Possible re-occuring winter problem?

[AUSGECKO]

(2) the bulbs don't last as long.

There's a couple of wonderful inventions out there, ceramic heat emitters and dimming thermostats. I use ceramic heat emitters and pulse proportional thermostats and havnt had to replace a globe in over 5 years. Definately something you should invest in. With what your doing at the moment you will just be chasing your tail.

 

[notechistiger]

Do you know what the temperatures are? Including early morning, late at night, in all parts of the enclosure? If the problem is ambient temperature, is it possible to set up an oil heater and leave it running during the night? Or to insulate the room she's in? A heat mat and a globe should be sufficient in controlling the temperature, but perhaps you need a higher wattage globe to power through the colder temperature.

 

[Nake]

Thanks guys - think I may just try a thermostat w/ ceramic heat emmitter see how it goes. Just wondering has anyone got a snake that been diagnosed with the Sunshine Virus?

 

[dragonlover1]

I have a woma recovering from RI and have a heatmat on 24/7 in its hide ATM so he can keep warm at night.He is coming along very well.Have a read through this thread could save you some time at the vet. Good luck.http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/herp-help-38/alternative-reptile-care-167791/

hows he going Rob?hope he's improving

I have a dog but can't afford to by food for him. Should I put him into brumation?

nah put him down then you can afford more reptiles

 

[5potted]

I too use a dimming thermostat with a ceramic heat emitter and havent had to replace an emitter since I started using this 2 years ago. I take it it's a glass enclosure as you're using the heatmat through the base? Glass itself is not a good insulator which means that most of the heat provided by the globes will not be retained in the enclosure therefore further contributing to the fluctuations you are getting. If you're concerned re faulty appliances I'd bet you'd find more issues with heatmats then thermostats. I personally have had a heatmat burn a hole in the base of my click clacks (the ones with the supposed in build heating control) yet in 8 years of owning reptiles have never an issue with any appliance connected to a thermostat. Regarding you're desire for wanting stable temperatures- what better then connecting it to an appliance that will keep it within 1 degree of the set temperature (such as a good quality dimming thermostat).

 

[Bluetongue1]

I am not the least bit surprised that Waterrat thought you had put the snake into brumation. When I saw the temperatures you mentioned I thought exactly that. I would not be surprised if her movement was related to looking to get warmer. Childrens’ Pythons have a preferred body temperature of 30 – 33[SUP]o[/SUP]C. They should have a basking spot in the vicinity of 40[SUP]o[/SUP]C. I would suggest using a heat cord under a slate or ceramic tile placed inside the enclosure at the warm end. Set it up with a thermostat on the tile and a hide over the top. Using a 15W cord you should not get more than about 35[SUP]o[/SUP]C out of it, if you let it run continuously. You can always adjust how much cord you use anyway. All you need is a small entry hole in the back bottom corner to thread it in. Then set your thermostat to 31-32[SUP]o[/SUP]C and check it with a decent thermometer. Another couple of hides positioned middle and cool end will allow the snake to cool off if and when it wants to.

To reduce humidity, you might want to only put the water bowl in one or two nights a week, with fresh water of course. And keep it down the cool end.

By the way, a Dimming Thermostat will not work with appliances under 40W and a Pulse-proportonal Thermostat will not work light globes

Blue

EDIT: Habistat Dimming Thermostats have a minimum wattage requirement of 40W. Most other brands do not have a lower limit.

 

[thomasssss]

blue im using a dimming stat with a 7 watt heat matt and its working fine , cuts the power off when needed or dimms it , also keeps it at a very constant 32c

 

[Bluetongue1]

I am only going on the advice provided by Herp Shop with their thermostats. I will check out some other brands and their specifications. Thanks for ther heads up on that. I did do the background reading on the pulse proportional and how they work and their was a reason they are not suitable with lights. I also did research on Proportional–integral–derivative controller (PID controller) and how they work - expensive but very accurate, particularly for things like incubators. Thanks.

Blue

 

[thomasssss]

these are microclimate b1 , just double checked the box and instructions and only thing it says about wattages is that you can use up to but not exceed 600watt nothing about a minimum , although as you said you are going off a different thermos specs

 

[Miffy]

This year I upped her temp a bit for the coming winter so currently she has an ambient temp of 20-24 (degrees celcius) but spot temps of 19 - 34 (using a 100W heat coil bulb). She is already starting to show mild symptoms (tiny bit swollen round throat) of a respiratory infection and I am worried that this is going to be a yearly thing. Last years vet bills were around the $500 mark and although I am happy to spend this on my snake I was wondering if anyone else has the same problems and if so what are they doing for prevention? Should I up the bulb to a 150W?

Sorry for the essay but wanted to include all details.

Cheers guys.

Temperatures are fine so what would be the point of upping the wattage on the lamp?

 

[Bluetongue1]

Thomasss,
I checked out Microclimate and another three brands. It is only Habistat that set a minimum wattage requirement. Those I checked all have an upper limit of 600W. Obviously something to do with the internal electrics of Habistat. Thanks for correcting that for me.

Blue

 

[Monitor Madness]

these are microclimate b1 , just double checked the box and instructions and only thing it says about wattages is that you can use up to but not exceed 600watt nothing about a minimum , although as you said you are going off a different thermos specs

I have the same thermostat and I just checked the instructions and it says a minimum of 5 watts
http://www.microclimate.co.uk/b1_user_guide.pdf
I know the link is from the UK website but it's the same instructions as I have.

 

[thomasssss]

i stand corrected