Need heat help ASAP!

[KerynB]

Hello
I have a beautiful young Bredli who has a lovely big enclosure heated by 2x 75watt ceramics but now winter is here I'm worried the heat isn't good enough. I have a thermometer which is in the bottom of the enclosure below the ceramics (about 50cm) and it's reading about 20degrees C then when I check the enclosure with my laser thermometer in various spots its 24-27cegrees C. I'm starting to think about getting a heat mat, heated rock or just change the ceramics to something warmer. He doesn't seem too worried, still eating etc but spends most of his time on his branch close to the heaters but not directly under them where it's warmest. My biggest worry is that when I had him out the other day I could hear an occasional wheeze when he was breathing!!!

 

[Jungles]

you should get a heat mat, always good to have 2 heat sources for your snake. How big is the enclosure and how big is your snake? not to sure about the breathing?????

 

[James_Scott]

A great option is a heat cord on the floor with either tiles or a large piece of slate on top. You should have the floor heated regardless at a temp of 26c in a tall enclosure. If you're only getting a temp of 27c at the top make the floor 30c.
Good luck.

 

[KerynB]

530 x 730 x 910 so reasonably large. Prior to winter heating hasn't been an issue but he never spends much time on the ground except in his hide which he's now avoiding altogether. Was thinking of getting a 'sun heat mat' but it's going to take a few days to arrive, bit worried about what to do in the meantime.

 

[Jungles]

530 x 730 x 910 so reasonably large. Prior to winter heating hasn't been an issue but he never spends much time on the ground except in his hide which he's now avoiding altogether. Was thinking of getting a 'sun heat mat' but it's going to take a few days to arrive, bit worried about what to do in the meantime.

How big is the snake?? maybe a smaller enclosure for the winter. mate a few days wont hurt

 

[annieconda]

KerynB are the ceramics actually working and can you feel heat coming from them? Do you use a thermostat to control the ceramic heaters?

I've had microclimate thermostats (B2ME) fail and there was no heat coming from the ceramic heater, leading me to assume the ceramic heater had blown. But when the heater was plugged directly to a power source (and not via the thermostat) they heated up very well.
Sometimes thermostats fail and prevent power going to the heat source, usually from a surge of electricity or a blackout etc. It pays to always use surge protectors to prevent this happening.

I would suggest putting the bredli in a suitable tub thats sitting about one third on a heat mat until you sort out the enclosure heating.

 

[Ozzie Python]

2 75w ceramics should be enough to heat almost any enclosure. Have you got a basking shelf under the heaters, or a climb that the snake can get up closer to the heat source?

 

[Lonewolf]

bredlis go better in the 28-30 deg temp range
and it is also winter its meant to be cold
and a weezing may suggest an respiratory infection (RI) but you should see a vet about it (maybe someone with more herp experiance could be more helpful)
and like ozzie 2x 75watt ceramics should be plenty

 

[mysnakesau]

We're all in your boat atm. The heat sources are pumping good basking spots but the air temperature is just too cool. Another suggestion I could make too, is to place a heatmat at his cool end - the smallest is all you need - but control it on a thermostat to bring the temps down to the preferred minimum for the cool end. That way it may help keep him moving around his tank and not glued to the warm end because the otherside is just too cold. Move a hide box closer to his warm end will also help.

Just a tip with hide boxes, cardboard boxes while cheap and easy maintenance do not hold warmth at all. Also, a hide box that is too big has the same effect. For your snake to move away from the heat, and hide, he would appreciate a more insulated box - timber, plastic, - and only just big enough for him. He keeps warm by coiling himself up in a tight ball. Maybe some different substrate in his hides might help, also - something like a piece of carpet under him, or sugarcane mulch or anything that might be warmer than newspaper straight down on the hard surface.

Don't overlook the possibility that he could develop respiratory infection. The occasional wheeze could just be retained skin in his nostrils but I am Mrs Drama Queen who always looks at worse case senarios. When picked up early, RI can reverse itself just by increasing the heat. Get his heat working so that it will give him the best possible chance to fight that infection. But don't wait too long before having him checked by a vet because in most cases by the time we notice symptoms, the snake is already quite ill and it may need antibiotics. Other signs to watch for with RI is sitting with his head raised and mouth open, spitty mouth and even blowing bubbles as he breathes. I have one sick atm with RI. Am still awaiting pathology results from a lung wash to confirm it but his heat is cranked and already started on antibiotics. The only reason he needed the lung wash is because he has no infection in his mouth or throat so the only other area to visit is directly from his respiratory tract. Good sign I caught it early, just hope its early enough to help him. In most cases RI can be picked up by the vet swabbing the mouth area and sending that to be tested.

Good luck. Don't panic but don't wait to fix things. I think annie's idea of moving him to a tub until you fix his enclosure is a great idea. So easy to keep him warmer.

 

[annieconda]

2 75w ceramics should be enough to heat almost any enclosure.

I agree with Ozzie. we run 1 x 150 watt ceramic per 3 foot x 2 foot x 2 foot enclosure thats controlled by microclimate B2ME thermostats and have no trouble keeping the day temps through winter.

Thats why I suggested in my post above (6) that the problem may be a faulty thermostat thats not allowing power to the ceramic heaters. This has happened to us ourselves and was noticed as we run thermometers to check the heaters are working properly. We replaced the thermostat with a new one we had lying around and the system was back running as it should be. So if your running the ceramics via a thermostat, it may pay to check the ceramics work without the thermostat so you can isolate the problem quickly. Of course the problem could be one or both of the ceramic heaters has blown, and that the thermostat is working ok.

 

[fidzy]

you should put your thermometer around 30 cm from the heat source and see what the temps are.

 

[fidzy]

i have a temp gradient froom 30c to 21c and my gtp constantly stays in the cool end (which is beyond me), so as long as they have the option of hot or cold your snake will be fine

 

[wokka]

150 watts should be more than enough heat scource. Is it working? What is the temperature of the snake?

 

[KerynB]

Wow this is brilliant!!! Thank you so much for all your help, I should have just come here first!!

He's about 1.3m nose to tail in length (and an absolute stunner might I add!!).

Ok so you'll shoot me but I've replaced the batteries in my infrared thermometer and the ground temp is currently 22 degrees, the ceramics are producing 175 degrees and where Archie's sitting on his branch is about 29 degrees...I think I might be panicking for nothing!!

I have no idea how to check the ceramics without the thermostat (which is currently cranked to 38 degrees and I don't think it ever seems to go off) other than using the infrared thermometer.
The thermometer probe for the thermostat is about 30 cm from the ceramics, hanging in the middle of the enclosure and he has a big branch that runs across the middle where he has a range of choices for heat
Regardless I've ordered a heat mat cos I figure if he wants it he'll use it.

As for the wheezing well he has no other symptoms at all and my husband reckons he's never heard it so I don't know!!
When his light goes out at night he tends to stretch along the length of the branch so he's more directly under the heat but he doesn't ever do it when the light is on!

You guys have made me feel a bit better with your help, I'm not sure I'll head off to the vet just yet but I will watch him closely and if I hear the wheeze again (which I haven't noticed this morning but I haven't wanted to pull him out cos it's so cold) we'll be making an appt ASAP.

 

[wokka]

Check your temps at the coldest part of the day, about 7am

 

[mysnakesau]

.......
When his light goes out at night he tends to stretch along the length of the branch so he's more directly under the heat but he doesn't ever do it when the light is on!.....

Bredli's are nocturnal which would be why he comes out at night and of course with the light being on the branch all day long, what a lovely warm spot to relax. My two are never seen during the day. I have added heatmats to both their floors to help keep them warmer over the winter.

 

[notechistiger]

And considering bredlis are found more inland, 30C as an absolute maximum is a bit silly. They will tolerate (and sometimes seek out) much higher temperatures, and if you're trying to avoid RIs, your temperatures should try to be a bit higher then normal.