RHP and an UTH?

My RHPs are working well for me, they do exactly as Kitedemon stated, heat objects not air, its simple physics. What I do is placed the probe dangling about half way down the back wall of my 36x24x14 enclosure on the cool end and it works great.

....that's why my probe is at the complete opposite end of the enclosure from my rhp ...... there is no issue with getting a correct hot spot with the uth .

I have a test enclosure (tinkering is a fav passtime) I after reading some using the probe on the cool side tried it. Complete fail I ended up with over 97 degrees on the hot side floor (103 hide top) and 71 on my cool side I simply cannot fathom how that is supposed to regulate anything as the rhp heats surfaces and the probe is no where near the heated area. It makes no sense at all. If someone can explain how to prevent dramatic over heating with this method I am all ears!


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.... what was the rhp set to on the thermostat ??

78 never got there ran 100% all the time. Over heated the hot side and under the cool


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Originally Posted by kitedemon

I have a test enclosure (tinkering is a fav passtime) I after reading some using the probe on the cool side tried it. Complete fail I ended up with over 97 degrees on the hot side floor (103 hide top) and 71 on my cool side I simply cannot fathom how that is supposed to regulate anything as the rhp heats surfaces and the probe is no where near the heated area. It makes no sense at all. If someone can explain how to prevent dramatic over heating with this method I am all ears!


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I usually try not to assume that because I don't understand how something works that it doesn't. This is how I think it works for me. My apartment is kept around 75 (bit warmer than 71), I set my on/off thermostat to 78 in the location described above. The RHP kicks on and heats the objects below until enough heat is cast off to turn off the tstat. Sometimes the probe directly under, on top of the substrate reads up to 100 or so but it does not stay that temperature if something comes between it, my hand or a snake. The snake can go to the warm end at say 82 degrees with the RHP on and soak up enough energy to warm up to 84 (for example) and then move away when it wants to. One of my snakes prefers to stay in the hide on the warm side after it has eaten and I measure the temps in there at around 85 or so usually. I think the on/off tstat also helps prevent overheating in the case that a snake does not move to thermoregulate, but if that is the case there may be other problems with the animal as well.

This is just my limited understanding of how it works and observation of how it has worked well for me. For a detailed conversation about it I would call Bob at Pro-Products because he seems to enjoy discussing the dynamics of heat in detail. Cheers.

When I was messing around with my RHP I had it set up with the herpstat probe dangling about an inch down from the center.

It got well over 160F on the surface of the RHP (Confirmed by the other herpstat probe and a temp gun) This was while the probe controlling it was set to only 90F. Never quite figured that one out. I mean it makes sense the surface would be hotter than the probe an inch below reads but still...

I just use Flexwatt with my T8, it comes with the groove for 11" tape and a slot for a probe.

.... it may have taken mine a day or two ( set at 81 ) but once at 81 and the thermostat starts pulsing the temps on the hot side start dropping .... could just be a combo of many different factors that my temps seem to balance ok ....

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Originally Posted by ewaldrep

I usually try not to assume that because I don't understand how something works that it doesn't. This is how I think it works for me. My apartment is kept around 75 (bit warmer than 71), I set my on/off thermostat to 78 in the location described above. The RHP kicks on and heats the objects below until enough heat is cast off to turn off the tstat. Sometimes the probe directly under, on top of the substrate reads up to 100 or so but it does not stay that temperature if something comes between it, my hand or a snake. The snake can go to the warm end at say 82 degrees with the RHP on and soak up enough energy to warm up to 84 (for example) and then move away when it wants to. One of my snakes prefers to stay in the hide on the warm side after it has eaten and I measure the temps in there at around 85 or so usually. I think the on/off tstat also helps prevent overheating in the case that a snake does not move to thermoregulate, but if that is the case there may be other problems with the animal as well.

This is just my limited understanding of how it works and observation of how it has worked well for me. For a detailed conversation about it I would call Bob at Pro-Products because he seems to enjoy discussing the dynamics of heat in detail. Cheers.

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I have spent 1 month (maybe more) mucking about with this method. That leads me to fail to understand the principal, the fact logically it makes no sense confirms it. Your set up is a failure in my eyes as well, 100ºF on the substrate given that you should ideally be targeting 90ºF. That is ten degrees too high IMO. That makes the top of the hot hide a lot hotter correct? IMO nothing the snake can contact for more than a moment should be over 94ºF. Yes the substrate cools quickly if the snake come between it so that makes the snake 100º. They are not basking animals if your animal is basking (as you describe) this is hugely unnatural.

mackynz, that is how mine behaves as well. I have been forcefully told that this is the way it is supposed to work (in a debate about how efficient RHP are) I suggested that this demonstrates they are very inefficient. I still firmly believe they are not efficient as they need at very high temps to deliver correct temps. (mine loses over 70ºF ,155º to deliver 90º) compared to my UTH (same enclosure) that runs at 94º and delivers 90ºF

I sent Bob a very technical email a while back and never got a response I sent a second email a few weeks later, and had a friend (in the US) ask my questions for me and still never got an answer. Still waiting, it has been 8 months I guess.

100 is actually the black probe on top of the substrate, the aspen reads much lower, I used that because it would be the highest temp. I have a hard time understanding what you are trying to say, but the snake does not heat up to 100 on contact with a surface that is not a direct source of energy...
As far as basking goes, I don't only have bp's, as you can see in my signature. My bps do prefer to stay in the hides, one boa does, and the other boa prefers to stay out of the hides and stays half buried in the substrate.

My cage temps work great for me, my snakes seem healthy and happy, eat, move about, humidity stays great so what you consider a failure I consider a success, so be it.