New Thermostat!

[indygunnerguy]

I just bought a Herpstsat EZ2 thermostat for Gargamel's enclosure today. Anyone have experience with this particular item/brand?

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[Stewart_Reptiles]

My experience is that I would not recommend a dial thermostat regardless of the brand, it will be constant readjusting on your hand and temps will fluctuate.

At the very minimum I recommend this

https://www.spyderrobotics.com/index...products_id=25 for one heat source

or

https://www.spyderrobotics.com/index...products_id=26 for two heat sources.

[indygunnerguy]

My experience is that I would not recommend a dial thermostat regardless of the brand, it will be constant readjusting on your hand and temps will fluctuate.

At the very minimum I recommend this

https://www.spyderrobotics.com/index...products_id=25 for one heat source

or

https://www.spyderrobotics.com/index...products_id=26 for two heat sources.

Utoh...

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[reptilemom25]

My experience is that I would not recommend a dial thermostat regardless of the brand, it will be constant readjusting on your hand and temps will fluctuate.

At the very minimum I recommend this

https://www.spyderrobotics.com/index...products_id=25 for one heat source

or

https://www.spyderrobotics.com/index...products_id=26 for two heat sources.

I think this is very true of NON PROPORTIONAL dial units, but I have the single dial model of this one and I DON'T find that to be true at all. Once i set this one, it stays at a stable temp. It is proportional and has a brain to control it. I have found that the only difference between setting with a dial vs a digital readout is that sometimes it takes a couple of adjustments to zero in on the temp you want, but once you do that, it holds just fine. Maybe I have been lucky, but mine has been running consistent temps for months without any adjustment.

[indygunnerguy]

I think this is very true of NON PROPORTIONAL dial units, but I have the single dial model of this one and I DON'T find that to be true at all. Once i set this one, it stays at a stable temp. It is proportional and has a brain to control it. I have found that the only difference between setting with a dial vs a digital readout is that sometimes it takes a couple of adjustments to zero in on the temp you want, but once you do that, it holds just fine. Maybe I have been lucky, but mine has been running consistent temps for months without any adjustment.

My UTH is already stuck to the bottom of the tank... should I try to unstick it and put the probe between it and the bottom of the tank?

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[reptilemom25]

My UTH is already stuck to the bottom of the tank... should I try to unstick it and put the probe between it and the bottom of the tank?

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I don't have a lot of experience with the stick on kind. My UTH's are all either heat tape or the Flukers kind without the sticky stuff. Standard wisdom is to put the probe between heat mat and glass, and not to unstick a heat mat once it is stuck. I don't know how forgiving that is and if you could risk it. Maybe someone who uses them could help more?

[fadingdaylight]

My UTH is already stuck to the bottom of the tank... should I try to unstick it and put the probe between it and the bottom of the tank?

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Most people are going to tell you no on that one. Generally, you risk damaging the heating wires and having uneven heating, including hot spots.

That said, I did, very gently and slowly, peel mine about halfway back and set the probe in place, then stuck it back down. Then, with the tank empty, I let it heat back up for over and hour, constantly checking surface temps with an infrared thermometer to make sure I hadn't caused and damage. It worked out fine.

[RedRabbit]

I don't think you'll necessarily need to unstick your UTH. I also have UTHs with the adhesive surface, and I just place the probe flush against the UTH. In order to help keep the probe in place and as accurate as possible to the UTH's temperature, I create a little "sandwich" as follows:

Outside surface of bottom of tub/tank -> UTH -> probe -> small square of styrofoam -> heat-safe tape to hold the styrofoam in place

I also tape down a section of the probe's cord so that the probe can't get tugged out from under the styrofoam square. With this arrangement, I have my Herpstat set to 88.0 F, and find that the surface temp for the hot spot (measured with an infrared thermometer, as fadingdaylight recommended) matches up pretty closely, right between 88-90 F.

[indygunnerguy]

I don't think you'll necessarily need to unstick your UTH. I also have UTHs with the adhesive surface, and I just place the probe flush against the UTH. In order to help keep the probe in place and as accurate as possible to the UTH's temperature, I create a little "sandwich" as follows:

Outside surface of bottom of tub/tank -> UTH -> probe -> small square of styrofoam -> heat-safe tape to hold the styrofoam in place

I also tape down a section of the probe's cord so that the probe can't get tugged out from under the styrofoam square. With this arrangement, I have my Herpstat set to 88.0 F, and find that the surface temp for the hot spot (measured with an infrared thermometer, as fadingdaylight recommended) matches up pretty closely, right between 88-90 F.

Awesome, thanks! I'm picking up a heat gun tonight. The thermostat is shipping from IL today, so hopefully I'll get by Friday.

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[RedRabbit]

Awesome, thanks! I'm picking up a heat gun tonight. The thermostat is shipping from IL today, so hopefully I'll get by Friday.

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Excellent. I saw from your other posts that you've been asking good questions and getting a lot of great advice, so keep up the good work - and don't worry, it gets much easier once everything is all dialed in. (Also, your Gargamel is a great-looking little snake!)

As soon as you get your temp gun tonight, measure the temp on the cool side and the hot spot. If the hot spot is too hot (88-90 F is your target range, so anything upward of 92 F might be a bit concerning), then I wonder if it might be safer to turn off the UTH until your thermostat arrives on Friday, as long as your ambient/cool side temp is still a reasonably consistent 78-80 F. Your ball python can comfortably hang out in that ambient temp range for a fair amount of time, compared to the pain/stress and long recovery process if it sustains a burn from an unregulated heat mat.