lighting and heat?

[Jer723]

Hey guys, i have a 14 month old albino prairie kingsnake. right now i have her in a 20 gallon long aquarium. i have her on sani chips, which work great i might add, :mrgreen: and i have a 10-20 heat pad, and a hide and waterbowl, ect. all the necessities but, what should i use for lighting? i have a uvb/uva full spectrum light. which they dont really need but i got it anyway. and its working great. but her tank isnt getting enough heat i dont think from the heat pad. so do you guys know if they need heat or not? and if they do, any suggestions for heating, tank ect?

Thanks guys,

Jerry

 

[Red Earth Exotics]

do you have a thermometer to check the temps? The basking area (where the undertank heater is) should be around 88. The ambient air should probably not go any lower than 70 and no higher than about 75 during the day. It can drop to around 65 at night. Kings don't need the higher ambient air temps like the pythons and boas do. But they definitely need a warmer basking area on one side of the tank.

As for the lighting, just the regular lighting from the room it is in will be fine, unless you just want to brighten up the enclosure to see it better.

 

[Jer723]

thanks ill check the temps

 

[DaveDragon]

I use the dark purple "party" bulbs for additional ambient heat. The ones I found look exactly the same as the reptile ones for 3X the price. I also get some of the reptile ones at the show for $2.50, an even better deal. And they come in a wider range of wattage's.

 

[Jer723]

thanksdave sorry so long ill try it out.