Animal Plastics Owners...Please Help!

[bg1906]

Just got my T3 on Saturday. Got it all set up and it looks great. I have the belly heat option but i do not have it on yet. Right now I only have the radiant heat panel on and I'm trying to raise the ambient and cool side temps. The RHP is on and I feel heat from it. However, I have the probe for it on the other side of the cage so that once I turn on the belly heat I have a nice gradient and nice ambients as well. However, I was wondering, how long does it typically take a cage this size (36x24x12) to heat up to the appropriate temps. Seems like a very slow process so far. Its been going about an hour and the temp on the t-stat and accurite has only raised maybe 3 degrees.

Can any one give me any ideas?

Thanks.

[Python-77]

What are the temps like in the room with the T3?

[bg1906]

What are the temps like in the room with the T3?

72-74.

The temps will not go up past a certain amount. I have the T3 with Belly Heat and a PH-102 Radiant Heat Panel by Pro Products. I have 3 probes. 1 for the Accurite and 2 for the Herpstat 2. The Radiant Heat Panel is installed on the same side as the Belly Heat at the top of the cage. 2 probes (1 is the Accurite, the other from the Herpstat 2) are placed on the inside of the cage on the cage floor directly above the belly heat and beneath the RHP. The Accurite itself and the 2nd Herpstat probe are located on the cool end. They are attached to the back of the cage about 2 inches from the floor of the cage.

[Kara]

Heat panels & heat cable have limited abilities to heat the overall ambient temp inside a cage, especially if the room in which the cage is set up runs at lower temps overall. Basking sources will add a bit of ambient heat (in addition to providing a basking spot) if the room temperature is closer to the range that you're trying to achieve.

[Eddie_Z]

Even the people at AP will tell you that because they have a heavy duty, high grade plastic, it takes longer to get the tank up to temp. The nice thing is tho, once it is up where it should be, it will retain heat much longer as well. You hafta also realize that the belly heat will help the ambient temp as well. Let us know how it goes.

[kavmon]

i'd put the panel probe down low on the hot side, like one inch from the botom. also put the belly heat probe one inch from bottom on hot side. these are the herpstat probes and run both the panel and heat rope. give a couple hours and see. the accurite are good for basic temp checks, they can vary a couple of deg. the herpstat has a accuracy of .9 deg i'd rely on that more than the accurite on checking temps. do you have any vents open? is the top all solid?


vaughn

[Adam_Wysocki]

If I understood the last PM I got from Bryce correctly, he currently has the probes taped over and buried under the subtrate.

I think that is the real problem.

Let us know how it works out dude!

-adam

[bg1906]

Thanks everyone for your comments and help! Matt and Adam are the BOMB!

I removed the RHP and relocated to the cool side along with changing its orientation from vertical to horizontal. I removed the electric tape I had covering the probes and just taped the wire portion so that the probe was free. I then set the belly heat temp on the t-stat to 95 and the rhp temp on the t-stat to 84. I didn't put the substrate or anything back in just the plain plastic cage until I could see the temps stablize. I completed this at about 12:40 AM or so. It is now 2:18 and I went to check it before going the bed....

NIRVANA!

Cool side (RHP) temp on the t-stat: 83.7
Warm side (Belly Heat) temp on the t-stat: 93.7
Cool Side (RHP) via Accurite: 84.2
I broke the wire on the probe on the Accurite so I'm going to get another one tomorrow
Cool Side (RHP) temps via PE2 Temp Gun: variable temps in the 80s
Warm Side (Belly Heat) temps via PE2 Temp Gun: variable temps in the 90s. (A few areas if you took the temp directly on the heat cable were in the low 100s. Nothing over 100.7 that I could find. AP says that's normal when Jamie asked on the Faunaclassfieds forum.
Humidity (with nothing at all in the cage): 47%

So it looks alot better. I may have a few adjustments when I add the substrate and the hides and everything back in but for now all looks good...I think.

What do you guys think?

[elevatethis]

I have the thermostat probe taped to the actual cable hanging out of the rear of the cage, on the outside. Seemed to do the trick!

[bg1906]

I have the thermostat probe taped to the actual cable hanging out of the rear of the cage, on the outside. Seemed to do the trick!

My cage has a slot for the probe on the bottom of the T3 next to the heat cable, but, the probe is too big to fit in it. So, I have mine taped to the bottom of the cage right over the heat cable in about the same place as the proble slot. The T-stat temp reads 93.7. But I do get some hotter and cooler areas with my temp gun on the warm side. On the acutal heating cable (you can see the imprint of it from inside the cage) in the low 100s, and in other places high 80s (88-89, like in the corners of the cage). On faunaclassifieds Mark Meten the owner of AP said these things:

1. We don't recommend that you put the probe right on the heat source. Many times it will confuse the thermostats you are using. For example, if you had a stove and the the thermostat probe for the stove was set directly on the heating element your items would never heat because the element heats and cools so quickly it will not warm the oven.

2. Our cable S curves in the belly heat with about 4" in between the cable loops. Yes, your raytech will read different readings between the loops in the belly heat area, our cable is designed to produce an "overall" warm area or hot spot for you reptile. Believe it or not, once you have your bedding or newspaper down your reptiles will not recognize the variations between the loops, they will be absorbing the average temperatures.

Does this sound factual? What does everyone think? Matt and Adam...I'm all ears!