i need advice on temperature

werled · 10-05-17, 01:59 AM

Hey guys.
i have a question about my heat lamp for my cali kingsnake.

i am currently using the intense basking spot 150 watt for my cali kings snake.
and my thermometer says that it is 31 degrees. (my thermometer is located close too the heat lamp) i also have a het lamp 75 watt on the other side.
but its the temp good the way it is?

i need some advice on temperature and how to hold it.
this is my first snake got her in july

extra she is on a hunger strike for 5 weeks now she has not been losing weight.
she had a case of ri but thats fixed no more bubbles no more sneezing.

thanks.

**Andy_G** · 10-05-17, 07:30 AM

The thermometer should be where the snake is, not close to the lamp. Please move it and then let us know the correct reading.

trailblazer295 · 10-05-17, 11:42 AM

It's the readings where the snake are that matter. And you adjust a setting accordingly.

TRD · 10-05-17, 02:58 PM

The problem you have is that the room is too cold (sub 20 C)... it will take a lot of power to heat up to temperatures you need. It is not a problem for a kingsnake to have a night time drop to the 20s C or even slightly below (~18 C). During daytime the hot side should be 28-29 C as read on a normal thermometer (not IR measured surface temp). The cold side can be around 24 C.

31 C as you have now, is not a big issue for a Cali kingsnake, as long as he has a hide at that temp, in the middle (so between hot and cold) and on the cold side. And plenty of 'stuff' laying in between like cork bark, piece of wood, fake/real plants...

Trust your snake, it will regulate itself. You just have to provide the correct temperature range, monitor it, and provide the hides.

If you leave it cold at night, remember that you shouldn't spray the terrarium at night but always in the morning so it has time to dry out in case you face issues with humidity, but I think I already told you this.

ThunderThor · 10-06-17, 12:30 AM

In terms of measuring temp, everyone always recommends an IR thermometer. Is that only reading the surface temperature and not the ambient air temp? Is there usually a large difference?

How many thermometers do people use? I have one that's on the glass above the heat mat (inside enclosure) to regulate the heat mat and then use the IR gun to take temps around the enclosure. I just bought another digital thermometer with probe to use to take ambient air temps.

TRD · 10-06-17, 04:38 AM

Surface temp can be much higher than ambient temp... if you have an IR thermometer just go outside on a sunny summer day and measure the temps on a piece of rock in the full sunshine. It's not odd to read temps of well in excess of 105 F while ambient isn't even reaching 85 F.

ThunderThor · 10-06-17, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TRD

Surface temp can be much higher than ambient temp... if you have an IR thermometer just go outside on a sunny summer day and measure the temps on a piece of rock in the full sunshine. It's not odd to read temps of well in excess of 105 F while ambient isn't even reaching 85 F.

Yeah I've definitely witnessed that, especially with pavement. Which is more important? I have seen some people focus on the surface temp, since that is where the snake is in contact. But if the surface temp is 85 then the air temp may be 75-80. And if the air temp is 85 then the surface temp maybe 95 or more.

chairman · 10-06-17, 02:51 PM

Both are important. Use a regular thermometer to read ambient temps on the warm side and cool side. It is highly species dependent but 70F is a good cold temperature and 85 F is usually a good warm side temp. Run the hot spot, measured with a temp gun, in the 90s F. And, obviously, adjust up or down based on the needs of the species.

TRD · 10-06-17, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThunderThor

Yeah I've definitely witnessed that, especially with pavement. Which is more important? I have seen some people focus on the surface temp, since that is where the snake is in contact. But if the surface temp is 85 then the air temp may be 75-80. And if the air temp is 85 then the surface temp maybe 95 or more.

Surface temp can be whatever is needed to get the right ambient temp. It's not a problem is that is much hotter as long as it doesn't get that hot that it will cause thermal burns. Inside a vivarium/terrarium I wouldn't create surface temps upwards of 120 F because that gets hot enough to burn skin.

And please don't ever create such temps with a UTH. When you have say a 120 F surface temp and the snake or lizard lays on it, it will start to cool down because the radiation comes from above.. ie- heat will transfer from the surface into the reptile. When that heat is created with a UTH it will not cool down and keeps heating and will eventually cause burns when set to way too hot temps.

ThunderThor · 10-07-17, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TRD

Surface temp can be whatever is needed to get the right ambient temp. It's not a problem is that is much hotter as long as it doesn't get that hot that it will cause thermal burns. Inside a vivarium/terrarium I wouldn't create surface temps upwards of 120 F because that gets hot enough to burn skin.

And please don't ever create such temps with a UTH. When you have say a 120 F surface temp and the snake or lizard lays on it, it will start to cool down because the radiation comes from above.. ie- heat will transfer from the surface into the reptile. When that heat is created with a UTH it will not cool down and keeps heating and will eventually cause burns when set to way too hot temps.

Thanks for the detailed response.

werled · 10-07-17, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TRD

Surface temp can be whatever is needed to get the right ambient temp. It's not a problem is that is much hotter as long as it doesn't get that hot that it will cause thermal burns. Inside a vivarium/terrarium I wouldn't create surface temps upwards of 120 F because that gets hot enough to burn skin.

And please don't ever create such temps with a UTH. When you have say a 120 F surface temp and the snake or lizard lays on it, it will start to cool down because the radiation comes from above.. ie- heat will transfer from the surface into the reptile. When that heat is created with a UTH it will not cool down and keeps heating and will eventually cause burns when set to way too hot temps.

TRD a question for you.

today i bought a exo terra temp and layed it in the corners of the terraria end it hit 26 degrees cold side 36 degrees hot side.

and another question my snake has not been eating in the last 6 weeks. she sneezes some times but does not have bubbles. could ther be any other reason thats she is not eating. and is a 100 watt heat lamp to hot
thanks

TRD · 10-07-17, 02:36 PM

Is that a hot side temp where the light is not hitting the thermometer? As that would be too hot...

You should really be getting a thermostat having such low ambient in the room and a reptile in it.

Try see if she taken smaller pray, what are you feeding her anyway, and how often do you try? Can you put a picture of the enclosure? How does the snake behave (always hiding, defensive when approached, active during day or night, lethargic (very placid), ...)