sign of heat pad to hot?

Hey sorry for posting so many threads should be the last one for awhile...


any way. i just bought a heat pad for the bottom of tank it doesn't feel hot at all but my snake always goes to the hide box opposite of the heat pad?

is that a sign thats its to hot?


like i put my hand on top of the bedding and its just worm i dont no why it would be to hot

Well, get a good digital thermometer first of all.

Also, for the heat pad, get a *thermometer gun* (not sure if that's what it's called); it measures temps on the ground.

Do not guesstimate temperatures.

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Originally Posted by andrewrks123

Hey sorry for posting so many threads should be the last one for awhile...


any way. i just bought a heat pad for the bottom of tank it doesn't feel hot at all but my snake always goes to the hide box opposite of the heat pad?

is that a sign thats its to hot?


like i put my hand on top of the bedding and its just worm i dont no why it would be to hot

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whats the thermometer say? 90-94 at the hot spot is perfect.

alright thanks for the mean time would u think its to hot because my ball goes to the opposite hide box of the uth

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

whats the thermometer say? 90-94 at the hot spot is perfect.

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well what my setup is like, one hidebox with uth under the tank, then the other side another hidebox with the heat lamp over it. hot side is 90 and where the uth is 80 not including uth

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Originally Posted by omnibus2

Well, get a good digital thermometer first of all.

Also, for the heat pad, get a *thermometer gun* (not sure if that's what it's called); it measures temps on the ground.

Do not guesstimate temperatures.

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those IR temperature guns do not work on glass!

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Originally Posted by omnibus2

Also, for the heat pad, get a *thermometer gun* (not sure if that's what it's called); it measures temps on the ground.

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I use an infrared digital thermometer to monitor temperature:
http://www.tempgun.com/order.html#pe1

A thermostat and/or rheostat to control the output of the heat pad are essential, I use the temp gun as a backup for double-checking the direct temperature on the heat pad.

Most heat pads run too hot, ~115-120F if uncontrolled.

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

I use an infrared digital thermometer to monitor temperature:
http://www.tempgun.com/order.html#pe1

A thermostat and/or rheostat to control the output of the heat pad are essential, I use the temp gun as a backup for double-checking.

Most heat pads run too hot, ~115-120F if uncontrolled.

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thanks but then what should i do if they run to hot! theres no dial to turn them down!

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Originally Posted by nixer

those IR temperature guns do not work on glass!

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wouldn't you be messuring the substrate?

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Originally Posted by andrewrks123

thanks but then what should i do if they run to hot! theres no dial to turn them down!

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first calm down

chances are if it doesn't feel "hot" its not too hot. go stick you hand directly on it, does it burn you? does it almost burn you? if it does then i'd pull the plug and just try to regulate the heat by pluging it in and out. but if it doesn't feel too hot like you said don't worry.

If you got the money invest in a thermostat and it will take care of you. if not buy a rheostat and you can control the output of the heater, but you got to constantly check it because a change in room tempature will change the cage tempature

but no the ball python going to the cold end of the cage is not a sign its too hot... you don't put that hide there for no reason, they can use it lol

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

go stick you hand directly on it, does it burn you? does it almost burn you?

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:confused:

Hi again, I made this same mistake when we first got our BP. Heck, it didn't even have a UTH, just an overhead lamp, so on the way home with it I stopped off at Petco and bought a UTH. Didn't know till days later that an uncontrolled UTH runs temps waaaaaaayyyy too hot.

What you need to do is instead of plugging the UTH directly into an outlet, plug it into a thermostat. An inexpensive ($20-$25) one good for one tank is the ReptiTemp 500R, which is what I use. It lets you control how cool/warm the UTH gets.

What I use to measure hot and cool temp, as well as humidity, is the AcuRite sold at WalMart for $12. It has a probe at the end of a long wire. Place that probe on the hot end. (Some people place it directly on the bottom of their tub/tank while others place it on top of the substrate where the snake actually is.) That will give you the hot reading. The AcuRite unit itself sits over at the cool end (ours is velcroed 2" above the bottom of the tank) to measure the air temp there, as well as the humidity level. Neat gadget for not much money!

At the time we got our snake, it had about 1" of ReptiBark as a substrate. It took a few days for the 500R thermostat to arrive from being ordered online, so until it did I made sure there was plenty of bark substrate above the overheated UTH to keep the snake away from that heat. (The AcuRite probe was on top of the substrate.)

After trial and error -- and overwhelming recommendation of this board -- I've discovered that the most accurate warm temp measurements came when the substrate was simply 2 sheets of newspaper, since the deeper the substrate, the more heat variance between the bottom and top of it. My setup is this: Newspaper on the bottom, AcuRite probe on newspaper, and one sheet of papertowel on top of probe and newspaper. The paper towel is to keep ink from possibly smudging onto the snake, it looks better, and is a light cover over the probe and wire.

Hope that helps! Until you get a thermostat, a plain ol' light dimmer (around $10 from stores like Lowes) will work. Here's wonderful information on how to use light dimmers.

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Originally Posted by Patricia

:confused:

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if its 110+ it will feel "hot" by just about anyones standards, and without a thermometer the dimmer would be useless to him. (and just so everyone knows a dimmer is a rheostat)

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Originally Posted by nixer

those IR temperature guns do not work on glass!

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You overlooked the fact that you would be measuring the substrate...

My bp always sleeps in the warm side and comes out at night to bask in the hot side!

Here's a picture of the AcuRite. There are several types, but the rest are wireless. We want that wire so that the unit itself can sit at the cool end while the wire stretches over to the warm end. People have posted difficulty finding it at WalMart. It's over in the HARDWARE section, not gardening, along with other AcuRites and various thermometers.

BTW, that picture also shows various thermostats. :)

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Originally Posted by andrewrks123

thanks but then what should i do if they run to hot! theres no dial to turn them down!

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That's why you should never run a heat pad without a thermostat. Here's where you can buy a thermostat to plug your heat pad into: http://www.reptilebasics.com

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

if its 110+ it will feel "hot" by just about anyones standards, and without a thermometer the dimmer would be useless to him. (and just so everyone knows a dimmer is a rheostat)

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Ummm, no. Our body temps are normally in the mid to upper 90's and so 110 will not feel very hot to our touch. Even the high 90's can burn your snake.

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Originally Posted by omnibus2

You overlooked the fact that you would be measuring the substrate...

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no i didnt but no one said anything about ir temp guns and the fact that they will not give a proper temp directly on glass.

also that the temp of the substate does matter but the temp of the glass does also.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Ummm, no. Our body temps are normally in the mid to upper 90's and so 110 will not feel very hot to our touch. Even the high 90's can burn your snake.

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lmao how do you feel on 110 degree days, or in hot tub 110 degrees ( arn't they only 105ish?), 110 is hot to the touch and 90's arn't going to burn your snake, cause other problems if exposed for along time but not burns.

but he should have atleast a them messuring device and a dimmer, at the very least by now, so it doesn't matter now does it?

It's very important that you get a Digital Thermometer and a Temp gun, both are pretty cheap. I keep my heated spot under the hide about 90F. Of course due to room temp, it goes up or down a little. When a snake gets to hot, it leaves that area to cool down. For example, when the hide spot gets around 93-95F, he moves to the other side for a couple hrs and then goes back.

This is pretty natural for reptiles.

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Originally Posted by nixer

no i didnt but no one said anything about ir temp guns and the fact that they will not give a proper temp directly on glass.

also that the temp of the substate does matter but the temp of the glass does also.

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Really? You said

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Originally Posted by nixer

those IR temperature guns do not work on glass!

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The glass temp affects the substrate, but it doesn't need to be measured if the ball python is resting on the substrate. It's the substrate's temp that matters.

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Originally Posted by omnibus2

Really? You said

The glass temp affects the substrate, but it doesn't need to be measured if the ball python is resting on the substrate. It's the substrate's temp that matters.

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Until the snake burrows down to the glass!

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Originally Posted by Buttons

Until the snake burrows down to the glass!

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Yes, again I said if the ball python is resting on the substrate.