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We've recently set up a 15 gallon terrarium in anticipation of getting our first snake. (Which will be a beautiful red cape gopher we've picked out!) It'll be a few days at least before we can actually buy the snake.

In the meantime, I've set up his habitat and have been trying to make sure the temperature is right. From all I've read, cape gophers like it in the upper 70's...80F at the most. I can't find what temperature they prefer at night. My problem is...the light that the lady in the pet store suggested I buy (75 watt reptile bulb) gets the tank way too warm. I've tried lifting it away from the tank some and that seems to help but its awkward and still in the 80's, but some corners of the tank are in the right range. And at night, when I have to turn the light off, the temp drops to 70F. Is that too cool?

What's the best way to regulate the temp for daytime and nighttime? Should I try a heating pad under the cage?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Judy

Well congrates on a beautiful snake.For one thing a 15gallon tank is not gonna take a 75watt heat bulb the way to much,if you want to have a lite try a 40 or 60 watt house bulb.You only need one side of the tank to get up to 80-82 for digestation.The rest of the tank only needs to be in the mid to high 70s.If your house is in the low 80s in the day and drop to the mid 70s thats all you need.This is only my experence with pits many others are more experenced and will have good advice.LOL,JIM

Those temps sound good, as long as the temps in the room are in the right range you don't need an undertank heater. I am guessing the 75w bulb you have is by zoomed, it is too hot and not natural so the snake will rarely enjoy basking in it. Trade it in for a 60w Day-Glow bulb made by Hagen. Good Luck.

Judy...

Congrats on getting a red cape gopher as your first snake! You are on the right path! Pits are awesome, and addictive. You may not want more snakes, .....but you probably will end up with more...as I have.

As far as capes, here is what I suggest.

I have two right now..an orange phase and a red phase. Both do great on the temp that I heat the room to..which is 78 to 80 AT THE MOST.

In my experience, all these heat bulbs..etc.may sound like a good idea, and a lot aren't bad to use...but with pits..the temps don't have to be as extreme as some kings or milks.

I used to heat my snakes to 82-84, and had very bad luck with some of them. In fact...my first cape gopher, along with my first Applegate gopher died due to refusal of eating cause the temps were too hot. I later figured that out and by then it was too late.

The pet store, may be trying to sell you these bulbs cause it sounds right. Thing is..the room you are going to put the snake in...what is the temp in there already? Get a thermometer and check it out. If it is already around 78 or so..In my opinion, you don't need any more heating. The snake should do fine.

I have 25 snakes right now..about half my collection are pits. All I use is a long, rectangular convection heater, that is made to heat rooms, and I keep in on the lowest setting, and that heats the room fine. It sucks the air up from the floor and blows it out the top, causing a slow air flow around the room. Actually, there are a lot of days I turn it off, and the room is 78. I never use any heat sources other than that.

Also...capes are sensitive and shy snakes. Great pets, no doubt, but don't take to hot temps too well. Also, some snakes can be fed more frequently than others without any ill effects. Capes are not one of those IMO. Feeding them once a week is great, in my experience.

Take care! I hope this helps!
Billy
discern@flash.net
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Genesis 1:1

Thanks for all the answers...and thanks for the feeding tip, Billy! (That's another concern of mine, but I think I'm just nervous 'cause this is a new thing for us.)

I'm still not sure what to do about the temp though. See...the tank is in the basement, and even though the rest of the house is at about 78, the basement is a good 10 degrees cooler. The temp in the tank dropped to 68 last night and it won't go up more than a couple degrees during the day because the room gets no natural sunlight.

I know that's probably not the ideal place to house a snake, but the way this house is arranged, its the only place we could put it. It's a beautifully finished basement and gets lots of family time down there...but its still a basement.

Will a 40 watt bulb do the trick of heating the tank a mere 10 degrees? Or something else? (Also, the lighting in the basement is relatively dim. Lack of natural light is noticible, so I'd like to have a bulb of some sort to illumiate the tank, as well as provide some good "daylight" for the animal.)

Hello,
I keep all my snakes in the basement and i'm in PA, so it stays around 65-70 towards the bottom of the floor all year. I keep my capes fairly cool, with a warm end of around 74-78, 80 tops. I personally use heating from the bottom or back of each cage, and with the capes it was barely turned on. You can buy a small-medium heat pad from the pet store or a herp show, and then i would use a Rheostat (can be found at most hardware stores). You can use this as a cheaper solution to a thermostat and regulate how hot the heat pad gets. As long as the heat pad doesn't cover too much of the flooring and the Cape has plenty of room to get to that cool end, even if it is 65-70 degrees down there, he should be fine. I agree with everything Billy mentioned, feeding only once a week, small food items, and having plenty of cover. Have a good weekend, and i hope all goes well with your cape, they are great snakes!

Have a good one,
Gregg F.

>>Thanks for all the answers...and thanks for the feeding tip, Billy! (That's another concern of mine, but I think I'm just nervous 'cause this is a new thing for us.)
>>
>>I'm still not sure what to do about the temp though. See...the tank is in the basement, and even though the rest of the house is at about 78, the basement is a good 10 degrees cooler. The temp in the tank dropped to 68 last night and it won't go up more than a couple degrees during the day because the room gets no natural sunlight.
>>
>>I know that's probably not the ideal place to house a snake, but the way this house is arranged, its the only place we could put it. It's a beautifully finished basement and gets lots of family time down there...but its still a basement.
>>
>>Will a 40 watt bulb do the trick of heating the tank a mere 10 degrees? Or something else? (Also, the lighting in the basement is relatively dim. Lack of natural light is noticible, so I'd like to have a bulb of some sort to illumiate the tank, as well as provide some good "daylight" for the animal.)
Gregg's RB

I had to laugh. You'd be amazed how many peo[ple keep their snakes in the basement. Almost everybody. What I do to regulate my heating system is use dimmer swithches. I get mine at Lowe's. It's a lamp dimmer switch so their is no wiring that needs to be done. You just plug your light into the dimmer and the dimmer into the wall. I think they cost around $9. Good luck with your first snake although I gaurantee it won't be your last. lol
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