Heating for pythons!

mild · 01-27-04, 02:03 PM

Currently i have my snakes in my room with heat pads but wanted to change to a heater found at walmart at: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...3A92523%3A4863

It has temperature/thermostat, timer so thats a plus.

I wanted to make sure i could use a heater for a heated room instead of heat pads for my snakes which are:

1.1 bp
1 borneo
1 redtail
1 IJ
1 JCP
1 milksnake

I know breeders sometimes use heated rooms as opposed to heat pads or even heat tape.

tHeGiNo · 01-27-04, 02:28 PM

At the most, you could heat the room to the species in the room with the LOWEST required COLD SIDE temperature. Reptiles need temperature gradients to allow for thermoregulation.

mild · 01-27-04, 02:40 PM

So, you mean heat it to the recomended cold side for the species rather than what the hot spot temp would be?

The heater im getting has a built in timer so i could turn it off at night for a cool down period and it wouldnt fall below 74

Auskan · 01-27-04, 02:50 PM

You need to provide a hot and a cool side at all times, not a period of heat and a period of cool. If you heat the room to the coolest temp needed, then you can also provide a hot spot using a heat pad.

tHeGiNo · 01-27-04, 02:51 PM

Yep, so lets say in a particular room we have the following:

Ball Pythons: cool side of 73ºF with a basking spot of 90ºF.

Veiled Chameleons: cool side of 75ºF with a basking spot of 95ºF.

Satanic Leaf Tail Geckos: cool side of 65ºF with a basking spot of 80ºF.

With these animals, the temperature of the room should go no higher then 65. Why? Because any higher and you cannot provide the Satanic Leaf Tail Geckos with the proper temperatures on his cool side.

mykee · 01-27-04, 03:23 PM

Unfortunately, (or not) reptiles do not hover, so their belly is always on the ground. Therefore, they require heat where they can use it. Belly heat. Ambient air temp. is also important, but cannot be used as an alternative to proper belly heat.

Invictus · 01-27-04, 05:46 PM

I have seen absolutely no evidence to convince me that ALL snakes NEED a temperature gradient, either in captivity OR in the wild. Snakes need to be kept warm. That's it. I also know MANY breeders who keep several different species of snake in a very warm room with no temp gradient, and the snakes are just fine. I also have a room that stays between 80 and 84 degrees ambiently, and I keep several snakes in there, and they are also doing just fine. (I'm talking corns, colombian boas, macklotts, spotties, even a blood.... no problems with ANY of them.) Having a temp gradient can be ok, but as long as the snake is kept warm, it will be fine. If it needs to cool off, there is a water dish.

tHeGiNo · 01-27-04, 05:50 PM

Snakes need to be kept warm, along with an area with higher temperatures to allow for proper digestion. Ken, I don't know if I agree with your idea of being a 'god' so to say. In nature, these snakes don't always have to find a body of water when they need to cool down, nor should they have to. I don't know about that.

Evidence? I'm not too sure about that, but go take a look at snakes in the wild. I will guarantee they do not live in an environment in which the temperature is the same everywhere. They are built to survive in nature, the way things are. You can't just go changing that and expect things to be fine.

Auskan · 01-27-04, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Invictus
If it needs to cool off, there is a water dish.

Not all snakes like to soak. Also, the water dish is much, much cooler than 80-84 degrees, so if the temp they are really seeking is say, 70-75 degrees, they won't be able to find it - they will have to either rest in a place that is too warm or one that is too cool (and wet besides).

tHeGiNo · 01-27-04, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Unfortunately, (or not) reptiles do not hover, so their belly is always on the ground. Therefore, they require heat where they can use it.

I think you mean SNAKES do not hover. Even then, what about the aboreal species?

scalawag · 01-27-04, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mykee
Unfortunately, (or not) reptiles do not hover, so their belly is always on the ground.

What about flying snakes??? Sorry, now back to regularly scheduled programing.

mykee · 01-27-04, 06:52 PM

Gino; yes, I meant snakes. From the above list on the original post, most of those snakes are not arboreal.

Oliverian · 01-27-04, 07:03 PM

I know there are keepers out there who heat the whole room, and have no other spot-specific heating, and they keep and breed their snakes very sucessfully. (I can't remember who exactly it was I'm thinking of, but I'm sure there are more people who do this as well.) So, would it be reccomended to do this, instead of having a whole bunch of smaller heat sources? (for my own curiosity, as well as an answer for mild.)

-TammyR

mild · 01-27-04, 07:09 PM

Thanks for the replies.

Im going to use heat pads but i still think they would live just fine with a heated room as my friend has a setup with a heated room and just a few heat pads on certain snakes with no problems.

I havent kept a heat pad on my pueblan milksnake for almost a year with a gradient room temp of 80 high and 70 low at night and he eats and is perfectly healthy. I think since most colubrids are native to the states they can handle the temps where as a python from africa would need the extra heat and humidity.

Thanks

themangler · 01-27-04, 07:15 PM

i use heaters in with my snakes 1.1burms i keep it at 84-86 in the day and 74-76at night and i have 2 heat lamps at the other end so if they want higher temps they lay under there, and there on all the time, the heaters dry the air out alot so you got to keep an eye on the humidity i use foggers in with them and it keeps it perfect .it has worked for me and my snakes are fine.
respect chris