A few quick husbandry questions.

Okay--little Mr. Slithersworth will be here on Saturday, which means I have a few questions about the enclosure, naturally.

1. I should put the sensor for the Thermostat between the bottom of the enclosure, and the Flexwatt, correct?

2. What is a good, cheap, effective way of securing said Flexwatt to the bottom of the enclosure?

3. I've read that with my thermometer's sensor(the outside temp wire), I should put it beneath the hide on the hot side. Should it be on top of the substrate, or beneath it?

4. And for the thermometer, the device itself---the little slits on the bottom, that's the sensor for that, correct? And if so, should I have those slots settled roughly on top of the substrate as well?

And no, I am NOT naming him(hopefully him, at least!) Mister Slithersworth. My roommate would kill me. But I AM considering naming him Hyperballad Cliffs. If you get that reference, you've just earned +50 Planet Awesome points, redeemable for absolutely nothing.

1. Some people put it there. I prefer mine inside the enclosure, but whatever ends up working best for you.

2. Get a roll of foil-tape from the hardware dept of WalMart. (Or any hardware store.) A bit of that will secure it nicely and won't be bothered by the heat. And that roll of tape will come in handy for lots of things down the road.

3. I prefer to know the temps of exactly where the snake is laying...so on top of the substrate. Once you get all the basics dialed in, it won't hurt to move it around now and then to check other temps in the enclosure, such as beneath the substrate.

4. Yes, I keep the unit sitting right on the floor of the cage.

One thing to keep in mind about the substrate and temperatures: You want the snake to be able to find a ~92* spot to warm himself when he wishes. Usually this is on top of the substrate. But some snakes like to snuggle down beneath the substrate, so it is important to make sure that the temperatures on the floor of the enclosure don't get too high. If the UTH has to heat through 2" of aspen in order to get the top of the substrate to ~92*, then the floor of the enclosure may be pretty darn hot.

The best way I've found to balance all this out is to just have a very thin layer of substrate....whatever you use. Personally, I use newspaper, and never more than two sheets layered together.

Judy pretty much answered all your questions. The only thing that I can realy add is that I'm one of those that tapes the probe of the thermostat between the tub and the flexwatt.

I'm with Robin on the location of the thermostat probe. And I'll add something too! Think about getting some Reflectix (with the insulation at Lowe's or Home Depot) to put underneath the flexwatt. It will protect whatever you set your tub/tank on from the heat, and direct the heat up into the enclosure.

Good luck with Mister Hyperballad Slithersworth Cliffs... Mister Slithersballad Hype...Mister Cl... your snake!

Steve

; ; I wanted to name him Julius Squeezer, but noooooo...