Will an RI happen if...

[NH93]

Hey all,

I just posted in a thread about my brand spankin' new PVC set up. As I suspected, the temperature is not holding as well as I'd hoped. The humidity seems to be high, and I'm wondering if an RI may happen.

What's going on: 24x24x18 setup (BP is 6 months old), humidity around 70-80% as I just yesterday set it up. Sustrate is cyprus mulch... ergo the high humidity. I have not misted. The ambient temp is stable around 77.5F, but ranges in different areas of the tank - the lowest being 74.F, which I am really not happy about. Hot spot is 92F (as I've got my thermostat cranked so heat will actually get through the PVC - I am monitoring with both a separate probe thermometer and a handheld digital thermometer, to see what happens).

Now my real question... Do you think the mulch will dry out over the next few days, so that the humidity will drop a bit and reduce the risk of an RI? Or will it maintain its dampness?

I am working on finding another method to up the ambient temp of the cage, however I have a corn snake in the neighbouring vive - a connected PVC cage, therefore the entire unit is actually 48". I am against RHPs as they are expensive and quite frankly, don't seem to alter the temperature any different than from UTH from what I've read. I really don't want to add in a mesh top, as that defeats the purpose of me getting the PVC cage.
Unfortunately I don't have control over my thermostat, so turning up the heat in my apartment isn't an option. It's stupid, I know.

Thank you for reading, and I look forward to your responses!

[Raven01]

Other than the 74 spot the temps aren't grossly out of whack. Just some fine tuning needed.
As for humidity and, I am assuming you want to keep mulch as your substrate given your set-up, I just dry mulch/ repti-bark after rinsing the dust off(after removing excess water, the mulch I've found has less dust than the repti-bark so may not really even need the rinse) in a couple 5 gallon pails and a ginormous steel mixing bowl for a few days before putting them in the PVC enclosures.
In PVC the water bowl seems to hold humidity pretty well on it's own. With electric heat in the winter at most I've only had to mist twice a month.

[200xth]

What's the high end ambient end in your setup? The hotspot is 92, but what's the ambient temp up that end?

For what it's worth, my tubs have an ambient range from around 75/76 at cold end to 84 to 86 at the hotspot end, with a hotspot of 88 to 90 on the substrate. Humidity is nearly always in the 65 to 80 range (generally around 70'ish).

I don't think you need to worry about the humidity.

[jclaiborne]

The substrate should dry out in a few days, if you are really worried and want to dry it out quicker you can put it on a baking sheet and throw it in the oven on low heat (200 F should be fine) and that will help dry it out faster. As far as ambient temps. I noticed when I switched to PVC I had to thin out my substrate layer a little bit to get the temps right. Another option is getting a small little desk heater and hooking that up to raise the ambient temps in the room around the cage. (being in California I haven't had to do that, but in colder areas it works well)

[NH93]

Thanks everyone!

I am unable to put a heater near it, I believe, because of the corn. I don't want her overheating.
Just to add, the corn's UTH is on the side closests to the BP's side (right next to the divider).

As for the BP. The ambient is 77.5F, as I've mentioned. There is no different between 'warm' and 'cool' side unfortunately. I have only a thin layer of substrate, as I noticed it difficult for heat to get past the PVC. The UTH does no job at all of heating the interior of the tank, apart from the hot spot... which is why I am concerned!

I am hoping that if (and when?) the mulch dries more it will warm up a little as well.

I do have another option, but I don't know if it'll work. I have an extra (small) UTH laying around. If I were to get a double-plug in going on my corns thermostat (which hovers around 83.5F) could I add another UTH to the BPs vive? Sort of in the middle.

[NH93]

Other than the 74 spot the temps aren't grossly out of whack. Just some fine tuning needed.
As for humidity and, I am assuming you want to keep mulch as your substrate given your set-up, I just dry mulch/ repti-bark after rinsing the dust off(after removing excess water, the mulch I've found has less dust than the repti-bark so may not really even need the rinse) in a couple 5 gallon pails and a ginormous steel mixing bowl for a few days before putting them in the PVC enclosures.
In PVC the water bowl seems to hold humidity pretty well on it's own. With electric heat in the winter at most I've only had to mist twice a month.

Luckily I've had no issues with dust in the mulch! I do often have aspen around, as I find the corn prefers it (I use half aspen half mulch for her, so it doesn't get too moist) but I would think it would be too dry for the BP...?

[jclaiborne]

another heat pad may help...Do you know how thick the bottom of the cage is (the actually PVC floor)? When my substrate dried out a bit my heat did go up, but not a whole bunch. I am thinking out loud here, was your PVC cage assembled when you got it or did you build it? I was just wondering if the seams were sealed with an epoxy or if they are just screwed together. It may not make a difference... Also I remember you said you have the cage raised with Hockey pucks...you may be able to decrease the gap between the cage and the shelf it is on so not so much heat is escaping from underneath...I think most heat pads only nead 1/4inch spacing in order to properly ventilate.

[NH93]

Oh, thank you! I hadn't thought of the heat escaping that way... that is very helpful
But DAMN I won't be living up to my Canadian stereotype now. Hehe.

In all seriousness. The cage was pre-assembled, and it is not screwed. I guess it is epoxied...
The manufactorer said the PVC is 3/8" thick.
http://pvccages.com/

I will try finding something else to raise the tank on! I did buy a new UTH for the occasion, and it of course comes with those little stickies, but I thought with all the cords and the 4ft. tank they wouldn't do the job.

[jclaiborne]

Oh, thank you! I hadn't thought of the heat escaping that way... that is very helpful
But DAMN I won't be living up to my Canadian stereotype now. Hehe.

In all seriousness. The cage was pre-assembled, and it is not screwed. I guess it is epoxied...
The manufactorer said the PVC is 3/8" thick.
http://pvccages.com/

I will try finding something else to raise the tank on! I did buy a new UTH for the occasion, and it of course comes with those little stickies, but I thought with all the cords and the 4ft. tank they wouldn't do the job.

3/8ths is pretty thick but you should still be able to heat once you get it dialed in. Those stickies will work decently...especially if you can get them for the middle of the cage as well. Also you can just type rubber feet into google and a bunch of them will come up. Some are a little more robust than others and will hold up the cage better than the little stickies that the heat pad came with. I would try this route first because it is easy and cheap...as far as living up the the canadian stereotype maybe get some mini hockey sticks for handles on the front plexiglass haha. Seriously though good luck and keep us posted if lowering it works. My vision cages are elevated and I had to put a piece of fiberglass under my UTH to stop heat from escaping and it worked quite well.

[NH93]

Excellent (and cheap) idea. The best kind! I do appreciate it. I will keep you all posted