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I just got a 2 month old Albino Cali King today. and i have everything set up but i am worried about what he is doing. He is coiled up in a corner between the glass and his hide on the warm side. I am worried that he is there because he wants to warm up but the bulb is too hot. I have 2 bulbs, one is a 60 watt sun glo by Exo Terra and it gets about 92 degrees with it on. I also have a 40 watt day light by zoo med and it gets about 88-90 degrees. I have a small mini desk fan on top of the cage that is blowing on the cool side and the temps drop to 89 with the 60 watt and 86 with the 40 watt. Which should I use and is the fan ok for the snake? Or is he maybe hiding in that corner to avoid the breeze from the fan???

PLEASE HELP!

Your set up is all wrong for a kingsnake. I would get rid of the light bulbs as a source for heat. Get an under tank heat pad, preferably with a built in thermostat and set it on one end of the cage (not under the entire cage) at around 85º. The reason for that is because the light bulbs will dry out the the snake. Even if it has water, I don't think its a good idea to put the snakes body through that kind of stress longer that what they would experience in nature. In nature they do expose them selves to dry conditions sometimes, but they have a choice to get out any time they want. In captivity, they don't. On top of that, an albino is much more sensitive to the light, causing stress. Any kind of breeze or draft is also a no no for any reptile. The cool side should not be over 80º if you can help it. You could also place a dark container with moist (not wet) Sphagnum moss to act as a humidity chamber for the snake to go in whenever it wants. Turn off the heat if it gets really hot in your house during the Summer. That would a good basic way to keep your kingsnake in the long run.
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I have the zoo med UTH. I put it on the side of the cage because it isn't regulated and my digital thermometer said it was reaching temps of 107 degrees. And i didn't want the snake to burrow down and burn itself. Would just this be a good enough heat source or could he get burned if it wasn't regulated?
P.S. I wasnt using it before because like i said, i didn't want him to get hurt.

I'm not sure if it would burn him or not, but you could try elevating the cage slightly to where the heat pad isn't in direct contact with the bottom of the cage. Only 1/8 of an inch might be enough, but you'll have to experiment with that. Good luck with him. I love Cal kings.
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>>I'm not sure if it would burn him or not, but you could try elevating the cage slightly to where the heat pad isn't in direct contact with the bottom of the cage. Only 1/8 of an inch might be enough, but you'll have to experiment with that. Good luck with him. I love Cal kings.
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Great info Ross.....I agree with both of your replies.....
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...

i think i have a pretty good idea on what i can do now. thank you guys a ton.

Sure thing. Don't hesitate to ask questions whenever you need to.
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Ross, my snake is now always hiding under his water dish. He isn't in danger d tipping it but there's where he stays. And I am afraid it's cause the cool side of his char is too warm. Again. It's at about 79-80 degrees. I am living in a dorm right now without A/C. Is it too hot? And is there anyway I can cool it down?

No, that's not too hot. Snakes like to hide in the tightest places they can fit into. I think that's exactly why he was laying in between the hide and the glass. My Cal kings start getting into their water bowls to cool down when the room hits about 86 degrees in my house, but that's not very often. 80 degrees is a very comfortable temp. I don't think there is a practical way to cool off one side of the cage when its in a warm room. To have a cool side, the room temp has to be cool, then you provide heat on one side of the cage. My snakes don't have a very cool side of their cage for at least 3 months out of the year. Just be sure the room temp doesn't get over 85 too often. And be sure you are feeding him good when its summer and the room is at its warmest.
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alright thank you! i tend to worry about things too much cause i over think them. he was just soaking in his bowl and now he is back on the warm side between the hide and glass again haha. the temp in the area is only about 84 but that's the lowest temp on the hot side. his hot spot is about 88 so the warm side ranges from 84 to 88. and the cool side ranges 79-81. i think i got everything good till i get a CHE. here is a picture of my set up. feeding is tomorrow so ill post to let everyone who has helped out how it went. thank you!

There is a lot of warmth going on in a very confined space there in my opinion. I would move the heat source over more so it JUST has a very small area of the higher belly heat temps you mentioned so it allows the other portion of the enclosure to be a bit cooler than it is now (hopefully).

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

"some are just born to troll and roll"

i moved the pad into a corner and didnt stick it to the glass. so only about 30 percent of the pad is under the tank just resting on the desk. he seems to like the warm area (he is still chillin in the corner between the glass and hide). would a night glo bulb (like a purple one from exo terra) at 40 watts be too much to add to the hot side?

You don't need to use anything else to heat that side of the cage. The heat pad for belly heat is good enough. Anything else might be over kill. I know those products are really cool looking, but you don't need all that. And with the heat pad, you only need to put about two inches of it under the tank. That would be best when the cool side isn't so cool.
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Good deal. As Ross mentioned, I wouldn't mess with any other heating products at all. Just monitor the temps at the cage's floor surface itself on both ends where the snake's belly actually makes contact, and tweek accordingly...

This way it should hopefully maintain decent temps in the smaller hot section for proper digestion while allowing it to be a couple degree cooler on the opposite end for conserning energy and body mass as they would also do in nature.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

"some are just born to troll and roll"

meant to type "conserving" energy,...not conserning energy....D'OH!!!...

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

"some are just born to troll and roll"

Don't you feel like you're on the BOI? Anything you submit can and will be held against you. hahaha
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..

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

"some are just born to troll and roll"

Alright. He ate fine, no problems there. The beat pad is under half his warm hide and the glass temp is 87.9. The floor temp on the rest of the war side is 84.6 and the cool side is 79. Are my temps good now?

That will have to suffice if you can't keep it any cooler than 79 on the cooler end. I have a feeling the hide might trap some heat and possibly make it warmer than you think it is inside. Have you shot a temp gun directly in there, or shot the temp the second the hide is lifted?.

Anyway, I forgot to also address the "fan" issue earlier too. The fan will tend to dry the snake by convection. They naturally like to preserve their body moisture. I would not have a breeze directed towards the enclosure. Even though Cal. kings are from arid areas in the western portion of the country, they still like decent humidity. They achieve this by hiding in very tight places that naturally hold humidity.

I think the setup will work okay now as long as it stays like it is and doesn't get any warmer on the "cool" end than 79 as you mentioned.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

"some are just born to troll and roll"

I have a digital thermometer with a probe that I put in the hide. I'll re check it to see if it is holding heat too much. I am getting a thermo gun in a week or so

Oh and the humidity is 57. I know that's a little high but I have a dehumidifier in my room and that's where it is currently.

Hahaha.

Thanks, John. I've learned a lot hanging around here with you guys.
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I have a 20 long tank. About 13 inches tall I think. What watt CHE should I get? 60?

Another thing you can do is to use a ceramic heat emitter in place of the light bulbs. Just one on one end of the cage should be fine. The cage has to be large enough so the snake can get away from the heater if necessary.

Wattage to use with a CHE depends in part on the height of the cage. A 30 watt CHE for example does not do too well if the cage is 12 inches high, but does great at 6 to 8 inches of height.

I've kept Cals under CHEs, and they are just as effective if not more than heat pads. The gradient achieved is truly wide, even extending down into the substrate. With a CHE, a deep substrate has meaning.

CHEs use more energy than heat pads, and they get very hot to the touch, so be careful. But the snake can thermoregulate effectively with them, both side-to-side and top-to-bottom. Use a regular old lamp dimmer to keep it down in Summer. You can use a lamp dimmer on the heat pad as well if you use that instead of the CHE.

Heat pad/tape/rope is a great heating method for ground dwelling snakes, so you can always do that if you want. But some folks end up with scenarios that have a 110 deg heat pad surrounded by unheated cage. With a CHE, you don't get the all or none result.

Ok so right now I have the under tank heater on and lights off. I will keep it like that till I get a CHE. But can the CHE be dangerous? I read that 60 watts is good for a 20 gallon. Will I need to regulate it with a thermostat or will it not get hot enough to be worried about hurting the snake?

You can just use the heat pad if you want, but use a lamp dimmer on it so that you can keep it at a reasonable temperature.

The CHE can be used if you want to heat from above instead of the heat pad. You do not really need both, at least not this time of year.

A 60 watt CHE is good for a 20 gal tank. I would use a thermostat or at least a lamp dimmer, especially in Summer time.

Light bulbs will dry out and dehydrate a king. Espscially a neonate king like you have.

Get rid of the lights and use an undertank ehat source.

It is okay if the temps on one side are up to 100F. The snake knows what to do and when it is to hot. Just as long as they have a choice and they will thermoregulate by always changing sides.

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1) Do you beleive what you observe or observe what you beleive?

www.Bluerosy.com

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Ok so right now I have the under tank heater on and lights off. I will keep it like that till I get a CHE. But can the CHE be dangerous? I read that 60 watts is good for a 20 gallon. Will I need to regulate it with a thermostat or will it not get hot enough to be worried about hurting the snake?