Snake heating....?

sunnymarcie

Celestial Spider
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
1,294
I'm having trouble with getting this right!
We started out with a 8watt under tank mat,
the kind that you stick to the tank. It keeps getting
too hot, so I took it off the tank bottom and stuck it
to the dresser, that only dropped the temp a few degrees!
GRRR! SO, I figured since the room our snake is in never gets
too cold I turned off the heat last night.
I'm shooting for a daytime temp of about 90 degrees and the
mat clocks out at over 105:eek: :eek: :confused:


What do you guys do as far as controlling heat?:confused:


I think I'm going to try one of those heating mats they sell for
people. The one I have turns off after a while. I need to find one
that doesn't do that.

I have the tank up off of the mat, about an inch.
Do you think raising it more would help with reducing the temp?!

In a word, HELP!:confused:
 

Lasiodora

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 11, 2002
Messages
852
SunnyMarcie,
Those mats can become very hot. If the tank is large enough this shouldn't be a problem. The ball can thermoregulate on his own. If it still worries you, you can attach a light dimmer to the mat and set it to a desired temp. I keep the heat mat I use for my leopard geckos on a timer. It's only on for a couple of hours. You could try heating the tank by using a heat lamp and using the appropriate watt heat bulb. They are day bulbs and night bulbs. I like using the esu night bulb. These red bulbs give off the least amount of light out all brands I've tried. So it doesn't disturb them at night. Or you could put only part of the heat mat underneath the tank. This way all the heat of the mat is not transfered to the tank. BTW, don't stick the pad to the underside of the tank. Use tape to stick it to the bottum.
Mike
 

sunnymarcie

Celestial Spider
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
1,294
Mike,
I have the mat stuck to the dresser, not the tank:)

Last night I turned the mat off, now I have a reflector lamp
and a 50 watt reptile light.

How long should I have the timer on the mat set?

Maybe 15 minutes, every hour?
 

Lasiodora

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 11, 2002
Messages
852
Marcie,
Are you trying to raise the temps at night? You can allow night time temps to drop to the 70's without a problem. DT temps can be anywhere between 85 and 90. Are you measuring the heat directly from the heat mat or from the inside of the tank? I would measure the heat on the inside of the tank. Check the temp on the warm side. If the heat lamp gives you your desired temp then I wouldn't use the mat at all. If you wish to continue using the mat put it on a timer.
How long you leave it on depends on how warm the basking spot becomes when the mat is on. You'll have to make adjustments accordingly. If it makes the spot hotter than 90 then I would consider using only half the mat, raisng the tank higher (away from the pad), or not using the pad at all. If you ever use another pad, don't use the adhesive backing provided. Use tape to keep it in place. Using the adhesive makes it harder to remove and you may not be able to move it for use on another tank. Also make the substrate deeper. This will distribute the heat and make it less likely to become too hot.
Mike
 

Craig

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 12, 2002
Messages
246
one quick thought. those sticky heat mats are kind of expensive. i use flexiwatt heat mats for all my snakes and to heat my large T.bondi enclosure. (i don't heat any of my other inverts because my room temp is 80 degrees) if you do a few simple electrical connections you can have a nice heat mat for less than $25 including a really nice dimmer. i have used them for years and never had a problem. they HAVE to be attached to a dimmer though. the surface temp can get quite hot.

here's a couple links that might help
place to purchace some
big apple herp

how to do the connections
how to wire flexi watt
 

sunnymarcie

Celestial Spider
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
1,294
Craig,
I like this stuff, I'm going to check into it more later.
Thanks for the idea:)
 

atavuss

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2002
Messages
1,031
Sunny, I use the stick on mats for all my herps, I pile on a lot of substrate over the mat to spread the heat emitted. I would not recommend using a mat that is made for a larger terrarium on a smaller than recommended terrarium. you should be able to find a reohstat (sp?) or even an automatically controlled thermostat that hooks into your heat mat to turn it on and off, zoo med makes these and big apple has them (expensive though). I would go with an adjustable reohstat and adjust it to the temp you wanted. a nightly temp drop is ok and desirable.
in the cooler winter months I also use ceramic heat emitters on several lizard's enclosures plus all the lizards (except geckos) have incandescent basking lamps.
Ed
 

sunnymarcie

Celestial Spider
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
1,294
I have a basking lamp on her now and I am getting a
day time temp of 86F. I have one of those high temp
stick on thermometers. It's inside the tank near the top
of the heated area, just like it said on the package.

I will not be able to get anything else until Friday.
I am planning to get a digital thermometer then.

In some of the info I have read it says belly heat is
very important, it helps with digestion. And another
source says all top heat is ok.
SO, which is it?
I really do not want to clean up snake barf, I hear it's
pretty gross!
 
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