Themometer confusion *now with new smaller pics!*

After going back and checking all the posts I could find on this topic, including my own, I still am not comfortable with where my probes are. I like to be as precise as possible because I would feel awful if I got my ball home when I thought my tank was ok and have it get burned through the substrate or have the wrong temp and humidity. I feel like I've asked this same question 50 times now but last couple times I made references to it was in another post so I figured I would make a new thread so it would catch peoples attentions.

My heating pad is set on low and is about 1/8th of an inch below the tank bottom. I have about 6layers of newspaper as substrate, and tiles underneath my UTH to keep the wood of my closet safe.

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/...r/DSCF0068.jpg

I have my probe stuck just under the lid of my hot hide and one under my cold hide for hot and cold temps, and my hygrometer in the middle.

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/...r/DSCF0071.jpg

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/...r/DSCF0072.jpg

One other thing I noticed today was that since I have my tank raised off the pad, its not underneath a little over an inch at the end of the hotside.

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/.../DSCF00712.jpg

On the above pic I outlined the area that feels cooler. Is that small area of cool gonna effect anything? T_T

Are my probes in acceptable places IE just under the hides?

If the UTH is making the newspaper substrate too hot, can I use normal carpet as a substrate? I have extra from a house project and can cut it to size if thats possible.

Sorry again for the super huge pics and sorry if I'm asking or posting too much o_O

-AK

EDIT: The current temps are: Hot Side: 90.7* Cold Side: 80* Humidity: 60%

No, please don't use regular carpet, as it will catch on their scales, as anyone who's ever tried to wear a snake and a sweater at the same time can testify.

I agree with Marla The fibers will catch on their scales. I would us some bedding. Also test the pad to see if its functioning correctly. My heat pad has its highest heat setting on low and reaches almost 110* and when its on high gets like 85* . I would check that. And the way you have the pad is perfect.

I checked the day before, its definately WAY hotter on the High setting.
But again I must insist someone confirm the way I have my probes placed in the hides o_O I think marla was the first one to suggest that and I just want to know if I have them in the right spot.
I believe it needs to stay 90-95 on the hot side and 75-80 on the cold side? and 50-65% humidity and over 70% for shedding?

All sounds good and looks good, though it's kinda hard to tell with the mega-gigantor photos since I can only see a piece at a time.

Yeah, I definately think ya gotta look into re-sizing your pictures. It would be a lot easier for us to be able to look at your pictures as a whole. I would imagine these pics are murder on people with dial-up connections too!! There is a stick about it in one of the forums, ya just gotta seek it out. It is really easy to follow.

And just check my sig for a link to free software to help you do it. :)

Yes, I believe your probes are fine. If you're really, really paranoid about the temps, you could always get another thermometer and put a probe beneath the newspaper, just above the heating pad...so you can measure the exact floor temp as well as the temperature inside the warm hide. Seriously though, it looks like you've got your setup going just fine. Even after you've had your snake for awhile, you'll still be tweaking and playing with it. I think we all do.

Like others have said, using carpet isn't a good idea. In addition to being uncomfortable for the scales, it would also be a real pain to clean. You could look into the "repti-carpet" or "astro-turf"-like stuff from the hardware store. That is easier on the scales...easier to clean, and relatively inexpensive. Keep two or three pieces of it around so that when you pull out a soiled piece, you have a fresh clean one to replace it with...then clean the dirty one really well and set it aside for the next time you need to swap them out. I believe they are less inclined to try and hide under the carpet than they are newspaper...but there's never any guarantees. Your little guy will go where he wants to and you won't know for sure until you get him...so just be ready to make the necessary adjustments as you go.

Thanks for the great replies. I think I may have to go get some repti-carpet, as it seems that logically as it is thicker then newspaper, it will not make the surface temp so hot but still heat up well enough to make the hot side hot enough, and if not, it will still make me feel safer about turning up the heating pad temp. I'm still looking for a thermostat for my heatpad, I have no idea where to find that >_<

You should be able to find a thermostat at a pet store. I got one at a reptile store, but they have them at petco too. In fact they were having a clearance on them recently ($9.98 ). Great deal, but I don't know if that is still going. Or you can get them online. LLL Reptile has a really good deal on one right now ($12.99)
http://lllreptile.com/v2/content/cat...att-thermostat