Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone,
Last night i moved my cal. Kingsnake into a 20L tank. I installed an undertank heater and i went to check on it today. First i checked the bedding on top of the heater and far away from the heater. There is a noticable change. The bedding on top is a confortable warm and the bedidng on the other side is about 5-10 degrees cooler.

I than brushed aside the bedding to feel how hot the glass underneath was. It was an unconfortable hot. Not burn my hand hot, but i cant leave my hand on the glass at the bottom of the cage for more than a few seconds before it becomes to hot to leave there. Is ok for my snake? Will she burn herself? Should i put down a thin layer of gravel on that side of the cage so that she can touch the glass? Im new to this.

Thanks,
Jeff

You need a thermostat to control the temps and a thermometer to monitor the temps. Derek

>>You need a thermostat to control the temps and a thermometer to monitor the temps. Derek

Derek,
Although I agree with you, this doesn't solve his initial problem. In his setup, the glass has to get very hot for the bedding to just be warm.

To the original poster,
Using wood bedding just insulates the heater and glass. The result is that the glass gets hot just to make the top of the bedding barely warm. Kingsnakes will burrow, so you can use a lamp dimmer to keep the bottom at the proper temps and leave the bedding top cool. That is one way to approach it.

Because it is a glass tank, and glass has very little thermal mass, you can either use a bedding that does not insulate so much, or use a thinner layer of wood bedding or else introduce thermal mass to the bottom of the tank.

Your first idea to put gravel on the bottom will help, but it makes cleaning the cage tougher. You can use thin ceramic tile instead. I use PVCx plastic on the bottom. You can get it at sign shops under the name of "Sintra" usually.

Also, a good bedding is EcoEarth. It seems to transfer heat a little better than wood shavings and holds moisture better for burrowing kings. I live in a drier climate and so it does fit the bill better.

If you make the glass of the tank around 85 degrees, the snake will go there to be warm. The wood chip or whatever is chosen as a substrate should get to around the same temps. The snake will choose to hide under the substrate anyway. If you put a nice hide over the wood chips, the snake will go in the hide. Glass is a poor insulator, but as long as the snake is able to get to it by burrowing, he will be warm enough. The snake will choose what is best for him. You just have to make it available. Derek