herpstat II probes

i am going to be getting a herpstat II for my my bp's setup which will be great for me because i am always worrying about her temps and whatnot. I know that i'll be able to monitor the hot side and the cool side of her setup, plus automaticly have the temps drop at night. my main question is, do i put the probes into the substrate or on the actual heating device under the tank? i am using an ext-terra UTH now but i think im gonna switch to flexwatt when i buy the thermostat.
btw, I am just using a heat bulb for the cool side of the tank now. can i plug in a heat pad AND a bulb into a herpstat, or do i have to use 2 of the same devices? thanks for any advice-

You don't have to drop the temps at night unless you're planning on breeding. As far as where to place the probe, it's up to you. If you place it on the UTH you will probably just have to set it at a higher temp as it will be cooler on top of the substrate. Just be sure that you have a thermometer to get accurate temps on the warm and cool sides, and then adjust your Herpstat accordingly.

It's normally not a good idea to plug a bulb into a proportional thermostat. However, the Herpstat II can be used as a lighting controller. It's used to adjust the photo-period during the breeding process, but you could probably use it as a timer for the heat light that you're currently using. Being that a UTH is being used in conjunction with the light, the Herpstat will just adjust the temps after the light goes off at night and the temps should be fine.

Another option would be to use a red or blacklight bulb constantly and have the Herpstat just control the UTH.

i think the herpstat II is dual proportional, can control 2 different devices. i would do 2 uth's and get the ventilation right with the top. if using uth or flex and a proportional i would tape the probes directly to the heat source. get with dion at www.spyderrobotics.com on you exact setup and see what he says.



vaughn

thank you all for the quick response. lawrence, i see what ur saying about the bulbs combined with the herpstat, and i think i'm just gonna get rid of the heat lamp all together and go with a flexwatt on each side(each set accordingly). Just gotta figure out how to ventilate then. Got any suggestions vaugn??

btw, the setup is a glass terrarium 2ft by 1ft by 19 inches with a screen top.

if using a glass top, i would cover at least 90% of the top with plastic/acrylic/laminate,etc. to help keep in the humidity. set your warm/cool side temps and use an accurite or similiar digital thermometer to check and adjust tstat accordingly.



vaughn