottom of the inside of the tub. The cool hide is partially on the corner of the uth and the laser therm. measures 80 when shot onto the bottom of the tub. Plastic isn't the best conductor, but it still warms up a bit :)