heat mats

[zoe]

ok i've got my baby diamond in a little critter cage with a heat mat stuck under it and that cage is kept inside another enclosure of about 2 foot x about 1.5 foot and i'm kinda having trouble keeping the temps down in there. our house is normally freezing so i put the ducted heating on but the cages are in the warmest room of the house so it sometimes gets pretty hot in there...you're all gonna freak out but i went in there once about a day or so after he'd eaten 2 fuzzies and he was sitting on the cage floor and it was about 44 degrees! i freaked and opened the cage to ventilate it and turned the heating off but he didn't seem to be fussed.
i'm just sorta having trouble keeping the temps down without freezing myself so do u think i should move him to the coolest end of the house? i'm just worried it might get too cold but i guess diamonds can take pretty low temps...i know it'll be easier when he moves into the bigger cage cos then we can use the thermostat and globes for heating but i'd rather not move him there yet cos he's only 3 1/2 months old

 

[Hawkeye]

Ok Zoe......don't have to freak just yet :lol:

Firstly is there a gradient in your cage (ie is the 44 degrees the hot end and whats the temp at the cold end?).

Is your heat mat under only a third of the cage and the rest is on normal temp stuff.

Is your heat Mat thermostatically controlled (doesn't sound like it is and this would be my first choice buy a thermostat and probe and let it control the temp).

Also the snakes available for beginners are always pretty hardy and resilient and temps of 44 for a diamond are high but not rediculous (we get that here in Sydney in the Blue Mountains often in Summer and the snakes handle it quite well but look for somewhere cooler if they can).

The other trick that I saw is the installation of the Lutz cooling device (or LCD) which consists of a softdrink bottle with water in it frozen and added to the cool end of the cage. That brings the temps down quite well as well as adding humidity to the cage if required (move closer or further away from the heat source depending on the humidity that you are after.

Hope this helps.

Cheers Hawkeye

 

[lutzd]

LCD?

So THAT'S what LCD stands for! I always thought it stood for Liquid Crystal Display! Go figure! :lol: Actually, I can't claim credit for that one, Hawks - I think I read it on this site somewhere ages ago... :wink:

Zoe, just wondering what the motivation is for having smaller enclosure inside the larger one. I did that too at first, when I first started, but only until I could afford a second larger enclosure for my second snake.

There's a lot of debate on whether it's a good idea or otherwise to keep smaller snakes in smaller enclosures, but in my limited experience, I've found that it really makes no difference. Providing the snake has a small hide or two to escape into when it's nervous, a larger enclosure for any snake is fine. I've found that they are quite happy to live in a larger enclosure. I know there are a least a few others on this site who feel the same way. It is certainly easier to maintain a good temperature gradient in a larger enclosure.

If you feel comfortable with this concept, why not give it a try? Allow a couple of days for your snake to settle in, but I reckon you'll find it's ok.

Hope this helps.

 

[zoe]

ok here we go with all the answers...the 44 degree thing only happened once but usually it's about 32-34 or so on the floor of the cage and he's got a log he likes to sit on top of which i measured last night at about 24 degrees but the central heating was on so it'd be cooler when it's off which is why i was thinking about moving the cage to a cooler area of the house. although i guess if i do what lutzd says and move him into the bigger cage then the thermostat should regulate it for me.
the heat mat was attached by the dude in the aquarium where i bought him and the smallest mat fits about 1/2 the cage floor and it's not thermostatically controlled...i saw this thing called a rheostat on the zoo med website last night and i'm wondering if that's any good.
lutzd, we were advised that we'd never find the little guy in the 2 footer! but i personally would like to put him in there cos it looks pretty cramped in his little cage even though we're told it's fine
it's just got a little plastic container for a water bowl, a log to climb and a mushroom thing hide box (it's sposed to be a mouse cage thing) with not much room to spare
when you put them in a cage with globes for heating, should we put his log directly under the globes so he can go heat up quicker? the log is pretty tall so he'd be pretty close to the globe itself. or would he be fine basking on the floor beneath the globes?

 

[Hawkeye]

Hi Zoe,

Yeah I am one of the "they live in the big wide world so why limit their cage" peoples that David was alluding too. You can find them in the cage don't worry about that. They tend to find particular places to go and usually they are there when you go looking for them.

So put it in the big cage and let the thermostat control the temps.

They can get pretty close to the heat source so just make sure that it is sheilded with a cage of some description as the heat lamps/lights can cause quite severe burns and certain species (including diamonds) have a bit of a tendency to cuddle heat sources (not good if they turn on).

Just aim for a 32-34 hot end and 22-24 cool end and if occasionally it gets a bit higher then just keep and eye on it (my enclosure can get to 39 on occasion but it is not a regular thing).

The thing they like is relatively tight fitting hides so a smaller hide is probably better initially and water and a play log. if there is no guard on your heat source then make sure the log is quite far from the lamp so the snakey doesn't use it to get onto the heat lamp itself.

Cheers Hawkeye

 

[zoe]

our thermostat only goes up to 30 degrees...will that be a problem?
ok so it's not silly having a pretty tall log on the cool end of the cage? cos there's no guard on the globes and i don't want him to burn himself and the only other place to put it (cos it's only a 2 footer) is gonna be the cool end

 

[Hawkeye]

Hi Zoe,

Nah the thermostat going up to 30 is not a problem if you locate it away from the direct heat source. I have a thermostat in the middle of my enclosure aimed for about 27 degrees and that gives me a 31-34 hot end and a 23-25 cold end.

As for the log just try and make it that the snake can't use it to climb onto the heat lamp. In fact with the size of your enclosure the snake can still probably reach it hence you really do need a cage around the heat source. Try Brian at HerpTrader as he is also based in Melbourne and he has them for quite a reasonable price.

Cheers Hawkeye

 

[grahamh]

Hi Zoe

little correction although I'm sure you know what Hawks meant

Herpshop

www.herpshop.com.au

go to the Lighting Equipment page.

G

 

[zoe]

ok the thermostat is on the right hand side pretty much directly under the globes except that the globes are kinda halfway forward if u know what i mean and the thermostat is on the back wall. we've kinda had a few debates about this but basically we had decided that that would be ok cos otherwise we won't really get a cool end cos the tank is so small. i guess we'll find out anyway if he's always under the globes.
can u buy thermostats that go over 30 degrees?

 

[Artie]

Habistat goes to about 33, but some go higher