Too Hot??

[NickiEmm]

Hi i just recently purchased a corn snake. I have a heating pad on one end of the tank. My snake always hides under his water bowl on the cool side of the tank. Is this a sign that the tank is too hot and if it is, should i unplug the heating pad? Also, do i need to keep the heating pad on at night?


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	Corn Snake The Corn Snake or Red Rat Snake (Elaphe guttata) is a species of Rat Snake.

[RevMojo]

First of all, welcome to RTB

What are your cage temps? I dont know a thing about corns, but shortly, someone who does will answer this...if you have the temps posted, they'll be able to help you quicker...

[Boaguy]

you should get a thermomoitor.. the temp should be between 75-85 degrees ferenheight
if it gets over 85 on the warm side.. then get a thermostat to control the tempeture

Welcome to rtb btw
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[morti]

That boaguy kid, he's pretty smart. Take his temerature advice. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

-Your Sick Uncle Morti.
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[JuliusSqueezer]

If he is hiding under the water bowl....the problem may be that he doesn't have any other place to hide. They don't like to lay around in the open spaces...put a couple of hides in and see if he uses them.
[addsig]

My corn's temps never go above 80...if they do, he's crammed as far to the cool side as he can get. I don't know about yours, but mine LOVES to burrow in the aspen, that is what he usually uses as a hide, even though he has a flowerpot and a small box at opposite ends.

I keep my heating pad on during the night on low (always). I also have a 60 watt CHE (he's in a 20L) that comes on at 9am and goes off at 3pm (timer). I experimented with that for several days monitoring the temps before the snake ever went in there.
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	Ceramic Heat Emitter Ceramic Heat Emitter: A porcelain heating device that screws into a standard porcelain incandescent socket

[NickiEmm]

He has many hiding places. He has a box, a piece of bark, and newspaper shreddings. The ground is also covered with aspen shavings. I think i should just get a thermostat. Thanks for all or your help [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
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[NickiEmm]

Also, i forgot to mention that its a repti therm heater and doesnt have a dial. the heater said that it only brings the heat up 5-10 degrees but it feels much hotter. Is it possible to use a thermostat with the heater i have? Thanks.
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[ls1grrrl]

You should be able to use a thermostat. Most of them, you just plug your heating device into the side. The more expensive ones come with a built in temperature probe and will come on/go off as the temp in the enclosure changes and you set the temp you want, or you can use a rheostat so you can adjust the power going to the heat pad and can monitor the temp changes with a separate thermometer.
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