# Heat In summer?



## Bl69aze (Jan 8, 2018)

quick discussion, sure it’s been asked before but maybe people want an update convo.

I’m finding it hard to turn my heat lamp on at all without temps spiking to unbearable temps, even with thermostat.

Question is:

Do YOU keep heat items off during summer?
Why? Why not? Blah blah?


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## Imported_tuatara (Jan 8, 2018)

i mean most animals here wouldn't do well without heat in most summer days, then again this summer has been very hot so far, but i know more inland and in qld, etc many people don't have any heating on because it's so hot there.


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## Kirk1701 (Jan 8, 2018)

I’m just about to get my first snake and maintaining a temperature gradient (making sure the cool end is actually cool) is by far my biggest worry out here in Wagga. I’ll have heating hooked up with a thermostat but I wouldn’t imagine that it will run for very long during this time of year. As for cooling looks like my air conditioner will be getting a workout.


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## dragonlover1 (Jan 8, 2018)

I don't use thermo's except for the incubator,all my enclosures are on timers;So I check the forecast for the day and set siesta's to suit.Central beardies can take up to about 45C,Pygmy beardies can take up to about 42C,Antaresia's can take about up to about 32C etc.So I make adjustments in the morning, sometimes there is NO heat in the arvo,sometimes if it going to be a stinker they get no heat or even UV that day.Sunday was so hot (44C) that even my frillies were hiding in the shade so basically everything in the house was turned off.


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## vampstorso (Jan 8, 2018)

Diamond pythons were my favourite and hence I'd turn the heat off completely.

For the red belly id switch to a lower wattage heat cord in summer and leave it on unless in the 40s as the enclosure was big enough for a good gradient.


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## Kirk1701 (Jan 9, 2018)

dragonlover1 said:


> I don't use thermo's except for the incubator,all my enclosures are on timers;So I check the forecast for the day and set siesta's to suit.Central beardies can take up to about 45C,Pygmy beardies can take up to about 42C,Antaresia's can take about up to about 32C etc.So I make adjustments in the morning, sometimes there is NO heat in the arvo,sometimes if it going to be a stinker they get no heat or even UV that day.Sunday was so hot (44C) that even my frillies were hiding in the shade so basically everything in the house was turned off.


How do you control the cool side on days that its in the 40's? Without air-conditioning the room where I will keep my snakes (spotted python) was 37C the other day.


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## Bl69aze (Jan 9, 2018)

Kirk1701 said:


> How do you control the cool side on days that its in the 40's? Without air-conditioning the room where I will keep my snakes (spotted python) was 37C the other day.


I have to sit a pedestal fan in front of them and close all windows blinds etc


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## Stompsy (Jan 9, 2018)

My house gets stifling in summer if I don’t have the aircon going constantly. Even in 25 degree weather it hits 29 and is awfully stuffy. I just change the timers to suit the weather.


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## Bl69aze (Jan 9, 2018)

Stompsy said:


> My house gets stifling in summer if I don’t have the aircon going constantly. Even in 25 degree weather it hits 29 and is awfully stuffy. I just change the timers to suit the weather.


Would there be days where you wouldn’t have heat on at all if it’s goig to be 25 in the morning?


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## Stompsy (Jan 9, 2018)

Bl69aze said:


> Would there be days where you wouldn’t have heat on at all if it’s goig to be 25 in the morning?


Yup. Most definitely. But that also depends if I’m going to be home with the aircon going. If it’s going to be mid to high 30’s or above and I’m going to be home, they may get morning lights and then everything’s off. 

If I’m out and there’s no aircon on, then they get no lights at all.


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## Prof_Moreliarty (Jan 9, 2018)

I have habitstat thermos and timers I find the timers easier tbh. if I’m not using aircon I’ll check forecast and set timers accordingly. Which may be set to off all day depending on temps.


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## Bl69aze (Jan 9, 2018)

Prof_Moreliarty said:


> I have habitstat thermos and timers I find the timers easier tbh. if I’m not using aircon I’ll check forecast and set timers accordingly. Which may be set to off all day depending on temps.


Do you still have a heat gradient?


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## Ashleyyedwards7 (Jan 9, 2018)

I've been wondering about this, how do you keep a cool end of around 25C when the day's temperature is so much higher? I do not have aircon to deal with this, only a fan. I have moved from Gatton now where temps were in 40s and I could not maintain a cool end at all, so this is my first Summer with my carpet on the Sunny coast where it will be a lot cooler. 

One thing I have found to help is the tile and large rock in her enclosure which tend to stay cool- she spends a lot of time coiled up on these.


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## dragonlover1 (Jan 9, 2018)

you can't actually have a cool end on stinking hot days,only provide a water bowl to help and as 
*Ashleyyedwards* says the rock stays cool because it didn't get hot
[doublepost=1515493872,1515485761][/doublepost]


Kirk1701 said:


> How do you control the cool side on days that its in the 40's? Without air-conditioning the room where I will keep my snakes (spotted python) was 37C the other day.


I actually bought a portable AC just for my reptiles,I can handle the heat,but I don't use it most days.


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## Prof_Moreliarty (Jan 9, 2018)

Bl69aze said:


> Do you still have a heat gradient?



as dragonlover said not much you can do if not using aircon and temps arent critical, my temps would get to 32/33 during the day but then cool to 25/26 at night.


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## Scutellatus (Jan 9, 2018)

Bl69aze said:


> Do you still have a heat gradient?


A heat gradient can also be created by placing a pile of dense material like dry sugar cane mulch in the cool end possibly over a hide. Giving the pile a spray with water would create a cool refuge.


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## Harry89 (Jan 10, 2018)

I seem to live in a weird temp pocket south of Brisbane behind the mountains from the ocean, so winter is bitter cold and summer is hell. Most Aussie reptiles you would think would be used to temperature variations along these lines as it's pretty standard for our climate as a whole, another reason for us to keep natives and not exotics really as they are just better suited. Without aircon and not being home during the day, I just keep the window open and rely on the thermostats to do their thing (I play it safe with low wattage heat mats and cords only in summer, just in case). Luckily for my guys, they are in a room where the window faces north, so no direct sun at any stage and no storms rolling in mid day to drown them, so the window is always open for them. The summer days bring the ambient air of enclosures to low 30's, there isn't much that can be done for that, but even in the wild they face this issue. So to keep their options open for cooling down, I keep clay burrows in the gecko enclosures along with water bowls and have pot plants (ceramic outer case) and water in with my Roughie. Long story short, they use these more when it's hot and retreat to their other hides when it's cooler, Maurice (Roughie) has flattened my poor plants a few times, lying on them to adsorb the cool from the damp soil and pot underneath and is his usual alert self when I come in to check on everyone.

I could be wrong, but I just feel that maybe we stress a little too much (sometimes) with the gradients needing to be PERFECT for reptiles all the time, realistically mother nature is a biatch and can't make her own mind up anyway for the poor souls who actually live outside in this country. It's not like there are air conditioning points in the bush for animals to congregate at like there are waterways. I know that in captivity there are less options for travel to find a place cool or warm enough for them, with enclosure sizes being limited and I am aware that 40 plus degree days are well and truly an exception, but perhaps this is a husbandry thing, referencing another active thread at the moment on here discussing more natural setups. It is where they come from after all, so there might be some benefit in taking elements of their natural locations and adding them to our domestic care of reptiles, like the rock and dampened substrate ideas mentioned above.

I'm just saying that *for my animals and setups in particular*, I work around the temps with habitat management and without aircon, and my little guys all seem to be surviving as though nothing much has changed. They still show natural diurnal patterns for me and get the all clear when we have routine vet checkups (helicopter parent).

However, *I could be wrong*, so keyboard warriors please calm down a little before you flex those muscular fingers, this is only *one* view on this thread. Thank you in advance for your consideration.


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## Pauls_Pythons (Jan 10, 2018)

I agree with Harry.
Some of mine are in rooms with no aircon, objective in these rooms is to keep air temp from heating up so blinds closed at all times. A fan or 2 if it gets too warm and thats about it.

Most enclosures are fitted with thermostats and timers and I let these do their job, I guess if I were worried about them failing I might be tempted to turn the heat off on hot days but we tend to keep heat sources with limited outputs so even if the thermostat failed we would be highly unlucky if we did any harm to our animals.

So long as heat sources are only in a localised area of the enclosure and the animal can get away from that heat if it so chooses I dont see much need to turn it off. 

@Bl69aze I'm not sure why your temps are spiking if you have a thermostat on unless the probe is not in the right spot, (a common error) or if your thermostat isn't reacting quickly enough. We only run with microclimate or habistat and have no problems during hot periods. Its common for my thermostats to turn the heat off completely for most of the day during summer.


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## Lazreilly (Jan 10, 2018)

Pauls_Pythons said:


> I agree with Harry.
> Some of mine are in rooms with no aircon, objective in these rooms is to keep air temp from heating up so blinds closed at all times. A fan or 2 if it gets too warm and thats about it.
> 
> Most enclosures are fitted with thermostats and timers and I let these do their job, I guess if I were worried about them failing I might be tempted to turn the heat off on hot days but we tend to keep heat sources with limited outputs so even if the thermostat failed we would be highly unlucky if we did any harm to our animals.
> ...



Exactly ... The point of having a thermostat isnt it . Helps if the probe is under the heat lamp and touching the actuall basking site/rock/branch etc .
I also agree with harry


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## Bl69aze (Jan 10, 2018)

Pauls_Pythons said:


> I agree with Harry.
> Some of mine are in rooms with no aircon, objective in these rooms is to keep air temp from heating up so blinds closed at all times. A fan or 2 if it gets too warm and thats about it.
> 
> Most enclosures are fitted with thermostats and timers and I let these do their job, I guess if I were worried about them failing I might be tempted to turn the heat off on hot days but we tend to keep heat sources with limited outputs so even if the thermostat failed we would be highly unlucky if we did any harm to our animals.
> ...


I’m not sure either but on hot days the temp will turn off at 35, but after it turns off it keeps going up to about 38-39~ then slowly crawls back down to about 30

So now I just turn heating off manually untill I find a good setup for hot summer days


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## Pauls_Pythons (Jan 10, 2018)

Bl69aze said:


> I’m not sure either but on hot days the temp will turn off at 35, but after it turns off it keeps going up to about 38-39~ then slowly crawls back down to about 30



I wouldn't worry too much.
You could always lower the thermostat a touch to 33-34 to give you the upper limit that you are happy with.
Just might mean a slightly longer time under the lamp for your animals to get enough heat on cooler days.


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## Scutellatus (Jan 10, 2018)

Bl69aze said:


> I’m not sure either but on hot days the temp will turn off at 35, but after it turns off it keeps going up to about 38-39~ then slowly crawls back down to about 30
> 
> So now I just turn heating off manually untill I find a good setup for hot summer days


Are you using ceramic heat emitters or light bulbs?
Light bulbs will cool down a lot quicker than ceramics.


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## Lazreilly (Jan 10, 2018)

I find using a dimming thermostat with bulbs and ceramics in my setups the basking spots pretty much stays at the exact temp i want them to (once they have reached desired temp) hardly any fluctuations. I think the key is using a dimming thermostat rather than on/off variety and correct wattage bulbs is important


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## Bl69aze (Jan 10, 2018)

Scutellatus said:


> Are you using ceramic heat emitters or light bulbs?
> Light bulbs will cool down a lot quicker than ceramics.


Che


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## Pauls_Pythons (Jan 10, 2018)

Lazreilly said:


> I think the key is using a dimming thermostat rather than on/off variety and correct wattage bulbs is important



On/Off thermostats are fine so long as you don't have a heat source that is overkill for the enclosure. (Another common fault).
If they are tripping the heat source on/off on a regular basis you won't get stable temps and you will be spending a fortune on globes.


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## Lazreilly (Jan 10, 2018)

Pauls_Pythons said:


> On/Off thermostats are fine so long as you don't have a heat source that is overkill for the enclosure. (Another common fault).
> If they are tripping the heat source on/off on a regular basis you won't get stable temps and you will be spending a fortune on globes.



Yep exactly .. i decided to upgrade to dimming thermos ... paid themselves off pretty quickly no blown globes or ceramics in ages ...


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## cement (Jan 13, 2018)

If the ambient temperature of your reptile room gets to 30 degrees plus, theres no need for any cage heat.
When you know the room will reach these temps just shut it all off, even the night before. In summer if the room gets to these temps 30+ it'll hold that heat for long enough hours for the snake to acheive whatever body temp it needs, just like it would on a basking site. All snakes need a temperature of around 24-28 degrees to kick in the immunity system and produce enzymes etc for digestion and bodily function, so in summer when night time enclosure lows are around the 24mark and day time highs approach 30+ they really don't need any mechanical extra heat at all.
I do very few call outs on to snakes on the 35+ degree days, its too hot for them, and they can acheive their temps very easily, by staying hidden away, however the lace monitors love these high temp days and are mobile.


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Jan 13, 2018)

40 degrees here today, no thermos just timers, all heat off at 9am and aircon on a timer to come on at 9am. Works a treat.


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