Heat mats

[EasternGirl]

Chris...it was my understanding that heatmats can go wonky and overheat more readily than a dome lamp...but perhaps I was wrong about that. I was thinking more of the tank getting too hot than a fire being caused. I have seen one of my lamps short circuit and basically the bulb just blew and broke the lamp causing everything to shut off. But you raise a good point. I will shut everything off at night until I can get a new thermostat. Richard, I have been keeping a night bulb and a heat mat on for Cee Cee at night because of her respiratory problems....keeping the temps up around the mid to high 80's on the warm side even at night. Do you think that is too much? Should I cut the lamp and just leave the heat mat on for her? I have noticed if the temps drop at all on the warm side of her tank...her breathing starts to act up again. Another question... Do those of you who use thermostats and timers plug the thermostats into the timers in order to use both? I can't figure out how to get my thermostat and my timer to work at the same time.

[mark cope]

Hello peeps, right got a couple of stats and timers but now I need a hand. leaflet says to put sensor in the middle of the tank, is this right........or do i put it in the warm area?

[ConcinusMan]

I just took the last 20 minutes or so responding to you Marnie but the dang forum logged me out. When I logged back in, my entire response was lost somehow. Very aggravating. I want to be able to not save my password for log in but if I don't, I get logged out every few minutes. God I hate that. I wish they would fix it. I'll get back to you on your questions. Just leave the heat on like you're doing.

And Mark, personally I would put on the cool side and set it to shut off at around 78 degrees F, and come back on at around 70 if that's possible. Even if the warm side gets too warm, the snake will have the cool side to go to and it won't be warmer than 78 at any given time and I think that's the point in the thermostat; to make sure the snake doesn't get cooked. Maybe just experiment with it a bit to see what works best for maintaining a proper gradient range. Keep in mind that it's much better to error on the side of keeping the snake too cool, than to error and keep your snake too warm.

[ConcinusMan]

I can't figure out how to get my thermostat and my timer to work at the same time.

I think the thermostats were designed with tropical species in mind which means the heat would be on all the time. Still, if the thermostat is plugged into the timer, than it will be inactive during the off period. In other words, it won't kick back on regardless of the night time temperature. That shouldn't be a problem in most households, unless you live in a refrigerator. I mean, your snake room shouldn't be dropping below 60 anyway which is fine for night time. Even if the room dropped into the upper 50's at night, it won't hurt a healthy garter. With that in mind, plug the thermostat into the timer. That will allow the thermostat to cut off the heat during the day if it gets too high. That's all you really need if the room is 55-75 at night.

[EasternGirl]

The only problem with that is the fact that I am leaving the heat lamp and the heat mat on for Cee Cee at night because of her respiratory problems. Not actually a big deal with her tank..I have a florescent on a timer for her...so it turns the light on and off. I can just leave the red bulb and heat mat plugged into the thermostat. Again though...do you think I am keeping too much heat on for her at night? And for the albinos...does it actually matter if I have a timer? Should I just turn off the red lamp I use for heat at night to let them cool down? I guess it doesn't actually matter for them about the light/dark cycles. I don't have a thermostat for them right now...but if I am going to use a timer with them for the red lamp...I can just plug the thermostat into the timer when I get one.

[mark cope]

Oh boy, what did you start Mark? Too many variables!

For the most part, I tend to switch off all heat sources for 8-10 hours at night during their simulated (or real) summer. And by night, I mean, complete, or nearly complete darkness. (red reptile bulbs will be seen as darkness by the snakes) This is done assuming that the night time temperatures will drop to no lower than around 60 F (about 16 C ) And use a timer. Garters are very tuned into the rising / setting of the sun and time their activities accordingly. Sunrise / sunset should come about the same time every day unless you're trying to simulate a change of seasons, in which case, you adjust each day to be longer or shorter by just a few minutes each day, according to the change of season you're trying to simulate (fall or spring)

If you just want to keep garters happy and healthy and aren't concerned about breeding, give them 8-10 hours of uninterrupted darkness every night with a drop in air temperature at night and make their "sunrise" and "sunset" be the same time every night, to within a few minutes. You can keep the heat pad on for baby snakes, elderly snakes, gravid or sick snakes, etc. if you expect the air temperature to drop lower than 70 F (21 C). Those temps are just a general guideline. They don't have to be precise.

Bottom line is, turn off the lights at night, every night, same time every night. Bed time is bed time. You only need to leave the heat pad on if it's going to get cold (below 60 F) or for other reasons which I've already mentioned.

Too many people ignore this and keep their garters uniformly warm 24/7 and also do not provide a wide enough temperature gradient during the day. This can cause immune issues. A garter snake can catch a nasty RI by being kept nice and toasty warm just as soon as it can by being kept too cold and/or damp. You can love your garter to death by keeping them warm all the time. You also will confuse their sense of seasons and interrupt their biorhythms by turning lights on and off at odd and unpredictable times.

Night is supposed to be cooler than than the day, and it is certainly dark from sunset to sunrise. Do that, and your garters will sleep well at night as they should. Even during the hottest part of a summer day, garters should be able to choose a range of body temperature nearly 30 degrees (F) wide and they should know when to expect sunset and sunrise. They have evolved to these cycles of day, night, winter, summer.

I don't even use thermostats for the snakes. Thermostats for your snake heating devices aren't necessary if the room temperature is relatively stable and comfortable for you. In other words, the only thermostat necessary is the one that controls the temperature in your house.

the thing is night time for joes garter is when he goes to bed .........and that varies depending on his behavior

[ConcinusMan]

Who's behavior? The snake's or Joe's? I mean, what, does Joe have to go to bed early when he misbehaves?

[mark cope]

Who's behavior? The snake's or Joe's? I mean, what, does Joe have to go to bed early when he misbehaves?

name it ......he's probably done it

[EasternGirl]

If I put my son to bed when he was acting up...the poor kid would never get out of bed!

[ConcinusMan]

Well, in case you haven't noticed, Joe has been around for quite some time but has a relatively low post count. Draw your own conclusions as to why that is, but it is hard to post when you've been sent to bed early for misbehaving. No more talk of heat mats. it's pick on Joe time.