Lighting

Luthien · 04-03-15, 07:53 PM

Hi Guys!
Well I have Eve in her new home now (AKA the bigger viv) and she seems to be liking it alright. She explored for a few minutes and then found her closed in hide and went to sleep lol that's Eve's equivalent of liking something!

The CHE heater is working well, keeping the hot spot at 80-81f with no problem, she has 3 different temps she can choose from through out the tank. It's alright the substrate/hide doesn't feel that hot right? I just worry for her digestion. When I point the temp gun at her substrate under the heater it's 80 so that's good right?

Second and main question for this post is, what suggestions do yall have lighting this viv? I know she doesn't need it but I would like some light in there for my purposes and for looks. I've attached a picture of the inside of the viv (it's still a work in progress) for you.

Sorry for the long-ish post but I want everything perfect for my baby girl

jossh27 · 04-04-15, 07:23 AM

Led's are inexpensive now and since you don't need it for heat, they're perfect. Hit lowes and find something suitable.

What kind off snake is she by the way?

prairiepanda · 04-04-15, 10:10 AM

I agree; LEDs provide fantastic lighting and come in a variety of formats, and won't mess up your temperatures or humidity.

As for the 80F hot spot: that's probably fine but it depends on what species we're dealing with. Make sure you provide a hide in the hot zone so that they can hide while digesting too(I see you have multiple hides, so one is probably in the hot zone but I thought I'd make sure)

Have you pointed your temp gun at the tops of the branches as well? If you're using a CHE I would assume the branches are the closest points to it, so you'll want to make sure those areas aren't too hot.

Luthien · 04-04-15, 10:37 AM

She is a corn snake, 8 months old now (as of April 3)! I've attached a couple of pictures for you guys! When I set up her viv I made sure the tops of the branches were no where near the CHE so she can't touch anything and they won't get to hot, I do test them though and the read at 76F. Yes the completely closed in hide is directly in the hot zone, one "open" hide is in the middle so in the 75f zone and the other "open" hide is in the cool side of 69-70f so she has lots of options

She seems to just want to bury into the substrate for the most part though lol like finding a needle in a hay stack as the saying goes :P

reptiledude987 · 04-05-15, 08:21 AM

For the LED's look on amazon theyre less that half the price there than half the price of the big box stores. I ordered 2 16' strips with a bunch of connectors extenders and other accessories for lighting multiple enclosures and all of it cost me $45

prairiepanda · 04-05-15, 08:44 AM

Temperatures sound good for a corn. She's a cutie! It looks like she might just be a bit too small to feel secure in the open hides(they like to cram in there really tight!), which would be why she prefers hiding in the bedding for now. But that's absolutely fine; she'll grow into the hides and in the meantime I'm sure she feels well hidden in the bedding. Your setup looks perfect

jarich · 04-07-15, 12:16 AM

As corns are largely diurnal, I'd highly recommend a UV producing fluorescent tube over the LED.

Luthien · 04-07-15, 02:04 AM

Thanks for all the help guys! Another question for you that I'm sure I'm just being paranoid with my first baby but Ya I must ask. Lol

So as I've said before she has many temps throughout her Viv but she always stays on the low end 72-75f mostly in the 72 spot, then when I pick her up she feels seriously cold! Just wondering if this ok? Will being cold harm her? If so what do I do?