Setting up the thermostat

Okay, just to be very clear...

The temps I should be measuring are:

Warm side floor inside the hide (i.e., directly against the floor, NOT on top of the substrate) should be 90+

Cool side floor inside the hide (again, against the floor) should be low 80s

Ambient temp near the floor should be low 80s

Is that right? Thanks!

Thank you VERY much to everyone who has replied. Here's what we've done:

We placed the heat tape on a piece of aluminum foil and wrapped the edges of the foil very slightly to hold the heat tape secure (we decided on the aluminum foil to try and reflect heat back upwards and hopefully lose less heat through the table--I'm always interested in reducing our energy drain). Then we used duct tape to secure the aluminum foil, with heat tape attached, to the blanket that is covering the table that supports the enclosure.

Then we taped the sensor to the bottom of the enclosure right over the heat tape. There is a gap between the enclosure and the heat tape of about half an inch. Less, where the heavy hide is weighing down the plastic and causing it to sag. The sensor is actually touching both the enclosure and the heat tape--is this okay?

I'm still fiddling with it. Maybe I should get pictures? Then I can get ya'll's opinion on ventilation too. BRB. :)

Heather

Okay, photos.

First, here is the heat tape, the bottom wrapped in foil and taped down to the blanket. The enclosure sits with one end over the heat tape:

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...2/Heattape.jpg

Next, the bottom of the enclosure with sensor probe attached (this is the *outside* of the enclosure):

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...ensorprobe.jpg

And a picture, as best I can do with my entry-level camera, of the whole thing together. What you are seeing here is a picture of the gap between enclosure and heat tape, with the sensor probe taped between. I hope you can see here how the probe touches both the tape and the enclosure:

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...rprobedown.jpg

And, finally, can someone tell me if this is enough ventilation? I know I want to be sure not to let the humidity out, but I do need to make sure the poor guy can breathe, right? So here are the holes on the front. What you are seeing is the left half (exactly) of what amounts to a 20-gallon enclosure. There are holes of similar circumference to the top row also on the back of the enclosure for cross-ventilation. I used an 11/64 inch drill bit for that top row, for what it's worth.

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m.../Ventholes.jpg

Thanks so much for the help!!

Heather