Will these little guys find the waterdish on thier own?
I have it on the cool end of the 20gal. tank but they hang out on the warm end and Ive never seen them over there.They wont dehydrate or anything will they.I do have a humid hide as well but no drinkable water supply on the warm end....
-----
Reptile & Amphibian Forums
Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.
question about water
Cee4
Mar 22, 2007 11:08 AM
Replies (5)
garweft
Mar 22, 2007 10:35 PM
They should find it just fine.
What are your warm side temps in your enclosure? Do they have a hide on the cool side?
If they are constantly on the warm side it might be because they don't feel secure anywhere else in the tank. Or it might be because the temp gradient is off a little and they are staying on the warm side trying to stay warm. Double check your surface temps and add some secure hides (think low and tight).
Cee4
Mar 23, 2007 01:47 PM
I have to check the temps.Im sure your probably right.I have the floor of the warm side at 95-98 with a UTH. the cool side ranges from 77-85.They have both a humid hide and a regular one on the warm side and then another hide on the cool side with the water.I use multilevel stacked slate so they can crawl between them.They have actually started moving about a bit more but I need to tweek the temps more.If I use a 25 watt bulb the hot end gets up to 100 but if I dont the cool end sinks to 70..Kinda still trying to get it right..But they are eating good.
-----
garweft
Mar 23, 2007 03:38 PM
Ideal would be around 80 degrees with a 90 degree hot spot. The hot spot is the most important, make sure to keep it as close to 90 as possible, but definatly under 95.
If you have to chose, it is better to let the cool side drop a little lower than ideal, than to have the high side too hot.
Cee4
Mar 23, 2007 05:15 PM
Thanks for the info I will go ahead and leave the light off.I am thinking I need to switch from the UTH to just an overhead light.But what to do at night?
-----
garweft
Mar 24, 2007 03:14 PM
Mine are in a rack system with undertank heat only. If yours are in an aquarium, you can either use UTH and then cover most of the screen top with plexiglass, plastic wrap, or even a towel. This will help to hold in some of the heat to keep your cool side up a little.
Or you can dump the UTH and use a red bulb, or one of the special reptile night bulbs for heat. If you do this do not put anything else on the top as it would be a fire hazard, and can get your tank too hot. I myself would use the UTH with a thermostat or dimmer, but either of these will work.
