Temp control

Today while at Wal-Mart I decided to pick up an Accu-Rite on a whim, and it is a good thing that I did. I had a two digital thermo/hygro gauges, and I thought they gave me a pretty good read on what was going on in the tank. I get home from the store, and pop the Accu-Rite in there to see if it matches what my other gauges are reading, and the probe shoots up to over 110! :O

I placed the probe inside the tank on the bottom glass, directly over the UTH. The glass felt pretty hot to the touch. There is a pretty thick layer of mulch on the bottom of the tank, and the mulch doesn't feel excessively hot to the touch so I don't think any harm has been done. However, I immediately unplugged the UTH and have a lamp on the hot side for now. When I get home from work I'm going to see what my temps are with the lamp and look into getting a dimmer or rheo tomorrow. I'm really thankful nothing bad happened because of my stupidity. :oops:

I have a few questions about the Accu-Rite:
Do I place the probe directly on the glass, or just of the glass in the substrate?

What is the best way to attach the actual unit to the aquarium? Velcro?

Does the actual unit need to be close to the substrate or does it matter?

Any tips/advice are GREATLY appreciated :bow:

Why so much substrate? Substrate is only to provide absorption of feces/urine. You're going to be insulating alot of heat away from the surface of the substrate, and it could cause the UTH to overheat. It would be best to get a thermostat, or at the very least a dimmer, so you're not having to worry about burns or your tank cracking from excessive heat.

I generally only use 2-4 sheets of newspaper in my snakes' tubs. This is enough to soak up urine and other excrement, but not too much where it suffocates the heat away from the tub.

I probably have too much substrate, and there isn't even good reason for it. It's just whats in there. I'd actually like to switch substrates, but I'm not sure what to get. I want something that still displays well, but is better than cypress mulch. Any ideas?

Aspen? Coconut coir chunks(they are used for potting orchids)? You can find the coconut chunks at Home Depot and other garden stores. I think Home Depot has their version of Repti-Bark, but it's so much less expensive and not as dusty. I've used that for my White's Tree Frogs.

And newsprint works well too, as does indented kraft paper. You can find those at www.uline.com

I've used the indented kraft paper for my boa and boy does it soak up liquids(she pees/poops like a great dane). It looks nice and professional too and you KNOW when it's clean or dirty.

I got about 2 inches of Aspen in Furio's and that seems to be working pretty well. Changing it out completely every 3 weeks and spot cleaning every 2 days. (If needed).

I have a ton of aspen already for our hedgehog and feeders, and I used to use it but switched to cypress to get more humidity. Now that my humidity is stable I don't feel like I need the cypress so much. Maybe when I clean the tank tomorrow I'll switch to the aspen for awhile and see how I like it.

Aspen rocks in Michigan ;)

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Originally Posted by V1L3 DiaL3cT

Aspen rocks in Michigan ;)

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Lol, you sending me some of this awesome michigan aspen? Nothing but trouble for me (I live in MI) :D, Cypress all the way baby!

Are all you Michiganders heading to the show this month? We are going for the first time and would love to run into some people from here..

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Originally Posted by V1L3 DiaL3cT

I got about 2 inches of Aspen in Furio's and that seems to be working pretty well. Changing it out completely every 3 weeks and spot cleaning every 2 days. (If needed).

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2 inches??? Why so much? I put a full inch over one sheet of newsprint in for my corns, but that's only because they love to tunnel. For my BPs, I only use about a thumbnail depth to 1/2" at most over one sheet of newsprint. Why make the UTH heat higher than it has to?

As for substrate, Aspen is the best of all the ones I tested (carpet=Bleah!, Bed-A-Beast=too wet or too dusty and too much work, Cypress=splintery pieces) and it looks really nice to boot. :)