Dekay snake basking light?

Cyclops · 03-21-17, 06:21 PM

I have a light that is about 20-30 watts, Will that be enough for a deaky snake to bask with?

sattva · 03-21-17, 06:54 PM

I doubt it! It depends on where you put it and how close it will be to the basking area... I use 60 watt bulbs for daytime light and a little extra heat on top of their sreens and an under the tank heat mats 24/7... I have four of them on a rheostats... It's not the preferred method, thermostats with probs would be better... You're going to want temp gun... You can get one for under 20 bucks and their worth their weight in gold...

regi375 · 03-21-17, 06:54 PM

That depends on the ambient temperature of the cage, and what tempurature you want to achieve.

Bandit · 03-21-17, 09:27 PM

What are the ambient temps during the day and night? Dekay's don't need it hot. I've kept them with no heat during the warmer months and they've done fine (but it's always hot here).

sattva · 03-22-17, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bandit

What are the ambient temps during the day and night? Dekay's don't need it hot. I've kept them with no heat during the warmer months and they've done fine (but it's always hot here).

A Heat bulbs or ceramic heaters should be used to maintain an ambient temperature of 72-78 F and a basking temperature of 83-85 F.

Bandit · 03-22-17, 07:30 AM

Cyclops, what are the ambient temps with the bulb that you are using?

If anything, the bulb will serve to keep the ambient temps where they need to be. Dekays don't need to bask, as they generally don't bask in the wild. For the most part, they stay hidden under logs or within brush piles during the day, and then come out at night.

akane · 03-23-17, 08:16 PM

I kept mine no heat even all winter. He got a little sluggish a couple times when we had the window open to cool the room before going to bed but 70F and above I really saw no difference. He hunted food pretty much constantly and shed regularly. I don't have mine now but I never gave him a light except an led strip. They don't really hang out in the open in a basking spot. They like structures of many small rocks to curve between or leaf litter and a few sticks. The best way to keep them happy is lots of stuff to hide and blend in rather than open areas to bask. In the wild they live close to the ground hidden in vegetation hunting slimy things preferably and other insects secondary. Cool, damp areas with cover is where you will find them (or not find them because they hide so deeply and move so fast). While they are durable to all conditions I'd say relatively high humidity would be best. They like a really tight crevice with multiple exits for an actual hide. I glued 2 small stone tiles with river pebbles between them so it was barely a couple inches.

Before leaf litter