Aqueon Reptile - Recent Questions, Troubleshooting & Support

I know this question is really old...did you find a solution??

I keep and raise many corn snakes and have had numerous successful hatchings...they are a lot of fun. Age and size will determine the enclosure they will need to start with. A 20 gallon long will do fine for a few years...make sure you get the type with the sliding locking lid to prevent escapes.I use under tank heat pads for my snakes typically abbreviated UTH (under tank heat). I UTh on the side I choose to be warm and nothing in the other side ...so in effect you have a hot side and a cool side. The hot side will be maintained at 82-85F and the cool side is room temp. usually no lower than 71-73F in my house except on the coldest of winter nights. but thats OK because the snake will migrate to the warm side as it desires.Now we need to address the substrate. After many years I have settled on ASPEN bedding ....inexpensive. clean and free of harmful odors and caustic oils. Cedar and Pine and Redwood have toxic chemicals that over a long term exposure can cause problems like caustic burns and respiratory issues. Please use ASPEN. Snakes love to burrow through the aspen bedding. Or on the cheaper side newspaper is common and easily replaced when soiled. Aspen bedding can be spot cleaned for a month or 2 and then replaced depending on the amount of feces and size.A water bowl is required and a place to hide out...A small box for free from the USPS the PRIORITY small box is perfect and free if you need to replace it. cut a few openings on the side and the top so the snake can get in and out.Feeding of rodents / mammals is required. The snake is a carnivore. You must learn to feed frozen thawed rodents available at the pet stores or raise your own. Depending on the size of the snake you will need to feed it something as big as the largest part of the snake. Usually a corn snake at 2 years of age can eat adult mice ...or young adult mice. Another term often used is a HOPPER mouse which is a younger / smaller mouse fed to 1 year old snakes. Newborn snakes require pinkie mice / newborn mice and will quickly graduate to fuzzie mice in 6 months time.The reason I say frozen thawed rodents is for the safety of the snake. It is possible for the adult mice to bite the snake and do damage to the snake, if you choose to feed live rodents. I realize after many years and seeing the results of my snake being bitten by a rodent ...it happens and I prefer to feed frozen thawed. The damage was minor but if the mouse had bitten the snake any closer to the eye cap it might have been serious and irreparable.As your snake grows and sheds it can live for many years. Shedding skin is another area that requires a bit of common sense...offer the snake more moisture when the eyes get cloudy and dull. After a week the snake will turn clear again and then shortly after it will shed its skin. During this time misting of the enclosure and a moist damp towel / washcloth will keep the humidity up to facilitate shedding.Any more questions I will be happy to help with if I can.

I highly recommend the use of an under tank heating mat; however you can also use ceramic emitters, light bulbs and spotlights. I prefer the under tank variety simply because they last longer and are more moderate in their heating process.

If you are using an under tank heating mat, you should cover only half the tanks surface and set the temperature to 28-30C. This way the other half of the tank can be at room temperature (20-25C) allowing your King Snake to shift between gradients according to its needs.

The temperature of a Milksnakes habitat should range from the mid 70's at one end of the tank to 85-87F at the other end. The best way to maintain this type of temperature incline is through the use of an under tank heating pad.

Ball pythons require a daytime temperature ranging from 80-85F and a basking spot of 90F. These temperatures can be slightly decreased at night to around 74F. I would recommend buying an under tank heating pad as well as an incandescent bulb for the basking area. You will need to use a minimum of two thermostats to help monitor the tanks temperature.

Ball pythons are a nocturnal species, and therefore have no special lighting requirements. What this means though, is since they are nocturnal, you must make sure to turn off incandescent bulbs overnight - perhaps replace them with red/blue bulbs.

Fire belly toads should not be exposed to too much UVB light. The best way to control this is to use a fluorescent reptile lamp specifically designed for frog habitats that emit 3-6% UVB light. This bulb will need to be replaced every 6 months.

The biggest problem people have when it comes to safely heating a habitat of a fire salamander is overheating. It is best to keep their habitat between 60-65F.

A corn snake's habitat should have a thermal gradient, with the cooler spots ranging from 75-85F and the warmer areas around 90F. I would also recommend slightly lowering the temperatures overnight and turning off the basking lamp.

Garter snakes, like most snakes, need a thermal gradient in their tanks. What this means is that they will need some areas to be cooler than others. Try to keep a gradient between 70-72F on one side and 80-82F on the other. This way your garter snake can self-regulate its body temperatures as needed.

There are two good heat sources that can be used for box turtles:

• Overhead incandescent heat lights

• Under tank heating pads

Or, you could use a combination of the two to provide your box turtle with great day/night heat areas.

As far as my research can tell, the Zoo Med Power Sun seems to be the best product. The only negative feature I can see is that these lights emit some heat, so if you want to use this specific lighting, you may need to invest in a ceramic heat emitter.

If you would rather not deal with all the extra purchasing and fussing about, I would then recommend you look into Reptisun tube lighting; however with this particular model, you will need to install basking lights in the tank.

Here are some links to these products mentioned above -

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=74

http://zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=105&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=5

Leopard geckos, like most reptiles and amphibians, do not produce their own body heat internally. An external heat source will help them with digestion. This type of lizard obtains heat from their undersides, so the best heat source would be an under tank one. You should look for a heating mat that will cover between 1/3-1/2 of the tanks surface. Try to keep the tank temperature between 84-88F.

To heat an iguana tank I recommend a good quality halogen lamp for daytime use, an infrared heat lamp for nighttime and a basking lamp for heated spots.

http://www.petco.com/product/12323/Zoo-Med-Repti-Halogen-Bulbs.aspx

http://zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=122&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=5&SearchContext=YTo1OntzOjg6IlNlYXJjaElEIjtzOjE6IjUiO3M6MTA6IkRhdGFiYXNlSUQiO3M6MToiMiI7czo4OiJLZXl3b3JkcyI7czo1OiJycy03NSI7czo4OiJTZWFyY2hfeCI7czoxOiIwIjtzOjg6IlNlYXJjaF95IjtzOjE6IjAiO30=

http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=129&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=1

I recommend using either a low wattage bulb or a fluorescent tube. Any bulbs exerting over 15 watts must be covered to prevent burning your snake. Ensure that the lighting is turned off at night - you may want to invest in a timer for this.

There are several brands and styles of under tank heaters to choose from - here are a few options to get you started.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002AQCKA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0002AQCKA&linkCode=as2&tag=reptilesuppliessquidoo-20

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002AR2YK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0002AR2YK&linkCode=as2&tag=reptilesuppliessquidoo-20

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00164PW7U/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00164PW7U&linkCode=as2&tag=reptilesuppliessquidoo-20

This depends on the type of lizard - most lizards that are not nocturnal require full spectrum lighting for 10-12 hours each day in order to absorb the proper amount of calcium and vitamin D.

A bearded dragon's natural habitat is the Australian Outback - keeping this in mind, your habitat should closely reflect that of its natural one. The temperature should be set between 80-84F, with basking areas ranging from 95-100F. I recommend using either an incandescent light bulb or an under tank heating pad.

As for the positives, halogen bulbs last a long time, are very energy efficient and produce a lot of visible light. On the downside, this type of bulb does not emit UVB light. The link below will lead you to a good quality halogen bulb, where you can find more information.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=18316