under tank heaters???

[ptbmaniac]

I know another dumb question.....would it be ok to use a uth if I only use news paper or paper towel? Would it get too hot for a garter snake like that?

[m1k3_88]

you would need to run some sort of controlling device on the uth, like a lamp dimmer. Uth's on their own get way tooo hot!

[ptbmaniac]

I dont even know how this post ended up in this python room it's not where I put it..lol. So would a heat lamp be better?

[Cruciform]

Don't use a UTH with garter snakes.

They instinctually burrow to avoid heat, and can kill themselves tunneling down into the substrate directly above the UTH.

A heat lamp works great for mine. I like to put a couple of rocks under it so they can get some ambient heat for a while longer after it shuts off at night.

Even if it's just paper they may go under it and get cooked (or just ill) between the UTH and the paper.

[Jeff_Favelle]

I agree. Garter snakes are DIURNAL. Use a light source to heath them. You'll have way more success that way.

[Scales Zoo]

Moved to the general colubrid forum.

But yeah, I'd use a heat light for a garter snake for the same reasons cruciform and Jeff mentioned.

Ryan

[Jonathan Crowe]

Hmm. I'm a little surprised by some of the responses here. Let me try to explain.

At the moment I keep 25 garter snakes, all told, including babies, and from time to time it's been a <em>lot</em> more than that. And I've <em>never</em> had any problems with under-tank heat, with garters or with any other snakes -- and I keep most of them on paper towelling in glass aquaria or in plastic cages (Hagen "Critter Keepers").

I'm a little confused about some statements made about UTHs. If it's hot enough to kill a snake that gets down to the bottom, it's way too hot, period! Unless you're referring specifically to the commercial under-tank heaters (I've never used those, mostly due to their expense)? Am I missing something?

[edit: Apparently I <em>am</em> missing something. I was just told via IM that some commercial heating pads get <em>really</em> hot -- hot enough to hurt your hand if you touch the glass. That's not good. If it's uncomfortably hot to the touch, it shouldn't be used in a paper towelling/newspaper substrate situation. I understand now. Sorry. Don't use a commercial reptile heat pad. Which brings me to . . . ]

Garters don't need tropical or desert temperatures -- maybe a few degrees above room temperature for most species kept. A standard electric blanket [edit: the sort you'd buy at a drugstore] at the lowest setting is as much heat as most of my snakes get. Never had any problems with ventral burns or overheating. [edit: Besides, the "human" heating pads are cheaper!]

Not only that, but in my experience garters are less prone to burrow than other snakes (<i>Pituophis</i> and <i>Lampropeltis</i> come to mind). <em>Most</em> snakes avoid heat by burrowing. If you were keeping <i>Tantilla</i> or <i>Virginia</i> or something else that was heavily fossorial, I could see avoiding [edit: a <em>controlled</em> amount of] under-tank heat on that basis, but most of what we keep doesn't need that level of prevention.

This is not to say that a heat lamp isn't a good idea, or even preferable, it's just that you don't have to avoid under-tank heat [edit: in general] like the plague. [edit: Just the commercial reptile heating pads.]