Accurite probe concern/question

Hey guys. Last night I rearranged Nag's tank a bit and spruced it up, and in the process, the accurite probe that's on the hot side was moved to a different spot under the carpet (vet recommended carpet so I went with it... seems to be ok so far- and it really helped with mite treatment I think) well almost immediately the reading went from the 92-95 reading I was used to seeing to 110+ :eek: Then I decided to see what Nag was actually feeling in his hide, so I put the probe on top of the carpet and held it there for a bit, and it said 91, but I haven't perfected a way to keep it held there yet (can I use tape or something?) and so it's kinda flipped up and not reading belly heat as much as air temp in the hide (where he's always at) well before I left for work today the reading was only like 86 degrees or something?! So just where should this probe be placed? I hear you guys usually say under the substrate, but most of you don't use carpet either...

Oh and he happened to be sitting out on his branch this morning (for the first time since his tank was arranged that way before :confused: ) so I took a pic with my cell. :D

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...04-07_0635.jpg

This is just a shot of the tank
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...04-07_0636.jpg

I know that people have said that it is not appropriate(sp?) to use tape in an enclosure, but...


i use GORILLA tape and I make sure that I trim with scissors the ends so that they are smooth.

If you really are good you will use a smooth rag to burnish the edges once the tape is applied.

When you clean you will not have to worry about the tape comming off if you use that technique.

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Originally Posted by AkivaSmith

I know that people have said that it is not appropriate(sp?) to use tape in an enclosure, but...


i use GORILLA tape and I make sure that I trim with scissors the ends so that they are smooth.

If you really are good you will use a smooth rag to burnish the edges once the tape is applied.

When you clean you will not have to worry about the tape comming off if you use that technique.

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Does this mean that the temp probably was that 91 or so it read when held to the carpet, and I just need to be able to keep the probe there?

I do not normally leave my guages in the enclosure.


Once you have the thermostats correct then you will only have to test the environment when something changes.

For now. I would remove your snake (have someone play with him for a while) then I would put the probe on the surface where the snake will be (on top of the carpet) take readings at various places to make sure that you have a warm side (~90) and a cool side (~80) -- leave the probe in the same spot for a few minutes to make sure that you have a good reading. If your temps are right then you can rely on you thermostats to keep the temps regulated, and you can remove the accurite.

Since I use aspen, I have my probe taped to the bottom of the enclosure. Because my snake likes to move the aspen around so that he can rest on to the bottom of the enclosure.

Once you get rid of your mite/tick problem I would get rid of the carpet. It is a lot harder to clean than newspaper. Or aspen where you just discard the entire load every so often.

I hope this helps.

Thanks...it helps greatly! The mites and all that are gone! But I have 2 pieces of carpet to swap between... I may still switch substrate, but so far it's pretty easy to clean...

Yeah I hate that I have to do his tank one handed or put him in a tupperware, but apparently he gets more energy around my sister and maybe he 'doesn't like' her? She asked me to grab out her little corn last night while I was holding Nag (she's weird and a little scared of her snake- she uses a toothbrush to pick it up- so whenever I'm there, I just grab him for her then she's fine, just picking him up *baby steps*) and I tried to hand her Nag, and he responded and instead of just going to my sister like he goes to everyone else (in a ball or on his own will) he refused to touch her and doubled back on himself to stay on me... I don't know what that's about! Other than he does that ever time, so she's scared of him!

I'll look into a thermostat this weekend at the show ( the shows this weekend! :carrot: )

I never put the probe under the substrate. I always just anchor it with the hide.


It doesn't stay consistently, but I know when I put it back to check, the temps are still in the good range, so I don't fret too much about it moving about, especially since everyone's heat is regulated with thermostats.

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he refused to touch her and doubled back on himself to stay on me... I don't know what that's about! Other than he does that ever time, so she's scared of him!

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I wonder if they can sense when people are scared of them, like dogs?

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Originally Posted by geckochick

I wonder if they can sense when people are scared of them, like dogs?

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I don't know... that'd make sense to me because I tried to hand him off to one other kid, but he was making a lot of noise and was scared and shaking... Nag wouldn't go to him, so he held Nugget (the corn baby) Nugget musta thought there was a eathquake the way the kid was shaking, but he was pretty chill... Speaking of dogs, I was out with my favorite, my big dog, Proof last night and these 2 teeny boppers were walking ahead of us, but when the one saw Proof she SCREAMED at the tippy top of her lungs and then giggled... :rolleyes: Proof's ears went all the way back while she was screaming but went back forward when she giggled and I thought to myself what a dumb move on the part of this child it had been to scream so unnecessarily... had Proof been unstable, who knows what could have happened..."kids these days :D"

Just a word on tape: I use it all the time even though some receommend against using it at all. I use the blue painter's masking tape. It's made not to pull the paint off of walls and whatnot, so it's sticky enough to hold a thermometer probe against the glass and not sticky enough to stick to/injure my BP should it come unstuck. Just something to think about.

Hot Glue

I've read it here before because i had a problem with my guy moving the probe around. I had a big fear of tape sticking to something i didn't want it too. The hot glue works great on plastic, glass, tile, and should stick good to carpet and when you need to clean just give it a good twist and it comes free usually completely with no mess. It drys hard and is good up well over 100deg so no worry about it re-melting.