My Tub Setup

Here's a few pictures of my setup. It's a 15 qt sterilite tub, an 11x11 ultratherm, and hydrofarm digital thermostat. Newspaper for substrate (as you can see), two hides, a water dish, and an accurite thermometer/hydrometer. It has a locking lid but I am securing it with four binder clips as well.

Cool side - 79*
Warm side - 93* (this is actually read below the newspaper, directly on the surface of the tub)
Humidity - 54%

And some pics. These were taken on Saturday.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...448/lol016.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...448/lol017.jpg

I've actually since moved the water bowl to the other side, in order to get the humidity up. Also, I've replaced that thermometer with a new one that works and boy am I glad I did! Even though I had the thermostat set on 95 [thinking that all of that heat wouldn't make it into the tub and it would thus be cooler inside], when I got a working thermometer the temp was reading 100.8 on the hot side. Apparently the heat was building up under the tub, so I now have the thermostat set on 88* and it's reading consistently in the low 90's.

Does that look alright? Any obvious missteps I've taken in the setup? I'm thinking I may go to the dollar store and pick up a fake plant or something to put in that empty corner, for extra security.

....I may or may not have a certain shipment arriving tomorrow. :banana:

Aside from having to take the thermo out of the enclosure and adhering the wires to avoid an issue, I don't see any immediate red flags.
In that first picture though, it looks like the the enclosure is square and doesn't look long enough to provide enough space for a temperature gradient.

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Originally Posted by mykee

Aside from having to take the thermo out of the enclosure and adhering the wires to avoid an issue, I don't see any immediate red flags.

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I think it might be because I haven't had my coffee yet, but this sentence is really confusing me. I'm not quite sure what you mean?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mykee

In that first picture though, it looks like the the enclosure is square and doesn't look long enough to provide enough space for a temperature gradient.

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The floor dimensions are like 17 x 12 I think. I only have the heat pad under a little less than half of the tub.

You have the thermo/hygro in the enclosure; take it out.
All you need in there is the probe. Adhere the probe to the floor of the enclosure where you need it, or your BP will just move it around everywhere which will defeat it's purpose. Stick the wire to the wall or the floor so that it's not loose.
Also, if you choose to cover "almost half" of the enclosure floor with a heat pad, remember that the pad will radiate, meaning more than 1/2 will have heat. Ideally, you are loking to provide a hot spot that covers 1/4 to 1/3 of the floor space.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mykee

You have the thermo/hygro in the enclosure; take it out.
All you need in there is the probe. Adhere the probe to the floor of the enclosure where you need it, or your BP will just move it around everywhere which will defeat it's purpose. Stick the wire to the wall or the floor so that it's not loose.
Also, if you choose to cover "almost half" of the enclosure floor with a heat pad, remember that the pad will radiate, meaning more than 1/2 will have heat. Ideally, you are loking to provide a hot spot that covers 1/4 to 1/3 of the floor space.

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How can I measure both sides of the enclosure (or the humidity), if I only have the probe in the cage? Also, I have the thermometer secured to the side of the cage with a bolt. It can't be moved around.

I have about 5" of the cage heated, and it's 17" long. Is that too much?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by alittleFREE

How can I measure both sides of the enclosure (or the humidity), if I only have the probe in the cage? Also, I have the thermometer secured to the side of the cage with a bolt. It can't be moved around.

I have about 5" of the cage heated, and it's 17" long. Is that too much?

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You've about got it right, but here is what I would change and why:

1) switch the positions of your cool side hide and water bowl. That way, if the snake knocks over the water bowl it won't splash on the Acu-Rite. I would put the water bowl right about where the clump of probe wire is and then slide the hide over towards the Acu-Rite.

2) Right near the bottom of the Acu-Rite, melt a hole just big enough for the probe to fit through. On the other end, near the corner, about 1 inch or so above the substrate, make another hole the same size. Now you can run the probe out through the cool end hole around and back in the warm end hole and position it. This will keep all of the excess wire outside of the tub and out of the way... :gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

You've about got it right, but here is what I would change and why:

1) switch the positions of your cool side hide and water bowl. That way, if the snake knocks over the water bowl it won't splash on the Acu-Rite. I would put the water bowl right about where the clump of probe wire is and then slide the hide over towards the Acu-Rite.

2) Right near the bottom of the Acu-Rite, melt a hole just big enough for the probe to fit through. On the other end, near the corner, about 1 inch or so above the substrate, make another hole the same size. Now you can run the probe out through the cool end hole around and back in the warm end hole and position it. This will keep all of the excess wire outside of the tub and out of the way... :gj:

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1) I've already put the water bowl on the other side in order to keep the humidity up.

2) Thanks, I'll try this. The extra cord is kind of a nuisance!