Crazy Heating Fluctuations!

[herekitkitty]

So i have ms. Boo in a 29 gallon glass tank with screen top lid. i got a heaty pad for a 30-40 gallon. the other option was a 10-20gallon heating pad and i figured that would not be enough.
ok then i have eco carpet on top. with her 2 hidey places, a fake plant and a water dish. one of the hidey places has a lil dish on the top of it. kinda hard to explain. looks like a lil cave with a water puddle/crater on the top. im adding this info cus i also have an issue with humidity.
Up until now we didnt have the a/c on in the house,
and with windows open, etc, the hot side of her enclosure was reaching near 100 degrees according to my thermometer i had,
and the thermometer i am talking about are the little circle ones with the pin. kinda looks like a dial. i have one for temp and one for humidity.
i was told that these are not reliable, so i got a digital one.
The digital one was showing 97-100 degrees on the hot side...and low 80's high 70's on the cool side. varying by every time i checked it... which is several times a day because I am paranoid. I was told she could get BURNED on the hot side so I was worrying quite a bit.
Then my mom and brother decided its finally hot enough to put the a/c on in the house.
now...the hot side is 80ish, and the cool side is like 72ish.
Does the temp inside the house really effect it that much?
I have a lamp for her too, which I have turned on now that the heating pad is not enough. when before the heating pad seemed like it was too much!
what is going on is my heating pad screwey? is there a way to fix it if so? someone suggested getting a lamp dimmer for the heating pad. then I assume that would lower it a bit, then i can have the lamp on too.

humidity...sometimes it shows it at 40. (the digital thermometer shows both on it) but then later when i check it, itll be 60. Last week it was showing humidity as 80! and I wasnt spraying it or anything. Today humidity shows at 70

Just so confused And I am worried I am causing issues for her.
She is now in the shedding process so I am even more paranoid about all this.
Gettin paid tomorrow so if i need to get anything I can but Need to know what i need to do/get!

orrrrrrrrr is my thermometer thing just not good either?

Help!! Thanks!!

[BPelizabeth]

you gotta get a thermostat to regulate. They can fluctuate up to 120-140 degrees. I have seen some on the less expensive side at reptile basics or the one I use is Herpstat at spyder robotics. Spyder can usually get it to you in about 4 days. If you call Rich at Reptile basics and tell him your situation.....I am sure that he would be able to put a rush on it.

Also I would foil off the screen part of your tank and mist once a day....this will help you with your humidity.

The other thing I would suggest is getting rid of the repti carpet...it harbors so much bacteria and it is really not good for the snake. You can use paper towels (which I personally love), aspen, or even newspapers.

Hope this helps.

[herekitkitty]

is there anywhere i could just go to, to buy one? instead of waiting for it to be delivered? im anxious to get this fixed asap im sure it is stressing her out

[Danounet]

The lamp is always gonna dry all the humidity in her enclosure, that's why lamps aren't really recommended.

Where are you putting the probe for the hot side? is it in the bottom against the glass?

[herekitkitty]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh i dont have a probe
im kinda sad...the breeder i got her from didnt tell me about all this.
he said to get a heating pad and a light if i wanted to

[BPelizabeth]

I wish there was but no. Spyder is really really quick on the delivery though....in the interim you can buy a dimmer at wally world.

I would also suggest getting an Accurite at Wally World....it is a very reliable thermometer with a probe....works awesome and will read you humidty as well...they typically run about $12 and you can hot glue it to the glass under the substrate. :-)

[Danounet]

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh i dont have a probe
im kinda sad...the breeder i got her from didnt tell me about all this.
he said to get a heating pad and a light if i wanted to

Alright no problem, go to Home Depot or Walmart and get one of these out of the Garden section. The model may vary, just make sure it's Accurite and it has a probe.
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...d.php?t=115061

Non digital thermometers are not very accurate, so dont use those. I'm off to work, but I'm sure people here will keep helping ya.

[BPelizabeth]

dont worry you will get it all set up perfect in no time!! You can also in the interim put a piece of tile between the glass and the pad till you get your thermostat.

[herekitkitty]

alright i guess im hitting up lowes and walmart tomorrow LOL

[Kaorte]

This thermostat should suit your needs: http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...1529683&sr=1-7

It is really hard to find a proper thermostat for reptiles in stores. You might be able to find a reptitemp 500r at petco or petsmart, but it is pretty rare for the stores to have them in stock.

As others have said, the accurite weather station with wired probe is your best bet. You need a probe to measure the hottest point the snake can possibly reach inside the tank (right on the glass over the hating pad). Heating pads don't really heat the air very much so using an ambient digital thermometer (what you are using) won't really give you a good reading of the amount of heat the heating pad is putting off. Regardless of your house temps, the heating pad will get well over 100*.

As for the humidity, the lamp will not help your cause. If your ambient temps in your house are normally above 75*, don't use the lamp at all. Let the heating pad take care of it. Changing your substrate could also help your humidity. Cypress mulch is great for holding humidity and can be found at a number of home improvement stores. If your screen top is completely open I would suggest covering it. You can cover it with plastic wrap, aluminum tape, aluminum foil, or plexiglass. I like using aluminum tape, it is basically aluminum foil with a stick side. This can also be found at home depot or lowes.



Hope this helps! Good luck!