Heat tape ???s

[DerekD]

This is my first time running heat tape with tubs and a herpstat, I also have a laser temp gun I've been using to moniter the temps. I don't have any snakes in the tubs yet, I'm picking up a few more at the expo next weekend, I'm just trying to get my temps and everything dialled in before they arrive.

I have normally had snakes in terrariums with heat mats hooked to rheostats, so this is my first time setting up heat tape and the herpstat. I'm just struggling to achieve my 90 hot spot. I have the heat tape taped down, the tubs have little legs so they are raised slightly off the heat tape. I have the probe in the centre of the heat tape, I started with the temp settings set to 110 to try and achieve the 90 at the top of the substrate, which is aspen, but I was barley pushing 82-83, so I've been slowly increasing the temp settings, I'm up to 120 and at like 85, do you guys think it's cool to just slowly raise the setting until I reach 90 at the top of the sustrate? Or should I be worried at how hot I'm setting the heat tape? Is it normal to have such a temp descrepancy between the settings and the temp achived at the top of the substrate? Thanks

[frostysBP]

Lower that temp down you want to get ur temps from the bottom of the tub not the top of substrate.

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[DerekD]

Thanks, Yeah I moved the set up up stairs from the basement and it's helped heaps. It's at my dads house temporarily until I take possession of my new house, which will have a temp controlled reptile room.

[DerekD]

So it's optimal to take temps from under the tubs? I thought it would be best to have an actuate reading of the temp at the actual spot where the snake will be living, ie the top of substrate. Is that an incorrect line of thinking?

[PitOnTheProwl]

You take the temp off of the FLOOR of the tub, the hottest surface the snake could touch. Yes, they can burrow.

[SnakeBalls]

I had some difficulty with this. Keepers using conventional thermostats will have a different method, like what pit has mentioned. The thermo I built uses 2 probes. I have one on the hot side of my new pinstripe's tub and another on the heat-tape itself. The thermo is mainly switched by the internal temps but I also have a line of code that will shut the tape off once it has reached a certain temp. I have it set this way because I was experiencing heat soak that would send my tub temps soaring after a few hours.

Also, as some keepers have said, they have reptile rooms to raise ambient temps. I couldn't get my temps over mid 80s with the tape attached to the rack. I had to attach the tape to the tub itself and saw a huge improvement on temps and my tape had to work a lot less to maintain.