Herpstat help!!!

[SGExotics]

Hi guys,
I just got my first herpstat nd, and i've seen many people tape the probe to the heat tape itself... Then they had to tweak it a little higher so the temp. in the actual enclosure was right... Should i just stick the probe attached to the herpstat directly into the enclosure? This way it will give me a reading without me having to tweak it... Tell me how you have it setup, right now im testing with it, the herpstat probe on the heat tape, and another digital thermometer in the tub... In order for me to do it this way,to have the hot spot temp of 94 deg. F, i have to adjust the temp of the bare heat tape to 125 deg. F

[dr del]

Hi,

The reason for having the probe outside the enclosure is to prevent the animal either moving it or P'ing all over it causing it to possibly overheat and kill the animal.

That does sound like quite a bit of tweaking though?

How much of a gap do you have between the heat tape and the bottom of the enclosure?


dr del

[DutchHerp]

How about taping the probe with really strong tape to the bottom of the cage, and then putting substrate under it?

[SGExotics]

Hi,

The reason for having the probe outside the enclosure is to prevent the animal either moving it or P'ing all over it causing it to possibly overheat and kill the animal.

That does sound like quite a bit of tweaking though?

How much of a gap do you have between the heat tape and the bottom of the enclosure?


dr del

i have the heat tape sitting directly under the tub... Its a sterilite 28qt so its not that thick if plastic... Hmm, i think it may have been because the probe wasnt directly over the hot spot, let me try again... If you're running a herpstat nd or other thermostat on a rack, Usually, how much tweaking does it take to get it about 94-95 deg?

[SGExotics]

How about taping the probe with really strong tape to the bottom of the cage, and then putting substrate under it?

It's for my rack, but im going to try again, i dont think the probe was directly over the hot spot so im going to test it again.

[dr del]

Hi,

Trust me tape inside an animals enclosure is generally a really really bad idea.

Use a glue gun or silicon - once those have set and cured they represent no danger to the animal and can be easily removed when needed.

It doesn't really matter what you have to set the termostat to to get the temps right inside the enclosure as long as it holds them there steadily. Keep the probe outside but possibly tweak the way the heat tape and enclosure sit relative to one another etc - it will prevent a lot of accidents you really don't want at the cost of a little more effort when your getting it dialed in.

dr del

[SGExotics]

Hi,

Trust me tape inside an animals enclosure is generally a really really bad idea.

Use a glue gun or silicon - once those have set and cured they represent no danger to the animal and can be easily removed when needed.

It doesn't really matter what you have to set the termostat to to get the temps right inside the enclosure as long as it holds them there steadily. Keep the probe outside but possibly tweak the way the heat tape and enclosure sit relative to one another etc - it will prevent a lot of accidents you really don't want at the cost of a little more effort when your getting it dialed in.

dr del

yea, i think the problem was that the thermometer wasnt sitting directly on the hot spot, more towards the cool end, im only gonna keep the thermostat probe outside to prevent accidents, as you said, so im tweaking it now.

[AndrewGeibel]

Ya just tweak it. Do not put tape in your snakes enclosure. I don't know if your model has this but some have a way to calibrate the offset for the enclosure efficiency. Just put it on the heat tape and then use a separate thermometer for the actual temp. I know it sucks having different temps on the thermostat and the thermometer if you are OCD like me but it's what's best for your snakes.

[DutchHerp]

Ya just tweak it. Do not put take in your snakes enclosure. I don't know if your model has this but some have a way to calibrate the offset for the enclosure efficiency. Just put it on the tape and then use a separate thermometer for the actual temp. I know it sucks having different temps on the thermostat and the thermometer if you are OCD like me but it's what's best for your snakes.

I have a Herpstat I and that one has the calibrating setting, so the ND should have that too.

[dr del]

Hi,

Well it depends on the type of rack (open or closed ) I think - on mine the probe is taped to the heat tape behind the tub rather than between them.

My thermostat is set to approx (crummy dial type ) 90f which gives an open hot end of 87.6f and 91.9f inside the hides.

Now with a decent digital you will actually probably see you have to set it above the temp to hold it steady - the fact I only have a dial means it is not accurate enough to know what it actually thinks it is set to.

Some people do not use hides in a rack system but my tubs are a little on the big side and the snakes use them if provided so I have just decided to leave them in there. They hold heat in a little so I had to re-adjust everything to take that into account when I put them in.

Remember to give everything at least 30 minutes to an hour to stabilise when you make any changes though.

And I really can't stress how much easier this is with a temp gun - wish I had bought one years ago.


dr del