Temperatures, Can this be bad?

[Foxrun402]

I got a digital thermometer because these analog ones don't tell me enough...

I set it up on the hot side and left it there for an hour reading... 92.3F
I then tested the cool side of the tank for an hour... 76.4F
Then I finally (dunno why) tested water temperature... 71.2F

My question is this... Is it a bad thing that the hot side reaches temperatures around 93? The cool side remains around 76 while the warm side is a 92... but is this too hot? Is it time to downgrade from 60w to 50w? Or does this really matter as long as she can escape the heat?

Thanks ;)

[guidofatherof5]

I keep my hot side at 90° If you can run a test with a 50W bulb I would.

[Invisible Snake]

Anything over 90 degrees F is too hot for CB garter snakes IMO, I keep all my warm sides at around 85 degrees F.

[-MARWOLAETH-]

I would use a themostat to make sure it doesn't get super hot.IMO gradient is just as important as temperature.As long as the animal has a good gradient and a range of basking temperature it can choose from I wouldn't be too concerned. I'd get a lower watt light bulb and place lots of branches at different heights and angles so the snakes can choose what temps they want to be at. Their not thick after all:rolleyes:

[EasternGirl]

I think the temps sound a bit warm to me. I usually don't let my warm side get over 86 and my cool side at most is 75...during the day. I wouldn't want my water to be that warm either...so that if the snakes got really warm, they could cool off in the water. At night, I keep the warm side around 70-75...and the cool side below 70...except with my babies, I let them stay warmer at night.

Oh...and yes, definitely use a thermostat...I would be worried all the time about my temps if I didn't have thermostats.

[Foxrun402]

Well I dropped down to a 50w and now the temp is kind of sitting around 87.8 on the hot side and at about 76 on the cool side... I think she should be much better now... and I also got rid of the desk lamp and put a fluorescent T8 fixture there instead... Anti-flicker and brilliant light so she has heat on one side and just normal cool light on the other!

Works quite nicely... I will put in an order for 2 more thermostats as well just to be safe!


Edit: oh the T8 Fixture is full spectrum... so now im running uva/uvb/soft for lighting simulating a natural environment as best i can without it being like Bio-Dome lol

[guidofatherof5]

Sounds good all the way around.

[ConcinusMan]

I got a digital thermometer because these analog ones don't tell me enough...

I set it up on the hot side and left it there for an hour reading... 92.3F
I then tested the cool side of the tank for an hour... 76.4F
Then I finally (dunno why) tested water temperature... 71.2F

My question is this... Is it a bad thing that the hot side reaches temperatures around 93? The cool side remains around 76 while the warm side is a 92... but is this too hot? Is it time to downgrade from 60w to 50w? Or does this really matter as long as she can escape the heat?

Thanks ;)

Overall, I'd say your tank is too darn warm. Around 90 isn't so bad for a basking spot. My concinnus' spend considerable time basking at 90. However, the cool end is around 74 max. In other words, 90 is OK but only if you can manage most of the tank being in the low 70's. I think you need to step down those temperatures. Low 80's for the warm spot is fine.

Maybe you need a longer/bigger tank. You're not getting a very wide gradient. Also you want to use a domed fixture and a reflecting bulb. You want the basking area to be highly localized, (focused) especially if it's hot, like 90 degrees. 90 is certainly not necessary though. 82-86 is fine for the warm spot. Also a good idea to turn off all heat at night. 60-70 for at least 8 hours at night is what I do.

Constant warmth, especially as high as you had it, can actually contribute to causing RI's. Better to underheat them a bit, than to constantly overheat them, even if the overheating is only by a few degrees. If your snake is hiding all day and only coming out at night or evening, you're probably keeping it too warm.

[Artic Exotics]

i think 90 isnt terrible if like concinnusman was saying its a small focused area and not the entire warm side, you dont want to lose too much of the living area to too hot. If youre worried about it its probably better just to lower it. I think we keepers kinda intuitively know just by watching. Theres several ways to do it, lower the wattage of your bulbs, increase distance of bulbs, put your current equipment on a dimmer.... but if youre going to go the dimmer route make sure you plug into a surge protector thats wattage is significantly higher than the total wattage of everything you're plugging into it. you dont want a power surge to blow your dimmer. trust me on that one.