She's throwing off my temp readings

[bpandrew]

SO..... I set up my 6qt tubs let temp stabilize for about 9 hours with a dimmer then put my new babies inside.

as soon as my cinnamon went into her warm hide she laid on the probe and the temp reading instantly started dropping.

so my question is what do I do? I was planning on adding a thermostat this weekend, but if this was to happen with a thermostat attached it would instantly kick on and bake my snakes..... wouldn't it?

[Vypyrz]

The thermostat probe should be attached to the heat source outside of the tub. For the thermometer probe, I use a hot glue gun to hold it in place so the snakes can't move it.

[bpandrew]

so for my thermometer should I relocate the sensor to under the tub/on the heat source?

[Vypyrz]

so for my thermometer should I relocate the sensor to under the tub/on the heat source?

No, the Thermometer probe should be inside the tub, under the substrate, over the heat source. By monitoring the temperature at this spot, you are making sure that this is the hottest temperature that your snake would be exposed to if they burrow down into the substrate.

The Thermostat probe should be mounted outside the tub, directly to the heat source. The probe monitors the temperature of the heat source and tells the thermostat when to turn on and off...

[wax32]

I think the probe the snake is laying on is the thermometer probe... the snake is cold so it is going to make your thermometer reading drop.

For your DIMMER controlled heat you need to ALSO put a thermometer on the heat pad, so you know how hot it actually is. You will need to adjust this sometimes depending on how hot or cold your room is.

Best practice is to get a thermoSTAT to control your heat pad, then it doesn't matter how hot or cold your room is. The STAT will keep the heat pad at the right temp.