Exact heat variant

[jossh27]

Hey everyone! I just had a conversation with someone on fb about cage temps- i said my temps were high 70's- low 80's. This person said something that made me roll my eyes, but isn't the important, but got me thinking about this- Thermostat is set to 80 degrees but let's face it there's going to be fluctuation of a couple degrees...right? Hot spot (belly heat) is pretty darn close to 90. My question is say your heat tape/hotspot is bang on 90 degrees but your ambient/coolside is like 76 rather than 80 why would that not be good enough? Won't the snake just need to head over to the warm side more frequently to warm up? In the wild we all know temperatures change as quick as we blink and i think animals will rarely have perfect temperatures to thermo regulate so why are we so small on temperatures in enclosures

[trailblazer295]

I don't worry too much about cold side temperatures. If I had a very delicate species then maybe but they will regulate as needed. My BP would go through phases of days or weeks in the cold hide, then switch to hot stay there for days then back. My boa tends to stay in the middle or cold side most of the time. If your hot side is the correct temperature and the snake can either move away or closer and feel secure then you should be fine.

[jossh27]

I don't worry too much about cold side temperatures. If I had a very delicate species then maybe but they will regulate as needed. My BP would go through phases of days or weeks in the cold hide, then switch to hot stay there for days then back. My boa tends to stay in the middle or cold side most of the time. If your hot side is the correct temperature and the snake can either move away or closer and feel secure then you should be fine.
That's exactly what i was thinking. If hot is as close as you can keep it to needed temperature then the cool side could be basically what ever. Mid seventies to eighties right? We're talking hognose, king snakes probably ball pythons and boas would be okay too?

[TRD]

Hot side should simply be what it is suppose to be, and it should have a thermal gradient to the cool side, that is what is important. You think snakes in nature have the luxury to find a cool spot, covered, at exactly 24 C (or whatever ideal cool temperature they like).

Reptiles will work it out for themselves as long as you provide a gradient and hides for them.

[Andy_G]

I saw this and it was a bit ignorant of the other person. Firstly your temps are fine. A fluctuation of 2 degrees on either end isn't going to bother anything or cause a regurge like the individual suggested! For the cool end when it comes to hognoses, they are forgiving but if it gets too cool you'll have them go off feed, or feed sporadically and they simply will not thrive to the same extent unless you're lucky, but why leave it to luck. Over the years I have found the perfect ambient temp to be right around 78-80 degrees for western hognose. If the proper ambient temperature is achieved, the only times you'll really see a snake on the warm end is to digest or if gravid. Granted it's not this way in the wild...they also don't get f/t prey, nor do they eat as regularly, nor do they all survive if extreme temperatures or weather occurs without retreat. Comparing captivity to the wild is an excellent way of doing things but be aware that it has it's limitations and exceptions versus captive life. Also, why would we not try to improve their available conditions versus the wild? Species have suggested ambient or cool end temps for good reason, and although some species are more forgiving than others and it may be more convenient for you to not adhere to them, it's not really what's best for the captive in most cases...plus keying in the proper temps on both sides can prep you for graduation to more complex and rewarding species if that's your goal. I can't stress enough that providing the proper gradient is very different from simply providing a gradient.

[jossh27]

Haven't visited the site in a while. Thanks for the comments guys!