humidity and temp

[yinyang-13]

I finally got a good hydrometer and temp gauge and found that my tank is low on both. Its a 40 gallon tank.
Any ideas on what i can do?

[trott]

Whats your setup ? heat source ?

[yinyang-13]

i have a uth, and a normal light in a ceramic fixture, aspen shavings, a humid hide, med water bowl, a small climbing branch and a cool hide on the opposite side then the humid hide. The light it self is in the center of the tank on the mesh top.

[Kaorte]

Did you get temp and humidity gauges? like the little dial ones? If so, then those are extremely inaccurate.

You should invest in an Accurite indoor/outdoor thermometer. They sell them at the home depot, lowes ,and walmart. They are about $12. Make sure you get the one with an external probe. You will use this to measure your hot side temp (over the uth).

Which brings me to my next point. Are you using anything to control the UTH? It needs to be controlled by a reptile thermostat. The cheapest model is the reptitemp 500r which is available in some stores but mostly online. I can't stress it enough, you NEED to regulate your UTH to prevent thermal burns or cooking your snake.

As for humidity, the lamp will lower humidity a lot. If you can heat your tank properly without the lamp, then I would get rid of it.

Another way to boost humidity is to cover 3/4ths of the screen top with aluminum foil tape (found at home depot and lowes). This will help trap humidity in the tank.

I am not sure what kind of hides you have but they should be tight fitting to your snake and identical on the cool side and hot side.

Another way to help add security and insulate the tank is to add foam core board to the sides and back of the tank. Make sure the board is on the OUTSIDE of the tank though

Hope this helps!

[Yodaaz]

Ditto what Kaorte said...beat me to it...
Pete

[trott]

With my displays i have control of all my heat sources. If you don't use a thermostat you need a least a dimmer. $10 at Home Depot. How deep is your substrate ? People often miss that the deeper the substrate the further away from the UTH. Check the wattage on your lamp. You'll probably need a 75w with a 40g tank.

Is your UTH the right size for a 40g tank ? For the extra humidity, like said you can cover the tank with foil. I use a damp cloth during the winter months and during a shed in the summer. You'll get a 20% increase in your humidity. Winter months are much dryer in your house. Your house heater will zap the humidity.