Temperature gradient ISSUE still with new RHP

Want to keep this simple. Installed the new RHP and can't keep the cool end below 79.5-80* without losing the right heat on the hot end (92-95*). I am using an on/off thermostat, but ordered a VE300 that will be here Monday. I have done so much to try and make this enclosure perfect, but I feel like the temps are off and my guy is staying on the cool side still. Will the VE300 be able to control anything more precisely? I realize the options for powering the RHP are different, which I think should help.

Hot end should be 88-90°. Drop your temps and monitor behavior


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Just lowered the thermostat. What should the ideal cool end be at the most if I shoot for 88-90?

About ~10° less than the warm end


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So you're saying if my hot end, which is essentially higher up under the RHP, is 88-90* then an acceptable temperature for the coolest area of the enclosure would be 80*? I have read several articles/forums and even Jensen's Reptiles YouTube channel discussing a carpet enclosure he has where the cool end is like 72*. I don't think an 18* difference is possible with my setup. Is the 88-90 you are talking about the basking spot temp, or still on the warm side lower to the floor under the RHP where I am getting about 87-90*?

The 92-95 I mentioned in the beginning is essentially the basking spot high up under the RHP. Sorry if this is confusing, but this is getting frustrating and I am just worried for his well-being. Also, will the VE300 be better suited for dialing these things in?

Its not that complicated, worry about hot side surface temperature. Unless the cool side is in the low 70s you will be fine.
Your animal will go where it needs to be.

I'm not certain where your RHP is from but the advice I got from the designer of the 4 I have here was to put the thermostat probe on the cool side.

This isn't the only way to do things but it seems to work here in all 4 enclosures.

If I set up the cool side to 79, the warm side tends to run 10 degrees warmer depending on the temps of the room.

As mentioned your snake will go where it needs to be.

I have 3 Herpstats and 1 VE-300. All work well and I use a night drop in every enclosure.

Nick Mutton, one of the authors of THE COMPLETE CARPET PYTHON uses RHP's and cages similar to the ones I have.

https://i.imgur.com/VaW2UZ0.jpg

I don't think you'll have many issues once you get a quality thermostat.

I think you're good. My carpets are in 4x2s. I use Hydrofarm/JumpStart thermostats. I have the t-stat for my RHP set at 92. My probe hangs a couple of inches beneath the RHP on the warm side. The floor of the enclosure beneath the RHP is usually 88 and the basking shelf is about 90. The ambient temps on the cool side are 82-84. I usually turn off their heat at night during the summer and their ambient temps drop to about 72.

That is what I have done as recommended by Bob at Pro Panels. In a super retard mode, I never took into consideration that my home in California consistently stays at about 77* so there is no way it is going to drop below that. There is so many different opinions about night drops and whether they are necessary or not unless breeding time. I think I am going to start cracking the window in his room at night so it drops to around 74*. My timer for the thermostat is set for 0630am, so the temps in the hot spot will hit about 92-95, about 90 below that, mid-eighties in the middle ambient air and hopefully 79 on the cool side. Thanks to everybody who chimed in on this, especially for the photo. Snake looks great and I hope everybody has a good one. Will update progress.