rack temps

I am having trouble with the stability of temps in my rack system. i understand thats it winter in NY and its obviously cooler in my room. but i have the helix set to 90 with the probe taped to the heat tape on the middle shelf. the problem is, its always on cuz it will never get to 90 in that spot because of the temps of my room. its not that cold either in my room. i dont have an accurate temp but its around 65-70 in the room. so when i use a temp probe in the actual tubs, the spot directly over the heat tape has gone up to 103 and i know thats too high, and the cool spot goes down to 77. should i place the helix probe inside the middle tub so the temps are more accurate inside the tubs?

If it were my rack I would cover it with a heavy blanket, all but the frount. The heat is excaping way to fast.

is that what alot of people do in the winter in colder climates? and should i leave the helix probe directly on the tape?

You can move the temp probe if you want but not to far. The problem is if you make it to hot on one side to warm up the other side then you still only have 1/2 of the cage that is usable.

I have 3 rooms (large rooms) each is heated to just below the cold side temp. But some of my racks loose heat fast so I put insulation on the tops of the 4' and 8' cage stacks and insulation around all the cb110 and cb70 racks in the boa room. In the BP room I just insulate the bottom shelf since that room in very warm and safe, and I just worry about the floor radiating the cold temps.

What type of rack are you using? I dont think you need a blanket for the rack, i would use one of the unoccupied tubs in the middle of the rack for the helix probe, set the thermostat to 92-93, you should get the gradient you are looking for 91-90 to 80, unless the room is really cold. If you have the probe set in a tub, you should see less temp fluctuation. Good luck.

its actually an old rack, about 15 years old. i bought it from a company called matrix, i believe. its a standard melamine rack with heat tape running along the back of each shelf. Im gonna make a new one when i get a chance. im still undecided on what materials to use. im thinking either melamine or mdf with contact paper for moisture protection. But i wrapped some blankets around the rack and and my chondro cages as well and it seems to have helped. thanks for the replies

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Originally Posted by RobBasile

its actually an old rack, about 15 years old. i bought it from a company called matrix, i believe. its a standard melamine rack with heat tape running along the back of each shelf. Im gonna make a new one when i get a chance. im still undecided on what materials to use. im thinking either melamine or mdf with contact paper for moisture protection. But i wrapped some blankets around the rack and and my chondro cages as well and it seems to have helped. thanks for the replies

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Thats your problem. Back heat can not be used when keeping snakes in a cold room. Since you get cold winters you need to ditch the back heat and get belly heat. Belly heat in tubs will also help raise your cool side temps as well.

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Originally Posted by flameethrower

Thats your problem. Back heat can not be used when keeping snakes in a cold room. Since you get cold winters you need to ditch the back heat and get belly heat. Belly heat in tubs will also help raise your cool side temps as well.

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Whoa, back heated racks work great! But the problem is usually the thermostat probe is placed on or next to the heat tape, where room temp changes still have an affect. Like i said if you place the probe in an empty tub you shouldnt see any problems. How are you heating your chondro cages?

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Originally Posted by juddb

Whoa, back heated racks work great! But the problem is usually the thermostat probe is placed on or next to the heat tape, where room temp changes still have an affect. Like i said if you place the probe in an empty tub you shouldnt see any problems. How are you heating your chondro cages?

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NEVER SAID BACK HEAT WAS BAD. Its not the best in a house that cant keep steady temps. I have yet to see back heat hold a nice 90-94 temp in a room below 75.

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Originally Posted by flameethrower

NEVER SAID BACK HEAT WAS BAD. Its not the best in a house that cant keep steady temps. I have yet to see back heat hold a nice 90-94 temp in a room below 75.

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Thats how i have my racks set up! Ive always wondered why people have so much trouble with back heated racks. I also have a vision arboreal rack, which i would never recommend to anyone, but it gave me tons of problems until i moved the herpstat probe into an empty tub, just like my other racks the problem was solved. Anyway, we have the A/C on alot when its hot, and try not to use the heater, but when you have to you have too, and the thermostats correct temps in the racks accordingly. Now im not trying to open a can of worms with anyone, just giving the OP another option besides throwing blankets over his racks, which is my opinion dangerous. Good luck.