Reptile & Amphibian Forums

different people have been saying different things about which is better. for corns, which do you prefer? and for each, do you use those (cant remember what theyre called, they regulate the temp for you)? or are corns pretty hardy to changes in temp, and so long as the heat source is only on one side of the cage and other side has the water, is it ok to go without one of these? what is optimal temp for the hot side of the cage? and should that be where the thermometer is placed? or on the cool side?

To be competely honest you need both... It completely depends on the season and where u live. I alway leave on the uth. But My corn is in a 10 gallon tank and I only use a 5 gallon heater under one of her hides. (under the bottom right hide) I have a lamp for her but without any heat lamp the tank is about 85 in the day so I see no use for it. If she is cold she goes in her heat pad hide and if she gets too warm heads for the water dish/cool hide. Your water will be 15 degrees cooler. But if u live in a colder area or if it is winter you should have them both running. Also, in response to your cage setup question the picture is a good pretty basic setup... Most ppl will add a plant or two but I see no real need just yet. If you are getting a very young corn it will be hiding the majority of it's young life. It is instinct to hide while so young.

thanks. so if i can maintain the hot size of the tank at around 85 F with just one, i should be fine but if i cant then i add the second heat source. i live in seattle wa and i like my apartment pretty brisk, so i imagine i would need both except in the summer ( we actually get up in the high 90s all summer here, we arent cold and rainy all the time lol)

if i put heat on ONLY one side, can i do without the (thingie that regulates heat for you), since the snake can cool off by just taking a dip. correct?

Yep, you got it Good luck with your snake! what kind is it?

I blast the AC when I am home in the summer which is at night,etc and than use only overhead heat lamp with one of those dimmer switches and keep it at 85 .
I shut everything off when ac not on because room temp plenty in summer. I found UTH but room temp of 65 wasnt good for my snake but the heat lamp room temp doesnt matter snake eats like a little piglet and happy.
UTH is great if room in mid 70s to begin with since mine isnt the UTH I dont use.

I have a "heat lamp" on one 1/2 of my snake's 40 gal tank. Its just a normal bulb, but gives off enough warmth for a good basking spot.

I strongly recommend, as I am sure many people do, to have TWO thermometers. One on the cool end & one on the hot end. My thermometers are just high-range strip ones, and they are about 1 to 1 1/2 inches off the bottom of the tank, where the top of the substrate is!

This is the level where your snake's body will be spending the majority of the time-unless your corn loves to climb!

I also have a humidity gauge in the middle of the tank.

Many people feel the best way to assess temp is with a laser temp gun.
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Zsa-Zsu and Corny the Corn Snake
and Monaco the Argentine B&W Tegu
and Meanie the Black Throat Monitor

I use strictly heat lamps. As long as you don't drop them and such, there shouldn't be any problem... i dont know what these people are doing to blow out light bulbs after a week! lol...

I have a 60 watt light on one side of the glass tanks (for those that i keep in glass tanks) on a rheostat. also known as a table lamp dimmer.

Reason why I prefer the light over UTH is it's really the best way to replacate natural heat. All natural heat comes from above, the sun. Then put a few climbing sticks in there and they will be up there climbing higher. My north american rats live in the climbing perches.

Also, get a digital thermo, not a stick on one. Those are only useful for water filled glass enclosures. reason is that it is telling you the temp of the glass, and since water and glass both conduct energy about equally well, the glass stays very close to the temp of the water. Air and glass conduct temperatures VERY differently, so the reccomended method is a thermometer that you put inside the tank, with a probe. A simple indoor/outdoor thermo you can get from walmart for $13 is what I use.
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-Chris

0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat
1.0 Black Rat
0.1 Vietnamese Blue Beauty
1.0 Green Tree Python
0.1 Texas Bairds Rat

The educated are the few. The uneducated are the masses.

North American Rat / Corn Snake Care Sheet

I agree with that for some snakes I guess UTH might be the way to go like very secretive snakes that mostly stay in hide areas but for corns,rats any snake that climbs heat from above makes sense.
The only thing you have to watch is when it starts getting warmer than you shut off the light or switch the bulb to those floursescent bulbs that can go in incandescent fixtures.
In summer I dont use any heat at all just a flourscent bulb for day time light.

I used to use only heat lamps, now I only use heat pads. You can see one in the background of this pic. They're ultratherm heat mats which use the same technology as flexwatt heat tape. I don't use any kind of dimmer for mine and I'm actually more concerned about them being too cool. I can feel the heat from them, but I'd prefer to have them on the substrate instead of mounted on the sides like I have them now. I could lay my hand on one of these all day and it would never be uncomfortably hot. I have no problems with heat lamps, it was just a big hassle for me to use them because I had to use screen lids so the lamp could rest on top where the snakes couldn't get burned. Those screen lids really lower humidity and restrict you to aquariums for the most part. Just make sure you play it safe and keep any lights where the snake can't contact them or use good quality heat pads, not the cheapo sticky ones you find in most pet stores. Also, make sure you don't insulate a heat pad by putting too much substrate etc. on top of it. Doing so restricts heat flow and can cause safety issues.

Nice snake Kevin. is it a hurican anery A motley?

i think its a hurricane. motleys arent usually so precise. lovely markings anyway

This is not a Hurricane pattern Anery. This is a normal Anery A motley. The hurricane pattern almost always continues to the base of the tale. It is definitely a nice motley though.

are any of these set ups worth it? http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-cage-supplies/complete-cage-packages/

and if not, is LLLReptile a good place to buy the indivudual stuff from? It looks like they have everything I would need. Are they reputable? Good/bad experiences anyone? Thanks

(stuff as in dry goods) I would buy reptiles from a good breeder (I buy all my corns from Kathy) though one of my friends got a nice ball python from them a few years back.

Derek

I have bought amphibians from them and very happy but these arent captive bred. Your so right when it comes to captive bred reptiles just go directly to the breeder and pay less for pick of the litter.

They are great. We happen to live in the same town as the store. My Son and I just got back from them as a matter of fact.. We purchased our reptiles and all supplies from them and now all food. I would recomend them.
Alan Miller
Escondido, Ca.

On anything 20 and smaller I use uth.With my 50 and larger setups I use a ceramic heater on top.Ive had my ceramic for over a year now and it keeps a perfect 80-85 temp on the warm side.It also came with a 5 year warranty.I wont use bulbs..Paul

The best temperature gradients are achieved with overhead heat, and those ceramic heat emitters work wonders. However, it has also been proven that most colubrids do fine with just undertank heat. So it is your call.

If you use sweater boxes, undertank heat makes sense. The low height of this type of cage warrants that.

A thermostat is absolutely necessary. To not use one is to invite trouble down the road. Even those cheap $29.00 ones are better than nothing. If anything, they protect against overheating, which is your #1 concern with heaters.

Mark

>>different people have been saying different things about which is better. for corns, which do you prefer? and for each, do you use those (cant remember what theyre called, they regulate the temp for you)? or are corns pretty hardy to changes in temp, and so long as the heat source is only on one side of the cage and other side has the water, is it ok to go without one of these? what is optimal temp for the hot side of the cage? and should that be where the thermometer is placed? or on the cool side?