heat

[drache]

so far I've always used bulbs for heat
now that I'm moving and I'm looking at building new racks, I'm looking at what else I could use
I tried heat tape once and I must have done something wrong, because it cracked the glass it was taped to
now it's coiled up in a storage container

[Morph]

i use heat mats and heat tape underneath a false floor. I use laminate flooring to build the false floor because its thin enough to let the heat through and easy to clean and remove for cleaning. works fine for me. maybe if the heat tape cracks the glass, you could build a false floor and sandwich the heat tape between 2 boards of wood or laminate flooring.

[Ameivaboy]

Bulbs are the best way to heat garter enclosures period (IMO)
I can verify through personal experience that they seem much happier with an illuminated basking spot vs a rack set up with heat tape, or and aquarium with a UTH. Anyways here's my garter "rack" hope it gives you some ideas

If you look closely you an see "my girls" utilizing the basking platforms I have provided them :D This is where I house pairs together except when the females are getting ready to drop, I then move the males onto a traditional snake rack where they appear quite miserable, but it's only temporary then back with their girly freinds they go

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/Ameivaboy/DSC01064.jpg

[adamanteus]

Under floor heating is far superior. By using heat cable or mats you can provide ambient overnight warmth without sacrificing the photo-period, it is also infinitely more controllable with a thermostat, than a light bulb. If you use a light bulb and contol the temperature using a thermostat the light is always going on and off. I light my vivs with flurescent lights which provide no heat, however the snakes don't realize this and they bask in the light, in full view anyway, even though they are being warmed from below!

[GarterGuy]

If you're going to use undertank heating...there are some really good het mats on the market that don't get as hot as heat tape and won't crack tank bottoms. Two of the really good brands are Cobra Heatmats and Ultratherm Heatmats. They both only get to about 100F, so they're not too warm. I've used the Cobra mats on my PI king for over 10yrs. now and I really like it. I also like the fact that they don't have adhesive on them (they need to be secured to the tank bottom), so if you need to move them you can. I've had others that stuck to the bottom of the tank and if the tank was no good or something, I wasn't able to "reuse" the heater somewhere else. For garters though....I have to agree with Ameivaboy and say I really like using overhead lights for heat.

Roy

[adamanteus]

You guys who use light bulbs to heat your vivs; How do you regulate the temperature when the temps outside the viv fluctuate? How do you warm the viv during really cold nights? What precautions do you take to prevent your snakes coming into contact with the bulb and frying?

[drache]

Thanks James and Roy for all the good info on heat mats
the reason I'm looking into this is partially for energy efficiency
right now mostly for my non-garters, who don't bask
I too like giving the garters warmth that comes from above, like the sun does
they seem to appreciate it and with the branches I give them they can choose how close they want to get
the bulb is always in a dome fixture sitting on top of the screen top, so there's no danger of a snake getting any closer than the hot screen
I do set it up that the hottest spot, calibrated for their top range, is at the highest basking spot in the tank
the coolest spot is usually somewhere beyond the water dish
with that much ventilation it's not that difficult to maintain a cool end
I also don't worry about night time temps, since they live in our appartment
it's a terribly wasteful system, though
also
there are a couple of tanks I'd like to turn on their sides and then the heat through the glass thing . . . - too risky
so I need to learn about some other options
I'd also like to learn more about other heat producing bulbs, that might be more energy efficient
I think that I get more focussed heat out of the spot bulbs than a regular household bulb
but what about mercury vapor and halogen?
I know nothing about them, but I believe they're more efficient as well, but is that in terms of heat or light?

[GarterGuy]

You guys who use light bulbs to heat your vivs; How do you regulate the temperature when the temps outside the viv fluctuate? How do you warm the viv during really cold nights? What precautions do you take to prevent your snakes coming into contact with the bulb and frying?

I have all my heat lamps on thermostats, so that I can regulate the temps. As far as those cold nights.......it doesn't get below 60F in my reptile room so I really don't rely on any heat at night. I've found too many people keep there herps WAY too warm WAY too long. Natural temp. fluctuations between day and night are a natural thing and yes, all my stuff is out basking in the early AM when the lights come on, but I don't have any issue with respitory problems, problems with regurgitation or other stuff associated with keeping herps too cool. I also stick to herps from temperate or semitropical regions as well, so I don't really have anything that needs hothouse type of conditions. As far as contact with the bulbs....the lights are either on the outside of the cage or are shielded by some sort of "cage" for lack of a better term.

Roy

[adamanteus]

Doesn't it bother you, the light going on and off with the thermostat, Roy?

[Lulu Bennett]

i was told it was a waste of money to get a thermostat that turns the light on n off because the bulbs blow alot easier and dont last nearly as long but it would be benificial to get a dimmer switch attached.

[adamanteus]

Of course you can get dimmer-stats, so the light reduces rather than goes off. I've never tried them though, I'm quite happy with my underfloor heating system.:)

[Lulu Bennett]

i have a constant heat mat that stays on 24/7 and a bulb that is on between 7am 9pm

[Ameivaboy]

You guys who use light bulbs to heat your vivs; How do you regulate the temperature when the temps outside the viv fluctuate? How do you warm the viv during really cold nights? What precautions do you take to prevent your snakes coming into contact with the bulb and frying?

the only way I regulate things is if the house gets too warm I just shut the lights off. but generally I dont need to do that as I use spot bulbs which only heat the predesignated basking spot.

As far as night temps I never worry about it as my climate is (somewhat) remniscent of the species I keep

as far as bulb contact, I had 2 males in a cage where the bulb was openely exposed and they could have came in contact with it, but they never even showed any interest in it whatsoever (besides basking under it) I am not an advocate of bulb guards because really they can get just as hot as the bulb itself and being more of a lizard keeper I know how animals can get caught up in these things.

Now back to heat, I use bulbs because i think it's more natural for garters to receive heat from above with a brightly illuminated basking area as they are avid baskers compared to say a kingsnake who may warm up by hiding under a sun warmed log or rock,

James you said your garters use the heat pads under a flourscent light as a baskign spot?? I'm just curious if you have ever offered them a choice
flourescent/w heat pad or a heat light area, my presumption is the garters would prefer the more illuminated spot, maybe ill play around with that theory

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h8/Ameivaboy/DSC01068.jpg

[Ameivaboy]

oh, i just wanted to add something about thermostats, go pulse proportional, they are the way to go, instead of the on/off that *cheaper* ones have pulse proportianal thermostats adjust the flow of energy so the temperature is more consistant and there's no on/off issue
though they are expensive, but hard to beat

[adamanteus]

James I'm just curious if you have ever offered them a choice


Over the years I have heated and illuminated in all sorts of ways and combinations. I guess I've settled on the one that works best for me.

[adamanteus]

oh, i just wanted to add something about thermostats, go pulse proportional, they are the way to go, instead of the on/off that *cheaper* ones have pulse proportianal thermostats adjust the flow of energy so the temperature is more consistant and there's no on/off issue
though they are expensive, but hard to beat

I like that idea, Kevin. How expensive is "expensive"?

[Ameivaboy]

there's helix and herpstats that are good choices and go for around $100 USD They can handle a lot higher wattages than "pet store" versions as well and you can buy a night temp drop cord for the helix and i beleive herpstat has one built in (i think herpstat is a lil more expensive)

[adamanteus]

I use a vario-stat, which allows different temperatures at different times of day, which you pre-set yourself. Thus allowing for the night time temperature drop but maintaining control. Same kind of thing I guess?

[drache]

I like the idea of the light replicating seasonal cycles pretty accurately and have thought of finding some kind of light sensor that can keep the lighting in synch with the outside light. I can't imagine that the technology is all that expensive, because there's the night-lights with light sensors that turn on when the light goes below a certain level. For my purposes I just need the opposite response and the sensor needs to be in a different location (outside or at least by the window)
I think the pricey part is to get it gradual

[GarterGuy]

Doesn't it bother you, the light going on and off with the thermostat, Roy?

Not really.....in addition to the heat lamps, I have full spectrum fluorescent bulbs on the tanks.....so it just kind of lights up the basking spot and such, but the tank doesn't go dark afterwards. The thermostats do probably shorten the life of the bulbs, but honestly I probably only have to replace bulbs maybe three to four times a year.....so it's not really that much of a hassle.
Roy

[Stefan-A]

You guys who use light bulbs to heat your vivs; How do you regulate the temperature when the temps outside the viv fluctuate? How do you warm the viv during really cold nights? What precautions do you take to prevent your snakes coming into contact with the bulb and frying?
No precautions are in my opinion needed, as long as there isn't a risk that the snake can get trapped somehow. They have better heat sensors than we do and seem to know to stay away from the bulbs. I've seen them reach for the bulbs, but recoil before they've actually touched the surface. If you don't trust the snakes, a metal mesh around the bulb keeps the snake away.

No need to warm the viv during the nights here, normal room temperature is between 19 and 23 year round. Well within what the snakes tolerate. The problem I've come across, is too high daytime temperatures. I shut off the heating when the temperature rises above 28 degrees Celsius.