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...

	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[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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	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[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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	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[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.
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	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

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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	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[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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	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters

[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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	Geek Auto Linker or Gallon Geek Auto Linker Gallon - United States liquid unit equal to 4 quarts or 3.785 liters