humidity problem

so from what im reading, a light isnt required to heat a tank? and that you can just use a heating pad? i still need to go out and by a thermometer for teh tank and a hydrometer. workin on it. i tried the mist technique. that didnt work. i had teh lid covered more than 75%. sprayed the inside of the tank with hot water, left the lamp on. nothing changed.

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Originally Posted by tmlowe5704

Is mine okay being underneath the hide but just laying on top of the substrate? It stays at around 90* and my snake is ALWAYS under this thing. At night, he does slither around the tank, but during the day he is ALWAYS under the hot hide.

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If you're supposed to provide a basking area of 90 degrees, how to you provide that without suplimental light?

if you do away with the heat lamp, how are you to creat the gradient temperature?

this is why i get so frustrated ... every suggestion contradicts another.

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Originally Posted by JasonGranger

Just wondering... how are you measuring your temperatures? Is it an analog dial? Where is it placed in the cage? Because if your temperature readings are accurate, there must be something wrong with your heat pad. The "correct" way to measure temperatures is to get one of those indoor/outdoor digital thermometers that you can get at Lowe's/Wal-Mart/etc. with a wire that has a probe attached to it, and place that probe under the substrate at the center of the heat pad. Just put that probe right on the glass. I think you'll find that without some sort of regulation, your heat pad will be well over 85 degrees. More like 110 degrees, which is way too hot... if you feel the heat pad and it's warm (or hot) to the touch, it's probably too hot for your snake.

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I really appreciate information like this. What you have said tells me that I have a problem with my heating pad. It is just barely warm to the touch ... but i'm told by my vet that it shouldn't be very warm that the heat will more or less be absorbed by everything else. Sounded like a crock to me when he said it.

When I'm at the pet shop, i see so many different types of heating pads ... what brand or what type do you use? they sell them for different types of substrate. I got what was appropriate for what i was using and it didn't seem to warm anything. I had it sitting on the table with the feet on the little pads as suggested ... i ended up removing the riser pads (dont know technical name) and placing tank directly on top hoping for better results.

I ended up buying a new pad and followed the package directions for optimal installation which was to stick to outside of tank on one of the ends .... figured the mfg would know something about it. That was the worst idea yet! The people who make them, don't know what to do with their product.