I have an 18" Oketee corn, roughly 7 months old. I keep him in a 45 long aquarium with terra fiber substrate, 100W heatleamp (Had to put finer mesh screening over the other mesh screening because he's so small and a 75W wasn't doing much at all)and last night added an under-tank heater. According to a thermometer, the heat lamp shines down on the substrate at about 85. The under-tank heater is fairly warm and I've created a nice gradient. The pamphlet says there isn't much heat absorption from wet/dry terra fibre anyway, so I'm sure it' not too hot for him.
Problem is, I got the heating pad to warm up the tank a little because every time I went to pick him up, he'd be hidden away from the heat lamp and very cold... It's quite cold on the cold side, I have a live plant in the middle of the set-up that he enjoys burrowing under which is fairly buried into a mound of dirt. I need the cold side to keep his water dish cool as well, he doesn't seem to like to drink much water either. He seems to have an aversion to heat, but the temperature in the tank isn't unbearable.
I have two hides for him, one smaller one near the edge of the heating pad, and another long overturned log that stretches 2/3rds of the aquarium, half on the hot side, half on the cold. The edge of the log is heated by the pad and lamp for a minimal space. I find him near the warmer spots only after he's eaten, which I find strange. I have a newly-acquired 10-month old amel and also a snow corn of the same age, they drink lots of water and seem to love basking under their heat lmap/by their under-tank heater- so much so they move their hides to accomodate their tastes. They are also quite large, over 20" and fairly thick-bodied.
I was wondering if the cold-loving Oketee is stunting his growth... He seems a bit small for his age, he should be on fuzzies now but is only eating week-old pinkies. Should I be concerned that he doesn't seem to like the heat? I was told by experts that his tank tempurate should be around the range it is for optimal health. I'm afraid of him getting sick, although he seems ok minus the (phantom?) water drinking; he has a fairly voracious appetite. Has this happened to anyone else? He has no apparent signs of sickness.
