new member here :>

[nyjon]

hey guys, just wanted to introduce myself and perhaps get some pointers. i recently purchased a pueblan milk snake and i love it. i owned an anery corn snake for a few months before it got sick when the winter came around in new york until it passed away. having said that i felt like a bad snake owner so i refrained from buying another one but ever since the corn snake i wanted to buy another. so here i am trying to avoid going down the same path and be a successful snake owner. the milk snake is fantastic, i feel it has more personality than the corn snake did. its definitely more active and flighty then my corn was. one of my biggest concerns is temps. around this time the temps fluctuate between 40-65 deg. F. easily. What do some of you guys in colder areas do? this morning the temp was 76-78 (100W night bulb) and during the day its about 80-82 (60W day bulb). are these temps somewhat adequate? i feel like i should run a 75W and get the day time temp into the mid 80's and im not sure what to do about the night temps of if that temp is adequate.

any help is greatly appreciated!

[alessia55]

Welcome to the forum! Please read our sSNAKESs forum rules. (http://www.ssnakess.com/index.php?page=rules)

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[Mikoh4792]

I'm in new york in Long island it gets cold in the winter here.

I have no problems with temps. i keep my snakes in plastic enclosures. Enclosures with screen tops are not a good idea for someone living in an area that gets cold in the winter.

The room can be 60F and the cool side will still be around 75f. Get a proper enclosure with a radiant heat panel or heat mat. Lighting also helps the ambient air temperature inside the enclosure(fluorescent lights that come with the cage).

EDIT: I wouldn't worry about what wattage bulb to use, you need to get a thermostat to control the heat source anyways. And during the winter a heat lamp can dry out the enclosure very quick, which can result in a lot of problems such as RI, which I assume is why your corn passed away.

[dbassa]

Welcome to sSNAKESs!

[nyjon]

I'm in new york in Long island it gets cold in the winter here.

I have no problems with temps. i keep my snakes in plastic enclosures. Enclosures with screen tops are not a good idea for someone living in an area that gets cold in the winter.

The room can be 60F and the cool side will still be around 75f. Get a proper enclosure with a radiant heat panel or heat mat. Lighting also helps the ambient air temperature inside the enclosure(fluorescent lights that come with the cage).

EDIT: I wouldn't worry about what wattage bulb to use, you need to get a thermostat to control the heat source anyways. And during the winter a heat lamp can dry out the enclosure very quick, which can result in a lot of problems such as RI, which I assume is why your corn passed away.

Thats awesome man im in L.I. aswell. Can u post pics of the enclosure your using aswell as the heat mat/panel u are using? You are exactly correct, my room temp is around 60 and the highest i can get my tank is low 80's. Im using a 10 gal petco tank...

[bigsnakegirl785]

I thought high humidity and low temps caused RI? Isn't lowering the humidity part of the treatment of an RI?

Anways, hello and welcome. :) Good luck with your little guy, I'm sure you'll get lots of help here.

[Mikoh4792]

I thought high humidity and low temps caused RI? Isn't lowering the humidity part of the treatment of an RI?

Anways, hello and welcome. :) Good luck with your little guy, I'm sure you'll get lots of help here.

It can go both ways. Also depends on the kind of RI.

[nyjon]

Welcome to sSNAKESs!

ty :)

I thought high humidity and low temps caused RI? Isn't lowering the humidity part of the treatment of an RI?

Anways, hello and welcome. :) Good luck with your little guy, I'm sure you'll get lots of help here.

i dont think the humidity was an issue as it shed a few times without any issues. but i remember a few mornings where the temp was in the 60's when i woke up even with the bulb and heat pad.

It can go both ways. Also depends on the kind of RI.

could you please send me some pictures of your enclosure? thank you :)

[Mikoh4792]

Here are just a few.

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a594/mikoh4792/DSC_0519_zps5f45119f.jpg

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a594/mikoh4792/DSC_0556_zps60a54e82.jpg

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a594/mikoh4792/DSC_0560_zps5a9c8b27.jpg

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a594/mikoh4792/DSC_0552_zpsedc12d36.jpg

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a594/mikoh4792/DSC_0529_zpsac698bde.jpg

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/a594/mikoh4792/DSC_05711_zps608b6044.jpg

[Mikoh4792]

I don't have any pics of the heat mat but you can see I am using RBI heat panels found on reptilebasics.com.

I use ultra-therm heat pads which can also be found on that site.

[nyjon]

edit: u answered my question. im going to check out the link. where did you get your enclosure from?

[sharthun]

Hey and welcome! Congrats on the milk snake. Post pics! :)

[Mikoh4792]

Heat panels, heat mats, and lighting.

I use heat panels to create a hot spot in the canopy, heat pad to create a hotspot on the floor, and during the day when the light is on, the light slightly warms the ambient air temperature.

[nyjon]

thats a real nice setup. makes my 10gal look like childplay. what kind of python?

[nyjon]

i cant post pics yet. maybe i need more posts?

[Mikoh4792]

nope now you can post. You need to post 5 times to upload pictures.

They are pvccages from pvccages.com. Jim is great to work with and sends his cages out real quick compared to others. I'd also recommend animal plastics and constrictors nw.

Those are carpet pythons. Zebra jungle and Irian Jaya.

[Donnie]

Hello and welcome

[drumcrush]

Hello, welcome:)

[nyjon]

since it was feeding time i decided to take some pics. sorry for the cell phone pics. the first pic was taking with my digital cam. i was able to maintain the temps in the tank by closing off the open side of the screen with a big text book. the hot side is between 84-87 and the cool side is between 74-77. i purchased a zoo med thermostat which i am still trying to fine tune as it does not come with actual temperature #'s. but here he is. my son named him snakeweed which is a cartoon character from his favorite show; teenage mutant ninja turtles :) also, he is feeding on small frozen fuzzies as thats what the shop told me he was eating when i got him. this is the second time im feeding him and he has not given me any problems feeding :) id say he is about 13" long. also, im not sure if he is a boy or girl (not that it matters to me) but i suspect its a he due to his long tail but your guess is as good as mine. the shop was going to pop it to find out but i said not to worry about it as i didnt really care. i love him/her :)

[nyjon]

here are pictures from the first day i got him.

[sharthun]

Cool snake!

[swolek]

Very pretty! :)

[marvelfreak]

26294


Cool snake.

[lisas]

Beautiful snake!