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  1. #1
    BPnet Veteran Charles8088's Avatar
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    MBK... Temps in temporary smaller container

    So, being that this gal is a month old and still small, I took incoming advice and put her in a smaller 6qt. tub. And, I placed the tub inside the AP T8 enclosure. Being that the tub is so small (11 in. length) hi/low/gradients are not that easy to fully segregate. Here's how it looks...


    So...there's two probes inside that tub. The left side (cool side) has the probe from the Herpstat, and that controls the RHP you see on the top. The right side (warm side) has an Acurite temp probe, and that's the 81 deg. you're seeing in this pic. I dropped the temps down a bit because a few people said temps should be cooler for a kingsnake.


    So... I have the probe on the left set to 78 deg. But, with the tub being so short, its hard to really separate the temps. So, whatever the cool side is (what I use for setting the Herpstat), the warm side is about 3 degrees warmer. So, in the pic, you see 81 deg. on the right side (warm side), and the left side (cool side) is 78 deg.

    Questions...

    1. Being that the gradient is not much of a gradient afterall, are these temps fine, or should I raise it? Is it more important to have the warmer temps, or the cooler temps? cause, if I bring the warm side up to 85, the cool side will be about 82. Or, if I make the cool side a nice 75 deg, the warm side will only get to about 78.

    2. There's a night mode on the Herpstat, that allows me to use different temps for night vs. day. I'm not using it, but I could if it would help. Opinions?

    3. Am I overthinking it? Or, should I just leave it be? Or, with just a 3 deg. difference from cool and warm side, what's the best temps to use?
    0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake (Tynee)
    0.1 BEL Ball (Luna)
    0.1 Sunglow Boa (Pippi Longsnake)
    0.1 Woma Python (Uma)


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  2. #2
    bcr229's Avatar
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    I would leave it as-is for the moment and watch your snake's behavior. If it's coiled up on the cool side all the time then try a few degree night drop or go ahead and just drop the temp all the time.

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    Charles8088 (07-17-2017)

  4. #3
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    I also think you're probably fine where you are. Those temps fall right in where you want to be.

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    Charles8088 (07-17-2017)

  6. #4
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    Re: MBK... Temps in temporary smaller container

    Quote Originally Posted by Charles8088 View Post
    So... I have the probe on the left set to 78 deg. But, with the tub being so short, its hard to really separate the temps. So, whatever the cool side is (what I use for setting the Herpstat), the warm side is about 3 degrees warmer. So, in the pic, you see 81 deg. on the right side (warm side), and the left side (cool side) is 78 deg.

    Questions...

    1. Being that the gradient is not much of a gradient afterall, are these temps fine, or should I raise it? Is it more important to have the warmer temps, or the cooler temps? cause, if I bring the warm side up to 85, the cool side will be about 82. Or, if I make the cool side a nice 75 deg, the warm side will only get to about 78.

    2. There's a night mode on the Herpstat, that allows me to use different temps for night vs. day. I'm not using it, but I could if it would help. Opinions?

    3. Am I overthinking it? Or, should I just leave it be? Or, with just a 3 deg. difference from cool and warm side, what's the best temps to use?
    1. I will start by saying that of the snake species I have kept, there is arguably no more robust group than kingsnakes. They seem to tolerate almost anything keepers can throw at them minus crazy extremes. I have had them in cooler setups with no heat temporarily (2-3 weeks) and they all ate and shed fine. That said, if you look at the M. B. kingsnake's native range, they are generally found in hotter climates such as the Sonoran desert and southern Arizona. Those areas experience pretty hot temperatures, but also wide swings in temperature. Since your snake is young, I might favor the middle values, i.e. 78 - 81 F.

    2. As noted above, you can use a night drop if you so desire as it is something would certainly experience in the wild. However, it has been noted that most captive snakes appear to derive no benefit from simulating this unless you are attempting to breed.

    3. I will say that I keep all my kingsnakes the same (I actually keep all my colubrids very similar with slight adjustments to the following), using a 74-76 F ambient temperature with an 85 F hot spot. I have observed that the kingsnakes will favor the 85 F hotspots, especially following a meal, but will then roam at other times. As noted by the above posted, a good rule is to observe the snakes behavior. If he clings to the hot spot 24/7, it is likely too cool. If he is roaming all the time, he may be too warm.

    In short, I would go with the 78 - 81 F and observe, but I suspect an MBK will do just fine at that range.

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    Charles8088 (07-17-2017)

  8. #5
    BPnet Veteran Charles8088's Avatar
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    I think I was more concerned about the low and high temps being to closely the same... and my girl not being able to thermo-regulate. But, she's acting fine. No issues. Exploring her tank... sometimes hiding out for hours, sometimes coming out and checking out the view.

    I'll just leave her be. Maybe if I find one of my larger containers, I'll put her in there... otherwise she'll stay here for now.

    0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake (Tynee)
    0.1 BEL Ball (Luna)
    0.1 Sunglow Boa (Pippi Longsnake)
    0.1 Woma Python (Uma)


    WANT LIST
    - Mangrove Snake

    - Russian Rat Snake
    - Eastern Indigo
    - Black Milk Snake
    - False Water Cobra
    - Rhino Rat Snake
    - Thai Bamboo Rat Snake
    - Western Hognose
    - Kenyan Sand Boa

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