Do I even need the heatpad?

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Originally Posted by Jakethesnake69

You should rule out a defective thermostat. I chased temperatures by lowering and raising the setting on my defective unit and with mine it just wasn’t off by a certain number of degrees, it just did what it wanted. I could set it at 88 and it would never come on, set it at 89 it was way to hot. It was all over the board. For about 10 bucks you could get a light dimmer and dial in the temps and at least have something going while you figure out the thermostat.

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I've already spent almost $1000.00 on snake stuff. Eeeek.

I'd measure the glass again but I don't want to open the viv and stress her out.....

It's clearly an issue of the heat pad heating up the glass. I just need to find the sweet spot.

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Originally Posted by Florence_Bones

I've already spent almost $1000.00 on snake stuff. Eeeek.

I'd measure the glass again but I don't want to open the viv and stress her out.....

It's clearly an issue of the heat pad heating up the glass. I just need to find the sweet spot.

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Again, where are you placing the thermostat probe?

This is essential in the thermostat regulating the temps properly - especially in a glass enclosure where the heat can accumulate on the glass surface.

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Originally Posted by alittleFREE

Where are you placing the thermostat probe?

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Thermostat prob is in between glass and heatpad but on edge of heatpad.

I have one digital thermometer in center rear of tank and a digital thermometer/hydrometer at front center of tank. Both stay within 0.5 - 1 degree within each other.

Put it directly in the middle.


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Originally Posted by alittleFREE

Put it directly in the middle.


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Peel the heatpad off the glass?

Any suggestions on how to lift the tank without tweaking my back?

I know this is frustrating but when you say the edge I’m assuming you mean to one side and not in the center. I have noticed with the Zoo Med or similar pads (mostly the stick on type)it can vary a great deal from one spot to another. I have seen differences of 15 degrees from the edge like you say and the center of the pad. That was on the worst one I had most were off more than I felt was reasonable. It very well may be getting a good reading at the edge but not in the center. Ideally the hottest spot on the pad is where the probe should be. Then if indeed the thermostat is working correctly the hottest spot will be on target with thermo setting and no burn risk to your snake. That’s the biggest concern, the well being and health of your snake.
Try measuring temps at all four corners of pad and the center as well. Even spot check randomly over the entire surface area. It could involve a little time but knowing all of this and setting up your thermostat setting according to hottest spot may work but best practice would be to relocate the probe to that hot spot. It may mean pealing off pad and taping it back on if needed.
I have switched over to Ultratherm pads and the temp variation is more consistent overall but I have gone through and found the best spot for my probe on each pad. For me it’s pretty central on all of mine.

Not sure of why it made this one big paragraph I broke it down but to no avail, sorry.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jakethesnake69

I know this is frustrating but when you say the edge I’m assuming you mean to one side and not in the center. I have noticed with the Zoo Med or similar pads (mostly the stick on type)it can vary a great deal from one spot to another. I have seen differences of 15 degrees from the edge like you say and the center of the pad. That was on the worst one I had most were off more than I felt was reasonable. It very well may be getting a good reading at the edge but not in the center. Ideally the hottest spot on the pad is where the probe should be. Then if indeed the thermostat is working correctly the hottest spot will be on target with thermo setting and no burn risk to your snake. That’s the biggest concern, the well being and health of your snake.
Try measuring temps at all four corners of pad and the center as well. Even spot check randomly over the entire surface area. It could involve a little time but knowing all of this and setting up your thermostat setting according to hottest spot may work but best practice would be to relocate the probe to that hot spot. It may mean pealing off pad and taping it back on if needed.
I have switched over to Ultratherm pads and the temp variation is more consistent overall but I have gone through and found the best spot for my probe on each pad. For me it’s pretty central on all of mine.

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This is good advice. I just need to convince my husband to help me lift the viv. I've gotten neurotic with constantly checking the snake temps, and my snake is super stressed.

My husband has a bad back and I injured my lower back the day we brought the 40 gal home.

I have the thermostat set at 83 and the temp of the glass is 88 when I use the heat gun so I'm okay for now with those numbers. Ambiant goes from 84 - 88 throughout the day.

Now I just need to back the frig off and leave her alone for the next 7 days. I don't even think I'm going to feed her on Sunday.

- - - Updated - - -

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Originally Posted by Jakethesnake69

Not sure of why it made this one big paragraph I broke it down but to no avail, sorry.

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It is all good. Thank you for being so kind to me. I really am trying here.

What brand thermostat are you using?
I have seen some of the cheaper on/off ones way off from the settings.

No one really mentions this with heat guns, but what is its distance to spot ratio?
I know some reptile brands use 1:1, and other inexpensive ones can be the same or 10:1 or 12:1.

This ratio determines how far away you need to hold to gun to he seeing accurate temp readings due to the way they work. First number says the distance of the gun to the object being measured, second number is the diameter of the surface it is measuring.

I.e. for 1:1, from 1 inch away, it measures a 1 inch circle. This is less forgiving in measurements. 12:1 is 12 inches away measures a 1 inch circle. This is proportional, so if held 1 foot away, the 1:1 gun is measuring a 1 foot circle which won't be accurate, esp on a hot spot smaller than that.

It does sound like you're getting it close to measure, but thought I'd bring it up to help rule out issues.



If your thermometers have probes, you could stick one at the glass over the heat pad so you can see the temps without constantly agitating your snake. It isn't as good as the temp gun, but should he able to show if it is going too high.

Alternatively, if you are really panicking on her stress, you could set her up in an insulated box (i.e. cooler, foam box) with warm (85-88 degree) water bottles, put her in a tied off pillowcase, and close it up for a few hours while you get the temps sorted out. The water should keep it warm enough for a while. This is one of the preferred winter time power outage configurations, I've seen on here.

The dark, enclosed space should help her stay calmer, you wouldn't bother her for the adjustments, and it will keep her warm for enough time. Just be sure she can't escape it (zip tie the bag/pillow case should work)

As for the bad backs... I'd definitely say to try to just use leverage and avoid lifting more than you need to. If the table is big enough. Empty it out and tip it onto its side instead of lifting. Get access to the heat without taking all the weight yourself. 2nd pair of hands would be good to guide it down so it doesn't slam onto the table.
I'm not sure if that would still be too much, and if so, is there a friend/family member that could swing by to help with that part?

Since the pad is stuck, you can probably just attach the probe beneath the pad in the center as long as the table/stand it is on is a solid surface. If it isnt solid, the probe temp will fluctuate too much to he accurate. It may be a risk to peel off since some of those mats will break internally if it bends wrong or too much. (Most of us don't use the sticky backing on the pads when we use that type and just tape its edges to a tank instead so it can be removed if needed)

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