Light as heat source

[GarterGuy]

Burrowing is fine....they really like to do that. It's just staying burrowed that could be a sign of over heating. They go underground to get away from the heat.

[RedSided]

Thats ok then , no shes not doing that , although she was intimidated by the light when I first tested it yesterday, She did a very long drawn out tongue flicker almost slow motion. I think that means snakes are angry or intimdated, read it somewhere.

[adamanteus]

She did a very long drawn out tongue flicker almost slow motion. I think that means snakes are angry or intimdated.

That can be true, sometimes, but it can also indicate that they're just trying to pick up an elusive scent.....such as light!!!!

[RedSided]

haha yeh , such inqusitive creatures.You gotta love em though.Ive changed her water 3 times today because she soiled it, talk about cheeky.

[Cazador]

That slow tongue flicker is very often done when snakes are too cold. I don't know if that might apply in this situation... only a thermometer would tell for sure.

Rick

[adamanteus]

Good point Rick....Do we all have a thermometer in every viv? I think we should!

[RedSided]

Of course, and its certainly not too cold.

[crayguns]

What I used in my boa constrictor's cage was a porch lamp. It had a glass globe. Desmond could feel heat. If it was too hot for him, he didn't climb upon it. I kept a 60 watt bulb in it. I painted it with motorcycle black expansion chamber paint on the inside of the globe (for night). For summers, I had it off. I also mounted an old kitchen incandesant ceiling fixture on the underside of the cage's floor.This worked quite well. I had bought a hot rock. It looked like brick with a electrical cord coming out. I kept a thermometer in the cage.

[Stefan-A]

Good point Rick....Do we all have a thermometer in every viv? I think we should!

I agree, but I don't have a thermometer in every viv. I have a perfectly reasonable excuse for this: I monitor the temperature for a while before removing the thermometer. I just make sure that the basking spot is warm enough and the cool end of the terrarium is cool enough. I don't really need to monitor the temperatures except for the hottest weeks of the summer, when I'm forced to shut off the heat. One of the benefits(?) of living this far north, the conditions are fairly stable.

[Thamnophis]

I don't have thermometers in my terrariums.
I have one in the room where they stand.
I know the temperature in the terrariums is ok and as long as I do not change anything it stays allright.