Breeder said no heat lamps

farside847 · 03-09-21, 11:36 AM

I am getting my new enclosure set up for my first corn snake.

I found a local breeder, and while chatting with them I mentioned how I am trying to get the heat just right first. Right now I have a heat mat and thermostat that is making a great hot spot on one side at about 88degrees.

My ambient air temp is 67 to 70. Maybe I have been doing too many google searches, but this seemed too low, but my breeder says that it is fine and that they dont recommend adding a ceramic heat lamp.

I guess I am just looking for a second opinion. The breeder seems pretty awesome and I am sure knows a heck of a lot more than I do. But would a corn snake be ok with a nice warm spot at 88 and the air temp at 70? Or should I go and add a ceramic heat lamp to bump it up to 80?

Thanks!

**EL Ziggy** · 03-11-21, 11:29 AM

For a corn snake I wouldn't worry about lower temps as long as the snake has access to a hot spot. Some people keep them at room temperature. The CHE will boost the ambient temps but will also decrease your humidity substantially. Again, I wouldn't be too concerned for a cornsnake. They're pretty hardy snakes.

farside847 · 03-11-21, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EL Ziggy

For a corn snake I wouldn't worry about lower temps as long as the snake has access to a hot spot. Some people keep them at room temperature. The CHE will boost the ambient temps but will also decrease your humidity substantially. Again, I wouldn't be too concerned for a cornsnake. They're pretty hardy snakes.

Awesome, thank you for the reply! Good to know how hardy they are

chairman · 03-11-21, 08:54 PM

When I started keeping cornsnakes back in the 90s we didn't use supplemental heat at all. I did live in FL at the time and the house temperature was seldom lower than 70 or higher than 85. The snakes did perfectly fine.

I don't keep them that way now, I provide a heat source. But I'll agree that an ambient temperature of 70 is fine as long as you have a regulated under tank heat source. My current ambient temperature scheme is 72 in winter and 76 in summer.

In the wild corns hide in shaded, secluded, somewhat underground areas. If you were to use an infrared thermometer to measure the temperatures of those places I imagine they'd register in the high 60s or low 70s for much of the year; the snakes move out into the sunlight to bask and warm up when they need to.