Enclosure Help

SquirrelCV · #1 (**permalink**) 12-27-2008, 01:48 AM

I'm building a few of these right now:
How to build 4x2 enclosure for $100

I have all of the materials sitting around my room, but I can't start building until I know this...

I'd like to mount a CHE in the side panels instead of having FlexWatt underneath. My snakes don't seem to understand the concept of thermoregulation, and I'd like to create more a heat gradient for them. Do you think that'd work? I have regular screen material that I can put up to prevent them from touching the CHE.

As for lighting, I've read that reptiles need UVA and UVB for behavioral stability. What should I do for lighting?

John · #2 (**permalink**) 12-27-2008, 02:36 AM

In what way do your snakes not understand thermoregulation?

Personally, I don't like CHE's. I've found them to dry out the air of the enclosure. It might not have much effect if you live in a humid climate. I live in a dry climate and I had humidity problems using a CHE.

I don't think there has been any solid evidence as of yet that snakes need UVB/UVA to be sound in behavior. What they do need is a photoperiod which can be accomplished by simply exposing them to indirect sunlight such as light coming into a room from a window (not directly into the cage). I read one study concluding that their pineal gland was stimulated simply by being exposed to a cycle alternating between very dark to dim light.

SquirrelCV · #3 (**permalink**) 12-27-2008, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faroutinmt

In what way do your snakes not understand thermoregulation?

They always sit in the cold area of the tank. They've been very lethargic lately.

Stargazer · #4 (**permalink**) 12-27-2008, 03:45 AM

If you have the option of any kind of heating, I've heard radiant heat panels are a better option than CHE's. I don't know--I've always had glass tanks and CHE's. They tend to dry the enclosure out and suck up the electricity (you can't imagine how high my electric bills are). I keep hearing good things about radiant heat panels. When I get my boaphiles some day, I am going with those.

John · #5 (**permalink**) 12-27-2008, 03:48 AM

Well, there are a variety of reasons why snakes may remain only in a cool area. It could be that the ambient temperature of the cage is too high. It could be that they don't feel secure basking in the site you have provided. Do they have a place to hide there?

Thermoregulation is instinctive to snakes. If they are not thermoregulating, there must be something in their environment they don't like. JMO

As an example, I noticed that my kingsnake would never spend any time on the warm side of his cage. I realized that he had a preference for cooler temperatures than those I had provided. When I lowered his cool side to 75 and his warm side to 85, he began to utilize the warm side more frequently.

SquirrelCV · #6 (**permalink**) 12-27-2008, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faroutinmt

Well, there are a variety of reasons why snakes may remain only in a cool area. It could be that the ambient temperature of the cage is too high. It could be that they don't feel secure basking in the site you have provided. Do they have a place to hide there?

Thermoregulation is instinctive to snakes. If they are not thermoregulating, there must be something in their environment they don't like. JMO

As an example, I noticed that my kingsnake would never spend any time on the warm side of his cage. I realized that he had a preference for cooler temperatures than those I had provided. When I lowered his cool side to 75 and his warm side to 85, he began to utilize the warm side more frequently.

It's 70 on the cool side and 89 on the hot side with a single spot around 95.

John · #7 (**permalink**) 12-27-2008, 04:30 AM

Well, that's quite a range.

Perhaps lower the 95 to 90. 70 sounds pretty low. What kind of snake is it?

Does your snake not even use the hot spot while digesting food?

SquirrelCV · #8 (**permalink**) 12-27-2008, 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faroutinmt

Well, that's quite a range.
Perhaps lower the 95 to 90. 70 sounds pretty low. What kind of snake is it?
Does your snake not even use the hot spot while digesting food?

It's about the same climate for all of my snakes.

I've got two royal pythons in one 40 gallon breeder and one juvenile albino RTB in another 40 gallon breeder.

It dips to 70 at night, but it's usually 75 during the day at the coldest spot.

They don't move around much now. They all used to move around like crazy at nighttime back in the summer. They're all eating fine, shedding fine,and they "peek" a lot from the hide. There's two hides in each tank- one in the warm section and one in the cool section.

I'm still trying to figure out how to heat these big enclosures. I don't have flexwatt and the surface gets too hot with a CHE. I did three tests with a 40 watt CHE and a chunk of melamine. I put the CHE fixture against the melamine (there was about a 1" space from the CHE and the melamine). The heat transferred nicely, but the outside surface got to about 180 degrees and continued to climb. I found that to be a fire hazard, so I'm going to just drill some large holes in the tanks.

John · #9 (**permalink**) 12-27-2008, 04:51 AM

Another reason I dislike glass cages.

Have you tried using undertank heating pads hooked up to thermostats?

SquirrelCV · #10 (**permalink**) 12-27-2008, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faroutinmt

Another reason I dislike glass cages.
Have you tried using undertank heating pads hooked up to thermostats?

Yes. I have one 8"x8" desert pad and one 12x12 jungle pad under each tank. That way, it amplifies the gradient.

I also tend to overanalyze this stuff because I took mechanical engineering in college hahaha. I'm trying to put all of the thermo to good use

The temperatures in my tanks are spot on- it's the humidity that I dislike. Before I leave in the morning, I mist the tanks down with hot water. The timer turns the lights on and I leave. When I come home, the humidity is 5% ambient and a good 60% in the humidity hides. That's not exactly fair to the snakes. That's something I neglected to say earlier.

My little joke about "my snakes don't understand the concept of thermoregulation" was mainly because they stick to the humidity hut. That's probably why too- the rest of the tank is dry as a bone until I get home and bring it to 60.

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