| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Razee
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
2525 Posts |
 Posted - 17/08/2013 : 09:37:35
|
This has been bugging me for a while - will be a bit of an essay, but would like to know what everyone else is thinking or doing.
We're always told that corn snakes should be kept at 21 - 29 C , with hot and cold end. I use heatmats, which means that although I have the the correct hot end temps on the mat, the rest of the viv sits at room temperature. It's about 21 -22 C now, but can be as low as 18 - 19 C for most of the year.
I keep reading on corn snake care, and some newer books/ on line info says to keep corn snakes at 24 -30C range. I did notice mine are more active, when the room temps were 24 - 25 C, during summer. In an older post on the dark side, someone suggested that many adult corns are sluggish, inactive, and become obese in low temps, whilst when kept with warmer background temps, they stay active and slim and fit, even when fed regularly.
I was thinking about raising my background temps to 24 -25 C during the day, and just running the mats during the night, allowing the ambients to drop.
I don't want to use ceramics, as I don't think Baz would come and bask, and also because I think it would raise the general temps too much, with little gradient.
So, I thought of following options:
1) Put an UV bulb in ( the long tube ), on during the day. I was told that this would rise the background temps just a couple of degrees, which would be ideal. On the minus side - there are no covers for those on the market, and even though they don't get hot enough to burn the snake, who's to say the snake won't try to wrap around them and crush them.
2) Put a normal, light saving bulb in, with a cage around it during the day - could give off enough heat to raise the background temps ( my friend did this for royals - small ones - with a heatmat - but in much smaller viv)- though not sure if it would be too little or too much heat and I'd need a stat for that, too - which I want to avoid - else the vivs will be nothing but a maze of wires and stats - more chances for various things to break, too complicated needlessly.
3) Heat with ceramics - but this wouldn't probably give me enough temperature gradient, and Baz prefers the safety of her favourite hide to thermoregulation - she'd never go and bask to get the right digesting temps, so, for her, mat is the only answer to heating.
What do you think?
|
0.1.0 late CB10 Carolina corn snake - Bazilishka
1.0.0 CB11 Abbots Okeetee- Little Twiddler
1.0.0 CB11 Hypo corn- Sebastianek
1.0.0. CB14 Butter Motley - Squidwood
0.0.2 CB18 normal/ Okeetee yearlings Bunny and Lalalishka
0.0.1 hognose
0.1.0 stable cat
0.1.0 house cat |
|
|
a33272
our battery charger
United Kingdom
3063 Posts |
Posted - 17/08/2013 : 12:11:51
|
| or 4) leave it as it is as it works fine more pretty much all keepers that use mats :D |
    
0.1.0 creamsicle corn-Marmalade
1.0.0 jungle carpet python-Bumble
1.0.0 corn Casper
|
 |
|
|
Welshlamb
Yearling
United Kingdom
711 Posts |
Posted - 17/08/2013 : 20:38:05
|
| I wouldn't mess with temps tbh. Could cause all sorts of complications. |
|
|
|
mjpeters
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
1539 Posts |
Posted - 17/08/2013 : 21:28:20
|
quote:
Originally posted by Razee
. In an older post on the dark side, someone suggested that many adult corns are sluggish, inactive, and become obese in low temps, whilst when kept with warmer background temps, they stay active and slim and fit, even when fed regularly.
Some anecdotal evidence to back this up has to be my Sunny;
Quite a biggy at 3yrs 1.2kilo.She was kept on a Spider mat,with a 40w bulb on now and then.
Now she has a neck,
Is a very active feeder,and loves to climb.Her mat is half the width of her viv and all the length.The mat is stated BUT like you pointed out the cool sides are warmer during the day.
For sunny being cooler made her a sosige snake,now she is warmer she is much more active and starting to be snakey shaped.
For me and mine I'll stick to the mat/stat method and yes in the summer the cool end will be hotter,and cooler in the winter but isn't that more what they would encounter in the wild anyway? |
|
|
|
Razee
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
2525 Posts |
Posted - 18/08/2013 : 19:06:45
|
Thanks for the replies.
Oh, gorgeous Sunny :-) Mind you, she was pregnant as well, so she had a right to some chubbyness :-)
I'm not thinking about getting grid off mats, just wondered whether higher general temps would be better for Bazil, she's chubby and sluggish. And also, if they were ever ill, and I needed to raise the temperature they're kept in... Shame I can't have a snake room, could keep that warmer. |
0.1.0 late CB10 Carolina corn snake - Bazilishka
1.0.0 CB11 Abbots Okeetee- Little Twiddler
1.0.0 CB11 Hypo corn- Sebastianek
1.0.0. CB14 Butter Motley - Squidwood
0.0.2 CB18 normal/ Okeetee yearlings Bunny and Lalalishka
0.0.1 hognose
0.1.0 stable cat
0.1.0 house cat |
|
|
|
mjpeters
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
1539 Posts |
Posted - 18/08/2013 : 19:24:23
|
Well,My guy's do seem to be active with the warmer temps-I also use 'Trixie Tables' and Java wood Parrot perches so the snakes have a built in exercise/play area and place to rest at a different temp.
High up hiding place
Literaly climbing the walls
 OOPS-sorry wrong way round!!
Dismounting off Trixie table.What kind of 'Furniture' do your snakes use Razee? Personaly I think that maybe some corns get fat when they have no stimulus in their enviroment-obviously temp and food play a part ,but I've found that giving them stuff to explore keeps them busy.
sometimes I will add/take out/change the viv furniture just to give them a new setup to explore-I do however make sure I keep 'fav hides' |
Edited by - mjpeters on 18/08/2013 19:27:58 |
|
|
|
Razee
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
2525 Posts |
Posted - 19/08/2013 : 09:58:13
|
They've got lots... Each has a table ( one Trixie, one home made ), Baz has got a large branch with several arms on it, that goes through 2/3 of het Viv, several hides, cork bark half tube and bits, and lots of fake plants. Little T makes a full use of his,and the newbie Seb does,too. But Bazil just lies in her favourite hide all the time. The other two like changes and investigate anything new, Baz hates anything being changed, and seems frightened by it.
In fact, she is so bad that if the room is cold and she's just fed, the only way to get her to thermoregulate is to take her favourite cave away. She looks quite unhappy looking for it for a while, then goes into one of the warm hides, and when she' s finished digesting, moves off onto the cold side shelf. I then return her fav cave back into the Viv. She's straight back in there, and doesn't come out, except to poop.
When she was a hatchie and before I found this forum, I was given bad advice by the garden centre she came from, and kept her on large heat mat, with no stat. I have read enough books by then to know they needed thermal gradient, so I raised the faun, arched the mat slightly, and ended up with cold end being about 25C, middle bit about 28-29, and hot side 33 with a 35 hotspot !!! Was all wrong, but she was thermoregulating - each evening went to the hot side, stayed there for couple of minutes, warmed up, and then started her evening roaming. She went to the middle to digest, and between feeds slept in cold side.
The only time she was remotely active now, was when the room temps were around 25C, she actually roamed! That'd made me wonder, if she rally does prefer it warmer. I read some Czech corn snake care books, and they recommend to have a temperature gradient 22 - 35C, with the 35 being only one tiny hotspot, in case the snake is under weather, and needs to raise its temperature that one bit more. Also,having hides in several different temp levels, so the snake can choose in which one to rest.
I wonder, if she did have higher background temps during the day, whether she'd be more active and less attached to that one hide...
|
|
|
|
mjpeters
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
1539 Posts |
Posted - 19/08/2013 : 16:35:40
|
Hmm,interesting-I guess they are all different-personality wise-our Lilith was the Evil Queen from Hell,now she's done the slug bit she's a lot mellower but still a recluse.
Do you bruminate any of your guys? I wonder if they get chubby to prepare for winter? I'm thinking of doing that for some of my guys this year,give them a more normal type year. |
|
|
|
Razee
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
2525 Posts |
Posted - 19/08/2013 : 18:21:13
|
I don't actively brumate them, but you might have a point. They have a daylight and no supplemental lighting, so they know what time of year it is, even with heating on. Baz does actively try to brumate herself, she buries under the substrate in cold end, gets really grumpy if I try to get her out. She eats, but not as enthusiastically as normal.
It's true that in nature, they'd be stuffing themselves in summer, whilst they can.... |
0.1.0 late CB10 Carolina corn snake - Bazilishka
1.0.0 CB11 Abbots Okeetee- Little Twiddler
1.0.0 CB11 Hypo corn- Sebastianek
1.0.0. CB14 Butter Motley - Squidwood
0.0.2 CB18 normal/ Okeetee yearlings Bunny and Lalalishka
0.0.1 hognose
0.1.0 stable cat
0.1.0 house cat |
|
|
|
mjpeters
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
1539 Posts |
Posted - 19/08/2013 : 20:07:52
|
Ha! there you have it-she's trying to teach you how to look after her  Probably thinks "crazy hooman-I should be resting now "
I'm going to find out about this bruminating palaver,I do think it may be beneficial for a few of my big 'uns.In fact I have a rack thingy with trays that should do the job nicely(it was built by a chap who kept corns/kings).
Be sad to put them to bed but nice to see them again after their rest when they are all zooming about  |
|
|
|
Razee
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
2525 Posts |
Posted - 19/08/2013 : 20:58:34
|
| There's some anecdotal evidence it can prolong their lives and is good for them. I suppose it makes sense, it puts their life or ageing "on hold" for a while. |
0.1.0 late CB10 Carolina corn snake - Bazilishka
1.0.0 CB11 Abbots Okeetee- Little Twiddler
1.0.0 CB11 Hypo corn- Sebastianek
1.0.0. CB14 Butter Motley - Squidwood
0.0.2 CB18 normal/ Okeetee yearlings Bunny and Lalalishka
0.0.1 hognose
0.1.0 stable cat
0.1.0 house cat |
|
|
|
mjpeters
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
1539 Posts |
Posted - 19/08/2013 : 23:21:44
|
Yup  Bruminating sounds good....I may give it a go myself....no kids for three months-just bed and a little drinky now and then (I may have to cheat and add a light lunch or two-better yet Brunch in bed) |
|
|
|
smart bunny
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
5091 Posts |
Posted - 20/08/2013 : 08:12:48
|
| The thing is... corns are individuals too ;) There will be some that prefer things hotter than others I am sure. Personally - based on your observations - I would consider adding a ceramic for Bazil and see if it perks her up a bit. Having put a ceramic in for Artemis I now know it's not as hard as I thought it would be, and it's not all that expensive (even if, like me, you spend out extra money on the Komodo complete ceramic fitting and bracket http://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/reptile-supplies/reptile-lighting-415/reptile-light-fittings-487/komodo-ceramic-lamp-and-bracket-387159.html to make fitting super-duper easy rather than worrying about wiring stuff up :P). Even if it was just an experiment and you decided to go back to a mat later. Plenty of people use ceramics with corns. |
       |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Background temperature
