humidity/temp problems?

ok i'm getting there now...
i think what i will do is wait for the thermostat to come, get the new wooden viv set up with the other hide, coco husk chunks, heat mat and other bits and pieces and maybe another one of those thermometers so i can measure the temps easier and then see if i need another mat and thermostat for the cool end. good or bad idea???
Mike...

Hi,


There is one thing I don't think we've covered - heat mats shouldn't be allowed to come into contact with water really if you can possibly avoid it. Or be flooded with snake p, they should be quite well sealed but I'd ask the manufacturer for their opinion.

It might be an idea to get a hold of some lino or ceramic tiles ( thin ones though) to lay over the top of the mats and then silicone all round to make it waterproof.

I can't give you any practical advice on this one though as all my wooden vivs have ceramic heaters or bulb heaters.:(


dr del

i have already received the new heat mat and i was thinking maybe i could just silicone all around where the wire enters the mat at the connecting block. that way the wire and mat would be as "one". the mat is covered in plastic laminate and as long as theres no holes or splits (which i dont think there is) it should prevent water getting in.
sounds ok to me... how about you? :confused:

Hi,


Well its mostly the plastic edges I worry about - I would email the makers and ask but most of the instructions say not to let it get immersed in water or wet.

For the cost of lino or a tile I wouldn't take a risk. But take the makers recomendations over mine.


dr del

I have sent an email direct to habistat so will just need to be patient for a reply.
I received the thermostat, had a flick through the instructions and noticed that it says to have a minimum of 40 watts running through it and the new heat mat (17 x 11) is only 20 watts. is this going to be ok :confused:
regards, Mike...

Hi,

I honestly don't know on the wattage question. I never noticed that back in the day and haven't bought a new one in years.:(

I've had a look but all mine are running on heavier wattage stuff and even when I was running a dimmer on a bulb I always chose high wattage bulbs because they lasted longer.

Might be worth a second email just to be safe. If you find the email of the thermostat makers would you mind posting it up for me as well? I have some questions and could never find their home site.


dr del

Hi dr del, if you contact peter foulsham direct at habistat he is more than happy to help; pfoulsham@eurorep.co.uk

i've had a reply about sealing the mat now and he said silicone sealant will do the job fine and he is confident about the water resistance of the edges of the mat too as they are double laminated.

i'll send another email now...

I now have the new 24" x 15" x 15" wooden viv set up, i got two new hides (again) as the half logs i got were way too big for him at the moment so i'll save them for when he's big! the 11" x 17" heat mat is at the back left with corner shelf above and the water bowl is on the cool side (right) as my humidity is still too high at around 65%. obviousely i can keep my warm side in check at 90-92 but i cant regulate the cool side and that sits at around 72-75 which is too low.

does anyone know/have any ideas what i can do about the high humidity and bringing up the temp on the cool side?

heres a pic of the nearly finished and furnished vivarium,
kind regards, Mike...

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...e/IMG_6373.jpg

Hi,


You could possibly try a second heatmat for the cool side?

It depends how you control the first one how you would regulate it but obviously it needs regulated the same as the first one.

If you have a thermostat it might be possible to control the second heatmat through a dimmer attatched to it.


dr del

Hi Dr Del,
i currently have a habistat day/night dimming thermostat but not using the day/night function and works very nicely. it buzzes when at steady temp, i guess thats normal as its providing a constant power feed.
i have been thinking about installing an exo-terra glow lamp with a heat glo bulb by cutting a big hole in the top of the viv, stapling chicken wire type mesh to stop the snake from getting to the bulb and having the lamp pointing straight down for the hot end.
any ideas what mesh to use as i would have thought wire would get hot and could burn him and plastic mest could go bendy and melt?
im not sure what size lamp would be best as i dont want a huge great thing! maybe the medium sized 8.5" one but for my idea i would need the bulb to be completely concealed within the housing of the lamp so it will sit flush with the top of the viv.
i was thinking along the lines of a bulb rather than ceramic bulb as you need one of those wire lamps and they're a bit of an eyesaw. also, where the room he's kept is humid and cold anyway, it should raise the ambient temperature well and lower the humidity to propper levels.

please let me know what you think and any advice/corrections are very welcome.
regards, Mike...