No heat at night

Azrt · 06-24-17, 11:44 PM

Am I the only one who turn off their heat on the snakes enclosure at night? Here in Phoenix with 120's during the day and lows of 88 at night and keeping my house at 77 there isn't a need to run heat as the tank temps stay around 79. Of course it will be different come winter time

TRD · 06-25-17, 12:03 AM

no need to heat at night at typical household temperatures except when keeping tropical species in a colder household (< 70 F). Most households are too warm at night for most species.

Azrt · 06-25-17, 12:07 AM

Yea sadly I just found this out so I've got my heat on a timer now at least until winter. Even then if I stay above 77 I should be good

dannybgoode · 06-25-17, 02:13 AM

I have the stats set so at night they will come on if temps drop below 22c which is the temperature my snake room is meant to be kept at.

So, if the main heater failed then all should be ok.

trailblazer295 · 06-25-17, 07:31 AM

So if the room is kept above 22/72 at night snakes can be okay without a heat source?

**EL Ziggy** · 06-25-17, 08:22 AM

I turn my heat lamps off at night during the summer months but the UTHs are still on.

Azrt · 06-25-17, 09:26 AM

Ziggy,

Do you keep it at a lower temp? Had all the heat turned off last night and the ambient was 81 so that seems good and then at 0700 it pops on and heats to the normal 90

TRD · 06-25-17, 09:33 AM

Nights in the tropics are about 20-22 C, same for area's in the sub tropics. Temperate species will definitely not need heat at night indoor. Even in the middle of the amazon temperature at night is about 23-24 C (73-75 F) which is typically colder than your household. Deserts and Arid land mostly has a much more radical change between day and night temperature.

**EL Ziggy** · 06-25-17, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azrt

Ziggy,

Do you keep it at a lower temp? Had all the heat turned off last night and the ambient was 81 so that seems good and then at 0700 it pops on and heats to the normal 90

My nightly ambient temps are about 72-74 in the summer. A little lower during the winter. I don't adjust the UTHs at all. I figure it can't hurt to have a hot spot there. Most of my snakes rarely use them though unless they're digesting for a few days.

trailblazer295 · 06-25-17, 12:32 PM

My cages have heat panels that generally keep 90-80 when on. Haven't thought of shutting them off at night.

Scubadiver59 · 06-25-17, 02:58 PM

I personally ramp my temps up & down vice turning on/off

pet_snake_78 · 06-25-17, 03:02 PM

Yes, I also turn my heat down or off at night. As my snake room is a big challenge to keep cool, turning off heat devices at night gives the AC a chance to catch up and cool the room down without working so hard during the warmer months of the year.

trailblazer295 · 06-25-17, 03:37 PM

Mine are in the basement in an open space as there are no "rooms" down there. So it's basically governed by what I have the house at. Monitoring the temps even with the AC on usually 72 down there. My AC is set to 23.5c. I don't need the AC really cold.

bigsnakegirl785 · 06-25-17, 07:14 PM

I live in WNC so nighttime temps are in the 50's even in the middle of summer, and we're having a very cold summer this year as it is, so I don't feel comfortable shutting off the heat at night in the enclosures. I don't run a heater during the summer though, but I offer a thermal gradient to make up for it, so at night when it cools off they have an area that drops down into the 70's if they choose to use it.

Now, I do do this for my garters since they're temperate snakes. At night all garter heat gets shut off, and all lights as well, but everyone else always has heat available to them to use if they choose to.