# Thermal gradient issues



## Oliver100000 (5 mo ago)

Hi guys, I’ve had my corn snake for a week now, he’s been pretty happy in his enclosure, it’s 5x2x2 (feet) but I’m having Issues with the temp, his basking spot is 30.5 degrees celcius consistently. Which is fine, but his cool side is 27-28 celcius at its coolest point, I’m using a 50 watt heater lamp, to the far left of the enclosure and a 30 cm Arcadia shadeweller uvb tube lamp, I know his cool side is hotter than it should be and I’ve tried drilling holes in the top and sides of the enclosure (it’s a wood enclosure) to help with ventilation but it’s not helped, my only option now is to cut out a huge section of the cool side and replace it with a mesh cover but there’s gotta be something better I can do, I’m worried it’s a bit toasty in there and him not being able to get away with it, I need solutions and I need them quickly, thanks in advance


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## jeremy68 (Dec 2, 2013)

Has your area of the UK experienced a heat wave over the past week ? If so then I suggest that this is a temporary problem due to extreme weather conditions raising the room temperature outside the viv. If room temp is say 24C plus then providing a hot spot of 30.5 will easily raise the cool end to 27C. I personally would reduce the basking spot to 28C and see if the gradient improves. Once the weather changes you can go back to a normal regime. Your corn snake will fine with moderately cooler conditions for a few days. Is he showing signs of distress, i.e. hyperactivity or constantly sitting in the water bowl ?


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

Oliver100000 said:


> but his cool side is 27-28 celcius at its coolest point,


Thats because the ambient room temperature is going to be 26-28c due to the hot weather we're having. Unless you have the luxury to have ac and the funds to run it then there is little more you can do. One solution is to place a large 12" dog bowel in the enclosure and fill it with cold water on a daily basis - if the snake is too warm it will bathe in the water to cool


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## MHopkins (Jun 22, 2021)

As Malc says, give him a big bowl to cool off in, I´ve been worrying myself with our royal. Had to give myself a reality check, things are rarely perfect in the wild, and if he´s behaving normally then I should make the most of the savings in heating bills..... I did give him a bigger cool hide (taller) and wrapped an ice block in a damp tea towel, then wedged it between a branch and the top of the hide, put a thermometer in and it held a steady 73f, at the time the cool end was hovering around 86f. The heats eased off now, but when the daytime temps go over 30c again I´ll do it again.
I also gave him back his heat mat and turned off the che, He was doing his daily laps of heat, cool and roof hides so I´m happy he´s happy.


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## Oliver100000 (5 mo ago)

jeremy68 said:


> Has your area of the UK experienced a heat wave over the past week ? If so then I suggest that this is a temporary problem due to extreme weather conditions raising the room temperature outside the viv. If room temp is say 24C plus then providing a hot spot of 30.5 will easily raise the cool end to 27C. I personally would reduce the basking spot to 28C and see if the gradient improves. Once the weather changes you can go back to a normal regime. Your corn snake will fine with moderately cooler conditions for a few days. Is he showing signs of distress, i.e. hyperactivity or constantly sitting in the water bowl ?


Honestly no he’s just been the same since I got him, nothing abnormal but I know snakes aren’t exactly outgoing


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## Oliver100000 (5 mo ago)

MHopkins said:


> As Malc says, give him a big bowl to cool off in, I´ve been worrying myself with our royal. Had to give myself a reality check, things are rarely perfect in the wild, and if he´s behaving normally then I should make the most of the savings in heating bills..... I did give him a bigger cool hide (taller) and wrapped an ice block in a damp tea towel, then wedged it between a branch and the top of the hide, put a thermometer in and it held a steady 73f, at the time the cool end was hovering around 86f. The heats eased off now, but when the daytime temps go over 30c again I´ll do it again.
> I also gave him back his heat mat and turned off the che, He was doing his daily laps of heat, cool and roof hides so I´m happy he´s happy.


Good to know I’m not the only person struggling with this, perhaps I’m overreacting but I’m doing my best to keep it optimal


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

Oliver100000 said:


> Good to know I’m not the only person struggling with this, perhaps I’m overreacting but I’m doing my best to keep it optimal


I've just replied to a similar thread here where the OP was concerned that the snake wasn't as active as it was the night before....rather then duplicate the post here, click the link


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## Elly66 (Feb 27, 2021)

During the hottest days, I actually turned heat source off in my corn viv. I only use a mercury uva/uvb bulb for corns, they provide enough heat and are turned off at night. Large, ceramic dog bowls are great as help with temperature and also give the Corns a place to bathe. 

Our current corn curled up in his water bowl for hours on the hottest days and that was with the heat source off. Generally he's very active and inquisitive.

Corns are hardy snakes and unless the temperatures in the viv are extreme (either really cold or hot), I wouldn't worry to much.


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