# Bit of advice please on vivariums and heating



## ShaunIOW (Aug 25, 2010)

Two of my snakes have outgrown their vivarium's so its time for an upgrade but I'm not sure what to get and how best to heat them.

At present I have a Russian Rat Snake in a 30" x 15" x 8" Terranium with a heatmat on a stat and a Mexican Black King Snake in a 24" x 18" x 18" Vivexotic viv also with a heatmat on a stat (they both started in RUB's but are greedy buggers and have grown fast). Both snakes are about 3 to 3.5ft long atm.

First off, what size vivariums would be best to get for them? cost is an issue (fingers crossed for the Terapod comp), but I've narrowed it down to a few choices:

I've been considering these:

(Length x Depth x Height in inches)

*3Ft (approx)*

Vivexotic Viva Medium (34" x 19" x 17") 
Vivexotic Repti-Home Medium (34" x 15" x 17") 
Vivexotic Repti-Home Medium Tall (34" x 15" x 22") 
Terapod 3 Foot (36" x 16" x 15")

*4ft (approx)*

Vivexotic Viva Large (45" x 19" x 17") 
Vivexotic Viva Extra Large (45" x 24" x 17") 
Vivexotic Repti-Home Large (45" x 15" x 17") 
Vivexotic Repti-Home Large Tall (45" x 15" x 22")
Terapod 4 Foot (48" x 16" x 15")

I like the look of the Terapod's due to price and available in black, but I'm not sure if they'll be high/deep enough for the snakes as they're quite active, although the extra length might make up for that, or would it be better to get shorter but taller/wider? I was thinking one of the 3ft's for the MBK as he won't grow much more and a 4ft for the Russian.

Next heating, I want to avoid heatmats as both snakes like tunnelling so I want a decent depth of aspen for them and don't want a heatmat overheating, so what would be the best way of heating them? My thoughts were a blue heat lamp (in a cage) that'll give a bit of night time illumination connected to a Habistat day/night stat set to day and night temps, but would this cause any problems? like the snakes not having heat in their hides (currently they have a hide on the heatmats), or not having a spotlight showing where the hotspot is? Also would the height of the viv make a difference to the type of heat lamp? and what wattage should I use? Would it be best having the heat above their hide so keeping the other end cooler for their water (there'll be plenty of branches/foliage to hid in)?

Cheers, sorry about all the basic questions, but when I kept snakes in the 70's things like heat gradiants, day/night temps, night cycles, cages etc were a mystery and a bare 100w normal bulb at each end of the viv on a stat did the job. but thinking about that now (and looking at old pics) leaves me cold and I want to do things right.


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## reptiles-ink (Nov 4, 2006)

For the heating part if you want to avoid heat mats then go for ceramic heat bulbs.
They are great for heating and as they don't emit light can be used night and day without disturbing the snakes.
If you want light during the day or for night time viewing use LEDs as they won't affect the heating.


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## Terapod (Aug 1, 2013)

ShaunIOW said:


> I like the look of the Terapod's due to price and available in black, but I'm not sure if they'll be high/deep enough for the snakes


Thanks for your interest in our vivariums! We're actually launching a new deeper taller vivarium range in the next few weeks to come  

Good look choosing your vivarium!


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## ShaunIOW (Aug 25, 2010)

Terapod said:


> Thanks for your interest in our vivariums! We're actually launching a new deeper taller vivarium range in the next few weeks to come
> 
> Good look choosing your vivarium!


That sounds ideal as it'll be a few weeks before I have the funds, so I'll look out for them.


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## plasma234 (Feb 27, 2013)

Have you looked at reptile radiators for heating?


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## ShaunIOW (Aug 25, 2010)

plasma234 said:


> Have you looked at reptile radiators for heating?


I did look at them, but they're not cheap and I think I'd rather have a localised heat spot so there's a cool area especially for the Russian Rat Snake as she only needs 24 degrees C tops. I like the idea of a ceramic heat lamp on a day/night stat with LED's for lighting - something like the new Habistat digital as it has day/night settings for heating and a timer for lighting.

The only thing I'm not sure of is what wattage heat lamp do I need for a 3 or 4 foot viv?


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## Lord Vetinari (Mar 4, 2011)

ShaunIOW said:


> I did look at them, but they're not cheap and I think I'd rather have a localised heat spot so there's a cool area especially for the Russian Rat Snake as she only needs 24 degrees C tops. I like the idea of a ceramic heat lamp on a day/night stat with LED's for lighting - something like the new Habistat digital as it has day/night settings for heating and a timer for lighting.
> 
> The only thing I'm not sure of is what wattage heat lamp do I need for a 3 or 4 foot viv?


Depends largely on the temperature of the room they are in. 

I would say 150w for a 4x2 and a 60w or a 100w for the 3 footer.


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## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

Habistat reptile rads all the way! its all I'm going to say: victory:, If you want the perfect and very energy efficient source of heat.

John,


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