Heat for Baby

snakeophile · 10-02-18, 09:03 PM

I have a 4 month old jungle x coastal housed in an exo terra 1 foot cube. Heat is supplied by a herpstat2 driving a UTH mat (under a hide) and an overhead ceramic heat emitter. She seems to prefer to roost under the emitter. My questions are:
1> Do ceramic heat emitters benefit from proportional controllers or do they just turn on and off. I ask because the drive percentage is either 0 or mid 80 % while the heat mat ramps up very smoothly.
2> Should I keep the heat mat on so she can keep warm when she chooses to hide (seldom)
3> What is the recommended temperature for a hotspot for a 4 month old of this particular mix.

Thanks.

**EL Ziggy** · 10-02-18, 09:30 PM

I don't think you need both heat sources except for possibly during the winter months. I use UTHs for some of my carpets and CHEs for others. I use a dimmer to control the CHEs and a t-stat to regulate the UTHs. Both ways are fine just don't let your ambient temps drop too low. I keep a hot spot of 88-90 and an ambient temp of 78-82. My coolest temps during the winter are in the low 70s. Best wishes with the new carpet. They're great snakes to keep.