# Turn off Heat Lamps at Night?



## Toffee (Dec 16, 2009)

Hey guys,

I was reading up a bit more and I was wondering if I need to turn off my heat lamps at night? I'm currently only turning off the UV tube at night.

I read this article that states:



> Snakes have a day-night temperature cycle in the wild. Some studies indicate that if a reptile is constantly held at optimum temperature for weeks, it suffers heat stress. Males also have the sperm killed. It is probably best for a snake to spend the night at a temperature 5 to 20 degrees F below its daytime activity temperature.


.

Heat stress? What if I turn them off and it gets too cold?

Thanks.


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## GeckoJosh (Dec 16, 2009)

no heat at night is fine as long as it does not drop dangerously low


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## Toffee (Dec 16, 2009)

dangerously low being...?

Im taking a guess here, under 18-20C is dangerous?


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## Brown_Hair (Dec 16, 2009)

lol chillax. Your herps will be fine without heat at night. Even in the dessert most nights are bellow 0. You will also save yourself some money on the elec bill!


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## Zena (Dec 16, 2009)

Your snake should also have a typical daylight and night cycle. So you snake should be in darkness at night, only applies if you are not using an infra red heat globe.

We dont use any heat at night, even in winter and live on the NSW Central Coast. Temps get down to 14 degrees or lower in the house overnight in winter but the snakes warm up during the day under heat lights.


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## Toffee (Dec 16, 2009)

Yeah I am using infra red heat globes.

I turned off the heat lamps last night and checked the temps this morning just before the lamps came back on and it was mid 20s, about 25C lol so he will be fine.

Thanks guys.


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## dtulip10 (Dec 16, 2009)

at the moment i am not even running heat in the day for my carpets it all depends on ambient temp and species requirments


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## thebraddles (Dec 16, 2009)

i have never had the heat on 24/7. comes on at 8 and goes off at 6pm. even in winter, they dont need heat smashed into them 24 hrs a day.


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## webcol (Dec 16, 2009)

I run the heat from five in the morning till noon- usually by that time of the day its hot enough in the room anyway


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## PhilK (Dec 16, 2009)

I always turn my heat lamps off at night. My herps are in my room and if I didn't I'd be sleeping in bright light!


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## Chris1 (Dec 16, 2009)

apart from the diamond mine all have heat 24/7,...(not that they bask continuously, but i like to give them the option)

so with the people who turn theirs off at night, do u give them a bit more heat after a feed or jsut stick with the normal routine,..?


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## JasonL (Dec 16, 2009)

None of my herps are heated at night, and I have a large variety of different reptiles. My room drops to about 14 in winter and 18 - 20 during summer.


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## Londos1990 (Dec 16, 2009)

Lol, even im learning something here


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## Slytherin (Dec 16, 2009)

I don't turn mine off. I have a ceramic on a thermostat in a largish enclosure so I let Snakey choose. She appears to be quite happy.


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## tomcat88 (Dec 16, 2009)

mine are getting NO heat atm, just a medium sized tub of ice in their cool end to keep a heat gradient


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## Brown_Hair (Dec 16, 2009)

Chris1 said:


> apart from the diamond mine all have heat 24/7,...(not that they bask continuously, but i like to give them the option)
> 
> so with the people who turn theirs off at night, do u give them a bit more heat after a feed or jsut stick with the normal routine,..?


 I think you know the answer to that question already smartalic.


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## Cabotinage (Dec 16, 2009)

i have the lght turned off now but the enclosure sits at about 27-29 degrees during the day and probably get to about 19 at night while im sleeping would it be better to turn the heat back on? or jsut after a feed (this is for a water python)


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## Chris1 (Dec 16, 2009)

Brown_Hair said:


> I think you know the answer to that question already smartalic.



how was that being a smartalic?

i feel bad putting my diamond back in a cold cage after feeding her, she goes to where she sometimes finds heat and waits.
i was wondering what other people do,..i cant see how that was so offensive to you.


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## dtulip10 (Dec 16, 2009)

tomcat88 said:


> mine are getting NO heat atm, just a medium sized tub of ice in their cool end to keep a heat gradient



getting nice and toasty in the hunter ATM i have not resorted to cooling yet but not far from it


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## reptile_mad (Dec 16, 2009)

Usually during summer I provide UV 12hrs no heat at all for any of my animals. During winter usually UV and heat for 10hrs then nothing at night except for younger animals experiencing their first winter.


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## Rainbow-Serpent (Dec 16, 2009)

I personally don't bother turning my heat lamp off, it's a long enclosure and I've set up all sorts of spots so he can relax whether it be on either end. 
Such as a log to bask on under the light, vines to hang off throughout the entire setup, and a pool on the cool end


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## MUD_666 (Dec 16, 2009)

ok so what are dangerouse temps to get to for a jungle python i run a thermostat so the heat turns off at 30 but how low can it get over night before it starts being bad for the snake just so i know wheather i should turn the lamps off at night or leave them on


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## JasonL (Dec 17, 2009)

Over heating (ie for too many hours a day) possibly may effect the metobolism of the animal and could cause issues with gravid females developing eggs that effect the hatch rate. ALWAYS do you absolute best to study the temperature your animals would receive if they were wild and try your best to replicate them, they live in certain enviroments for a reason and on most cases, heating is a big one of those reasons.


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## thebraddles (Dec 17, 2009)

Chris1 said:


> how was that being a smartalic?
> 
> i feel bad putting my diamond back in a cold cage after feeding her, she goes to where she sometimes finds heat and waits.
> i was wondering what other people do,..i cant see how that was so offensive to you.




chris, i normally feed my snakes mid morning, so i dont need to worry about giving them extra time for the heat. but if i did feed them late in the day i would leave the heat on a couple more hours.


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## MUD_666 (Dec 17, 2009)

but how cold can they get before it starts to be a problem i just want to know so i can turn off the lights tonight and check that it dont get below that tomorrow morning before i put the snake in on saturday


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## dtulip10 (Dec 17, 2009)

my personal option is around 12 degrees. but i may be wrong.


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## MUD_666 (Dec 17, 2009)

cheers mate i will do another test run tonight to make sure it dont get colr than that to make sure the thank is perfect for my new little mate on saturday


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## MUD_666 (Dec 17, 2009)

just want it to be perfect for him


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## redbellybite (Dec 17, 2009)

I think some people fuss way to much ...imagine you being stuck in a warm area even in winter it can get stuffy ..why would you put them through that ..they do seek COOL areas very COOL areas especially in summer months ..


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## PhilK (Dec 17, 2009)

I have worked for a reptile company and went to a party very far away in the middle of winter. We arrived at about 7am and it was about 8 degrees... the transport boxes for the reptiles had no heat. 

None of them died but they were very, very sluggish but we held them down our shirts for a bit and they warmed back up and were fine. I don't think they can get "too cold" overnight because they're always only a few hours away from a hot light coming back on. My room gets cold in winter but none of my animals get heated.. in the morning they just drag themselves out under the light and away they go. They're a lot tougher than people give them credit for.


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## MUD_666 (Dec 17, 2009)

thanks a lot guys cheers for the info


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## dtulip10 (Dec 17, 2009)

PhilK said:


> They're a lot tougher than people give them credit for.



yeah totaly agree.

if a snake is healthy and in good nick i think ppl would be surprized what they could with stand.

i only 12 degrees because jungles in there natural environment would not go much below this.

we have coastals and diamonds around our area and it gets as low as 0 in winter and they are still around year after year. and tigers around our farm in oberon in it gets well into the negatives and still year after year they are around.


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## JasonL (Dec 17, 2009)

Here's a thread I put up a while back that may interest some of you...

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-snakes-37/diamond-food-size-117104\

it got down to 7 degrees on that particular night and stayed that way for quite a few night after...


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## JAS101 (Dec 17, 2009)

thebraddles said:


> chris, i normally feed my snakes mid morning, so i dont need to worry about giving them extra time for the heat. but if i did feed them late in the day i would leave the heat on a couple more hours.


 so if i feed my snakes at 4.30 - 5pm [ as i work from 7am - 4 pm] and the heat go`s off at 8pm then that would be ok? i used to have my heat emitters on 24/7 but tonight i have my timers to go off at 8pm and come on at 5am ...


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## garycahill (Dec 17, 2009)

All snakes should have an insulated hide. 
This will help them to maintain their body heat, similar to wild conditions


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## Toffee (Dec 17, 2009)

Some awesome information here. Thanks guys! Keep the opinions coming.

So far I reckon I'm definitely going to turn off my heat lights at night.


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## Chris1 (Dec 18, 2009)

thebraddles said:


> chris, i normally feed my snakes mid morning, so i dont need to worry about giving them extra time for the heat. but if i did feed them late in the day i would leave the heat on a couple more hours.



thanks Thebraddles! 
thats a great idea, ill feed her sat mornings and leave her in her sunning cage for her a few hours,..!!
(obviously not in the direct sun,...)

wow that snake has a huge lump Jason, i guess i worry about heating more than i should.


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## beatlloydy (Dec 18, 2009)

With electricity bills set to soar from next year...some say up to $700 a year or more...then reducing your heating bills by halving the time on is a good option for both you and the snake.

I have also come up with a method to help my snake thermoregulate. I have a larger hide that is about twice the size of the snake and a smaller one that is so tight that if I lift it up the snake almost comes up with the hide.

The snake invariably chooses the tighter hide...but the bigger one is there which is a little cooler if it needs it. It uses both and I leave it up to her.

I just dont handle my snakes until they come up to normal temps as I find they can be a little grumpy when cold.


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