Need some advice please

[templarknight]

I finally built my Animal Plastics cage and sealed it all up. It was finished and properly sealed by Thursday night/Friday morning. The cage is 4 feet long 2 feet deep and 1 foot high just to give you all the size of the cage.

I have flexwatt installed on the left side of the cage. I bought the Flexwatt from AP and I assume they gave me the proper amount of Flexwatt for that cage.

I also have 4 Acurite thermometers/hygrometers. 2 of which have probes and the others are just the stand alone ones without probes. 1 probe is under the hot side hide. It reads 97 degrees under the hide. I hit it with my temp gun and it says 89 degrees. THe other probe is under the cool side hide and it says 77 degrees and the temp gun says 75 degrees. Now these probe thermometers/hygrometers say that the cage is at 52% humid. Now the other 2 thermometes/hygrometers(the stand alone ones) both say different temps. One is on the hot side its a degree off the probe and 77% humidity on the cool side.

Now here where the problem lies - All the thermometers tell me way different humidity. The hot side bounces between 50 - 60% while the cool side says either 50%(the probe one) or 77%(the stand alone one). Every thermometer says different humidity/heat and it's driving me completely nuts and keeping me up wondering what I did to make all these different readings.

What I need help with is trying to get as accurite(I know I spelled this wrong) of readings as possible because I really want to pick up my first BP from the reptile show tomorrow. But I don't want to pick it up and have it come into my cage and the snake get RI.

Heres a breakdown to what is in the cage currently so you all know what is in it and what I have running.

4 hides(I know that's to many, but with a big cage like I have I'm just trying to fill it up as much as possible.)
4 thermometers/hygrometers
big water bowl
2 vines
coconut substrate
Sypder Robotics Thermometer outside the cage controlling the Flexwatt.

Oh, I also have the flexwatt set up to where it's going up - down the left side of the cage. I don't know if it should be going left - right or up - down to properly heat the cage. So, I did up - down.

I apologize for the long read but hey at least I broke up the paragraphs instead of giving you all a headache by reading a wall of text.

Thank you to all who give me advice. I will check it once I wake up. I work 3rd shift at Walmart and after I get back from Petsmart to pick up my coconut husk. I have some parts of the cage bare/very little substrate.

Thanks again all.

[Lferg]

I have never understood why everyone with reptiles uses Acurite. Everyone is so anal about husbandry but they use the worst temp/hygo they can get. The problem is these are cheap hygros and they are in no way accurate and can not be calibrated. These Hygros can be as much as 10% off either way. Spend $25 and get two Xikar or Hygroset and a $5.00 calibration kit. I have put one on each side of my tank and compared it to the Accurite is pretty bad. Cigar people are extremely obsessive about their RH. If you really want to know what the RH is in your enclosures, get an accurate hygrometer.

[Lferg]

That sounded really elitest once I read back over it. It wasn't mean in a negative way, I was pointing something out.

[templarknight]

Honestly I didn't phase me one bit. Im a bit of an elitist when it comes to certain things myself. But I do hear you about the Accurites. That's why Im trying to see what I can do.

About your hygrometer/thermometer - where can I pick one up?

Im going out today to pick up more bedding. Is there a better thermometer/hygrometer at petmsmart/home depot or another store that I can get or should I wait till tomorrow to see if theres thermometers/hygrometers at the reptile show. Money doesn't really matter to me - at this point - as I have been saving for years and years and years. So I want to do this right. Im a bit anal when it comes to certain things and this is one of them.

[Lferg]

Any cigar shop will have them but probably only have the Xikar which is great. You NEED a to calibrate it. The easiest thing to do is pick up a Boveda calibration kit while your there. If you want to save that $5.00 you can use the salt test method. Either way it will be +-1 - 2%. Any cigar shop will have this stuff. Even if you tell them Hey I need a digital hygrometer and calibration kit, they will fix you up. The discount cigarette shops probably wont have it. Here is what you are looking for.
http://www.famous-smoke.com/boveda+o...+pk/item+23350
http://www.famous-smoke.com/search.c...egory_id=40016
Trust me, it will be a thousand times better than the accurite. Like I said cigar people are extremely obsessive about our RH. I even have one network temp/hygro that tweets my temp and RH every hour. Ridiculous? Very. Obsessive...... Depends on who you ask.

If this is one of the things you are anal about. This is 100% the way to go. I am pretty sure you can order a Hygroset adjustable hygrometer and the calibration kit from Amazon as well. Do NOT get one if you aren't able to calibrate it. The only one you can't calibrate that is really super accurate is the Western Caliber III but it looses itself after a few years.

[templarknight]

Looks like Im going on a hunt then today. If I can't find anything Im going to pick up a new hygrometer and thermometer tomorrow at the show.

[Lferg]

Your in St. Louis? The hunt should be more like fish in a barrel. LOL Tons of great shops in the area! Oh and when it says calibrate it for 12-48hrs. Dont skip here do 48 hrs at least, 72 is better, but at least 48.