Reptile & Amphibian Forums

as his pad just died on me today, I need to get him a new heat source. This one worked well, but it's one of those under the tank heaters. It worked fine with his new enclosure except that I had to lay iton a piece of wood as close to the glass as possible. It would then heat that portion of the glass which was also covered with his paper towels. I was using reptile moss, but it is just entirely too messy and he likes the towels better. Plus, so easy to clean up. Anyway, now that his pad is dead, what in your opinion is the best? TIA--Izora

In my opinion and i am sure others will agree that Under Tank Heating is the best way to go...

As far as substrate I use Paper towels for my hatchlings and newspaper for my adults.. It's cheap clean and easy to maintain when you have several dozen snakes... But,your chioce of substrate is really whatever works for you..

~ Mike Russo

When using either of these as a substrate with a UTH, doesn't the bottom of the enclosure get too hot? I house my snakes in aquariums with UTH's, and use about 2 inches of aspen. If I dig my finger and touch the bottom of the tank, it is really hot, hot enough to burn me if I don't move after a few seconds. I would think paper towels & newspaper would be too thin for the snakes to be able to lay on.

Just wondering.......

John

Most people use or at least recomend a rheostat to control just how hot it gets. I have never used one but then again there is always more than just glass or paper as substrate in my enclosures.
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
0.0.1 MO Locale Black Ratsnake "Molly" (Flogging Molly)

"I'll be whatever I wanna do!"

I use digital Helix temerature controlers to maintain proper temperatures in my rack systems.

If your heat pad is hot enough to burn you then it is not safe for your animal..

You should get a dimmer switch or some type of temperature controller and turn it down a bit.

~ Mike

The safest heat to use is UT (under tank) heating, but if you don't electronically control the heat, the use of paper towels or newsprint as a substrate could very well kill your snake. I find the cheapest rheostat to use is aspen bedding. You increase or decrease the substrate depth until you achieve a safe temperature INSIDE the warm-side hide of the cage (80-85F.). The cool side should be cooler than 80.

Paper towels and newsprint are fine if you heat the entire room to digesting temperatures or if you use a theromostat or rheostat to control the heater. Since most of the readers of this forum do not use either, I recommend you use only aspen bedding as a substrate. It's chemically benign and absorbs and desiccates liquids rapidly. No worries about the snake burning itself on the UT heater since (unlike ball pythons) most corns have the sense to distance themselves from the hot cage bottom. Be sure the UT heater is under only one end of the cage so the snake can retreat to the cool end of the cage when necessary. Hides at both ends of the cage are recommended to facilitate thermoregulation (beneficial to digestion and shedding).

Don
www.cornsnake.NET
South Mountain Reptiles

But if the snake likes to burrow, aspen bedding won't keep him from getting burned. The only safe thing really is to use a rheostat or thermostat.

I have never had a corn snake burned from burrowing in aspen. I think the likelihood of this happening is akin to your chances of catching a corn snake in Times Square.

Aspen is the safest substrate to use. This advice comes from over 30 years of personally keeping corns in many different substrates and from countless thousands of customer testimonies.

Don
www.cornsnake.NET
South Mountain Reptiles

So you are saying its safe to use an unregulated UTH at over 120 degrees? Experience or not, I do not agree.

Yup. That's what I'm saying. I have literally thousands of customers that are keeping their corns in aquariums with two to three inches of aspen bedding over an unregulated UT heater. Other species can abuse such set ups and end up burned. Not corns.

Don
www.cornsnake.NET
South Mountain Reptiles

UTH. It helps the snake with digestion. (sp?)
Rob
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"I reject your reality and substitute my own" Adam Savage
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
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