regulated heat pad temp

[Magnarock the 2nd]

I have been running an unregulated heat pad on my Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis. I know they get too hot but it was a small pad so it was just a little hot spot. I read online about somebody's heat pad catching fire. So I got scared about my unregulated heat pad burning my house down. Need thermostat.

Today I put on an old bigger pad with duct tape and a Zilla thermostat. I have a small extension cord with three outlets on the thermostat so I can plug my corn into it when she comes out of bru. I'm thinking 85-90 deg. f. for this garter. Is that good temp?

[guidofatherof5]

Here's a nice digital thermostat. Good price also.
Amazon.com: Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats: Patio, Lawn & Garden (http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPRTC-Digital-Thermostat-Heat/dp/B000NZZG3S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357071913&sr=8-1&keywords=hydrofarm+thermostat)

[ConcinusMan]

I read online about somebody's heat pad catching fire.

I use Hydrofarm seedling heat mats for my snakes. The zilla ones just get too damn hot.

However, overheating/fires are almost always caused by people not following the directions. You never want to sandwich them between insulating materials. I put sticky pads on the corners of the tank, underneath. That way there is a slight gap for heat to escape. That's rather important.

[Greg'sGarters]

85 degrees fahrenheit is the hottest you'd ever want to go with a garter. I would try to keep it around 75-80 that also works for corns too.

[ConcinusMan]

Not really. In a 55 gallon long, I had a basking area that reached 90-92 and the snakes would sit there all day. That's fine if you can still manage to have the other end in the low 70's. It's when you heat the whole tank and have it too warm that you get problems. (keeping snakes too warm causes RI's) But really, magnarock you don't need a whole lot of heat for a garter and a wide gradient is important. You don't want to heat the whole tank. Air temp in the 70's and a surface which takes no more than 1/4 of the floor area, up to 90 degrees is fine. It just doesn't have to be that hot though. Even low 80's is adequate. As long as the snake can choose to cool down to low 70's, or warm up to around mid 80's or so, they'll do fine. Just don't force them to be warm. It's important for them to be able to cool down, or warm up as they see fit. Also, turn off the heat at night completely and let them cool down to between 60-70 degrees for about 9-10 hours. It should also be uninterrupted dark during this time.