Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I posted this on the mt king housing sub-forum, but I guess it get's no action. I have a 36"x19" Neodesha cage & I was wondering if I should get a 11"x11" or 11"x17" Ultratherm for it. I think the 11x11 is 12 watts & the 11x17 is 20 watts. I was planning on buying a Herpstat for it too. Living in New England, my house gets pretty cold in the winter. What do you think?
Thanks!

Just my opinion but I would go with the 11"x11". That's nearly a third of the length of your Neo. This would leave more thermal gradient from the warm to the cool end. The 11"x17" would be nearly half the length so less gradient. It would also depend on the ambient temps in the room.

Mountain kings tend to handle cooler temps better.
-----
BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.
1.2 P. m. melanoleucus B/W N. J. Northern Pines
1.2 P. d. deppei Mexican Pines
2.2 P. l. lineaticollis Linis or Lined Pines
1.2 P. m. lodingi Black Pines
0.3 P. c. sayi Kingsville X Stillwater red bulls
1.1 Drymarchon melenurus Blacktail Cribo
1.2 D. corais Yellowtail Cribos
1.2 M. s. cheynei Jungle Carpet
2.6 L. p. pyromelana Arizona Mt. Kings
1.1 L. g. californiae B/W Cali kings
0.0.3 M. f. flagellum Eastern Coachwhips
1.2 G. m. bottegoi Western Plated lizards

I agree with the other post. For any kingsnake or milksnake in a cage that size, an 11x11 is plenty.

11x17 is more suited to larger-bodied snakes like Boa constrictors.

Neos are fantastic cages. The material holds in heat well enough to get by with low wattage devices.

Hint: If you want to add a little air temp increase (slight amount), get one of those lamp sockets that dangles from the power cord and hang in from the cage ceiling. Example, those 5 1/2 inch dome reflectors sold at hardware stores. You can disassemble the cord from the socket (remove reflector) and feed it through a 7/32 inch hole in the cage ceiling, then reattach. Use a 15-25 Watt bulb. If for a mtn king you do not need this. But for an adultcornsnake or something larger, it helps take the chill off during cold weather without being heavy or overbearing.
-----
Mark

Yeah...It's for a pyro. Thanks everyone for the great advise.