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  1. #11
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    Re: Corn snake enclosure setup and heating

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    High 60's at night is actually fine for a corn snake, as long as you have a good UTH on one end of the cage with hides on warm & cool sides. Corn mostly
    prefer temps about 70-73* & use UTH as needed for digestion. What are the day time temps in your room? Be careful you don't over-heat a corn snake,
    they aren't like BPs at all. (I currently have 5, & have raised quite a few in previous years.) The nice thing about many colubrids is that you don't have to
    be so worried about the whole cage being so warm. During the day, & only IF you need a little more warmth, use a low wattage incandescent light with a
    dimmer (rheostat) control switch in an over-head dome-light fixture, but this is best for when your corn snake gets bigger since hatchlings aren't always brave
    enough for branches, but as corn & many rat snakes grow, they love branches. Again, just don't over-do the heat, the area in the cage over the UTH should
    not exceed 85*, & unless you live in an igloo you want the UTH to be roughly one sixth of the cage floor.
    Now you've said to get a uth that's about one sixth the length of the cage. I've watched some videos and they said they should be about one third of the size is there in big difference between the two? What brand UTH's do you use for your corn snakes?

  2. #12
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    Re: Corn snake enclosure setup and heating

    Quote Originally Posted by BillyBlanco View Post
    Now you've said to get a uth that's about one sixth the length of the cage. I've watched some videos and they said they should be about one third of the size is there in big difference between the two? What brand UTH's do you use for your corn snakes?
    It ALL DEPENDS...on how cold your room/house is (the colder it is, the harder it is to keep warmth in a cage, & the more you'll need to insulate the cage for best results)
    It ALL DEPENDS...on what kind of snake you're keeping, as some don't function well with excessive heat (corns, for example) & some don't function if too cool (like BPs).

    I have no idea what the intent was of the video you watched. (what kind of snakes was it aimed for?) Nor do I know how cold your room/house gets in winter...
    or how your cage is (or will be) set up? (insulated?)

    I personally have used & prefer (mostly) Flexwatt...but the "heat tape" sold on Reptile Basics is very similar AND they will hook it up for you, which is what I'd recommend that you have them do, since you're unfamiliar. Please READ carefully all of their information about it (heat tape needs to "breathe"...a little air gap so it's not overheating). http://www.reptilebasics.com/heating
    You also need to control it so it's not too hot...probably a thermostat is best in your case...ask them.

    It's important that your snake can digest properly, that it has options for warm & cooler that are appropriate temperatures year-round. Corn snakes can be harmed if over-heated, but no heat is just as wrong. For sake of comparison, my house thermostat regulates the ambient temperatures so my house stays 70* in winter and 79-80* in summer. In the very warmest months of summer (when it's 80*) I will turn off the UTH for my corn snakes during that time, because it's warm enough for their digestion and only making my A/C work harder. The UTH you use should provide warmth in the cage (directly over it, where the snake may be) that measures no more than 86* for a corn snake. You do NOT need to heat the ambient air in the cage to that extent...about 70* is fine, & even a night-time drop to upper 60's is fine for a corn snake.
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 05-19-2019 at 12:01 PM.

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    fadingdaylight (05-19-2019)

  4. #13
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    Re: Corn snake enclosure setup and heating

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    It ALL DEPENDS...on how cold your room/house is (the colder it is, the harder it is to keep warmth in a cage, & the more you'll need to insulate the cage for best results)
    It ALL DEPENDS...on what kind of snake you're keeping, as some don't function well with excessive heat (corns, for example) & some don't function if too cool (like BPs).

    I have no idea what the intent was of the video you watched. (what kind of snakes was it aimed for?) Nor do I know how cold your room/house gets in winter...
    or how your cage is (or will be) set up? (insulated?)

    I personally have used & prefer (mostly) Flexwatt...but the "heat tape" sold on Reptile Basics is very similar AND they will hook it up for you, which is what I'd recommend that you have them do, since you're unfamiliar. Please READ carefully all of their information about it (heat tape needs to "breathe"...a little air gap so it's not overheating). http://www.reptilebasics.com/heating
    You also need to control it so it's not too hot...probably a thermostat is best in your case...ask them.

    It's important that your snake can digest properly, that it has options for warm & cooler that are appropriate temperatures year-round. Corn snakes can be harmed if over-heated, but no heat is just as wrong. For sake of comparison, my house thermostat regulates the ambient temperatures so my house stays 70* in winter and 79-80* in summer. In the very warmest months of summer (when it's 80*) I will turn off the UTH for my corn snakes during that time, because it's warm enough for their digestion and only making my A/C work harder. The UTH you use should provide warmth in the cage (directly over it, where the snake may be) that measures no more than 86* for a corn snake. You do NOT need to heat the ambient air in the cage to that extent...about 70* is fine, & even a night-time drop to upper 60's is fine for a corn snake.
    Well I put out one of my temperature gauges last night to check and with just the ceiling fan going it was around 68.9 F we usually have the AC running during the the summer time so it does stay cool and it stays about that temperature maybe dropping down to 66 or 67. So right now I'm trying to upgrade her cage to something roughly 30" inches long and being that my room gets cooler at night would an uth be able to get warm enough to provide the right temperature gradient and this is for just a corn snake

  5. #14
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    By the way, if the gap of air space under your tank is too big (as yours apparently is, as per PM), you can buy some inexpensive ceramic tiles* to function as a
    'heat sink': they'll reduce the excessive insulating air space while retaining heat & even help protect the surface of wood furniture if that happens to be what your
    tank is sitting on. (wood furniture subjected to UTH over a long time tends to dry out & may even crack a little, even if the UTH isn't touching the wood)

    *Be sure to measure the gap under your tank first, then check with local "floor covering" business (they usually install carpet, tile & vinyl) for a few spare tiles of
    the size you need...they sure don't have to match or be pretty. When I asked about a few tiles at my local store, they practically gave them to me. They often
    have a few tiles left-over from installation jobs... But tiles come in many sizes, so measure the space under your tank first- the width, length & height.

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  7. #15
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    Re: Corn snake enclosure setup and heating

    Hey I just wanted to give an update to this thread since it's been awhile. I did up getting this enclosure and I just bought a small ceramic room heater that that worked out fine keeping the room warm around 70-73 degrees. This enclosure is a bit smaller then a 40ga but it works out fine. I do like the extra high since my corn snake seems to be more of a climber then a burrower.

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