Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, I don't have a gray band yet, but I was setting up a 10 gallon tank with a zoo med 10-20 gallon under tank heater. That would be fine for all season, except when winter arrives the under tank heater will not be as effective because temps will drop. So I was wondering will an extra 50 watt bulb on the heated side be too much for the gray band? This would be for winter.

Well some general advice...

Two heat sources may be too much for an alterna, and the under take style seems to be the way to go with them. Just be sure that they can escape the heat in an effort to thermoregulate. Also note that they are largely nocturnal and would rather find a warm rock then try to bask under a light.

Also, it is not unheard of for alterna to stop feeding during the winter months and require a dormant / cool period. So up front expectations of a year round feeding animal may not work out with alterna.... although there are some out there that will not go off feed, but no way to know this ahead of time on a new animal. In fact an established animal may offer up the unexpected every now and then.

Lance
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Herp Conservation Unlimited

I wouldn't double up on the heat sources. I keep a grey-banded king in a 10 gallon tank and have never used more than a mini heat pad OR a 50 watt light, even with room temps as low as 60 degrees.
You should use a thermostat to make sure you have the right temp ranges and remember that air temp and surface temp are not necessarily the same. I personally use a small digital thermometer that I move around the cage to check the temps.
You might want to take a look at this thread from the milk snake forums:

http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1493998,1493998
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Yes that is the same one I read from the milk snake forums, which was why I asked again to make sure. A worker from a reptile store convinced me that a heat pad is fine until winter or when it gets cold and you may want to add a 25w or 50w heat bulb because the temp will go down. It is a great thing that I found out about this. I for one, always research before making mistakes but this one I was not sure of at first. I read books research the internet extensively. It was a great thing you guys told me. Thank you!