Is this set up ok? And heat help!

So this is my first ball and im having a hard time keeping the temps right in the tank...

I'm also not sure if the thermometers I bought work right or not. I got the cheap analog petco ones. the set up Is a 15 gallon tank, 10-20 gallon zoo med uth on the right, a 100 what ceramic bulb in the dome on the right also and both heat sources plugged into a zilla 1000w thermostat. He has a hide rock on the cool side, a hide coconut on the hot side and a tub to soak in. I have the thermostat set a little below 90.

My problem is that the thermometers say 85 and 80 all day and at night they drop to 80 and 70 which is too low right? should I get different thermometers? I really don't like petco. Lol

He stays in the cool hide during the day so I think that they might be giving me false readings.

If it's not the thermometers, how can I raise the temp?

Thanks for all the help!!!

This is the placement of the probe
http://tapatalk.com/mu/48dcca76-9323-48ea.jpg

http://tapatalk.com/mu/48dcca76-9369-f221.jpg

Yes, those thermometers are a pile of poo :P

I would get a digital thermometer like an accurite thermometer that you can get from Walmart, although I've noticed those to be not very accurate either, go with a temp gun if you can :gj:

I would try to ditch the light first. Set your thermostat high enough to get your hot spot at about 92ºF

And then if your ambients are not high enough, try the lamp.

The thermostat probe should be directly on the heat pad.

Thanks! I'm about to look for better thermometers, also moved the probe, taped it to the bottom of the uth, I just saw when I was searching the board that people were saying that they hides needed to be identical. I have two different ones. Will that be a problem?

It depends, if the snake likes the cool one better, then he would be choosing comfort over the right temps.

So in theory, yes it can be a problem.

Depending on his size, those hides look really big for a small snake, I would go with something easy like a little box, or small tupperware containers.

They like to have all their sides touching in a hide, they like to squeeze themselves in :P

It could be, they should definitely be identical that way the snake doesn't choose security over health. If the hot hide is more comfortable to them they will remain in it and not thermoregulate properly.

Here is a good thermometer/hygrometer. It's highly recommended, you place the unit on the cool side, place the probe on the hot side, and it measures both temps and humidity all in one unit.
http://www.amazon.com/Chaney-Instrum...7221094&sr=8-6

These same ones can also be found at Home Depot and Lowes :)

I'm also going to second ditching the lamp.

I'd also ditch the rocks, not only are they going to be hard to clean and sanitize and could potentially spread bacteria around your tank, but they look kind of jagged.

=/ I'll take the rocks out ASAP! I thought she might appreciate them to help shed.

She's been staying in the hide on the cold side that is somewhat bigger then the coconut one on the hot side but I have a box I can cut in half and it would be perfect!

I got this one because my Walmart didn't have the one you posted lol no wires sounded good too
http://tapatalk.com/mu/48dcca76-ac51-472f.jpg

I've never used that but Acu Rite seems to be a decent company so good luck. As long as your temps and humidity are correct the rocks are unnecessary, I have nothing but a hides and water dish in any of my enclosures and have never had a bad shed. Good luck :)

Did you mean on the uth like this or outside the enclosure, on the pad under the tank? http://tapatalk.com/mu/48dcca76-ae0c-1ed8.jpg

Thanks! Lol it's been a struggle to keep the humidity right but I moved the heat lamp off and but some glass on top so stable now =)

for identical hides you could use terra cotta flower pots from lowes or home depot.they are cheap ($1-$2) and work well.use a monkey wrench or pliers to pull/break away an entry big enough to comfortably enter and exit.i tried chipping away with a hammer and ended up breaking em all.soo i guess buy a couple extra just in case you mess up one or two.
you could also use the drainer dish from a flower pot as well.
theres a thread somewhere here with good examples of hiding spots,ill find it for you.
ohh heres another good thing about getting twin terra cotta hides,you could put your coco hide in the middle and bam another option for regulating for your snakie.
probe placement i put my probes inside the warmest hiding spot and the coolest just on top of the substrate just because i know the hide will be cooler or warmer than the outside of it.
one thing id like to add is id move the enclosure away from the window,bps dont like alot of light and it could make the enclosure hotter than what your snake wants. at least thats what it would do to my enclosure in this desert i live in.

Also Home Depot carries black Con-tact paper...it's great for blacking out the back and sides. $6 for the whole roll, makes them feel more secure.

Sweet! Thanks for the tips!

So I took the advise, ditched the ceramic heater and moved it away from the window but the ambient temps are kind of low. I'm getting 79 on the hot side and 76 on the cold. The probe for the thermostat is directly on the glass over the uth and it is adjusted to a little over 90, it's still on so I'm thinking the uth just doesn't get that hot...

I think those temps are okay.
What is your thermostat set to?

91 or 92? Lol it doesn't like me to be able to read it http://tapatalk.com/mu/48dcca76-c132-2b12.jpg

I taped the probe to the uth under the tank so there wouldn't be any wires in the tank and ways to escape lol

Taping under the tank will not help you. It needs to be in the tank by the substrate or you will be getting inaccurate temps inside the tank. As for your thermostat, they do pretty well but don't go exactly by the dial. Fiddle with it until you get that sweet spot according to your thermometer, not by the numbers on the dial.

I ALWAYS tape the thermostat probe to the heat source, and the digital thermometer probe goes inside the tank...

Ah i see, i moved it there based on what i read in this old thread http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...robe-placement

lol I need to get one of the ir thermometers because I don't trust the thermometers I have in there right now or the thermostat.. Everything seems to be going good now though. =D can't wait for her to shed!!!

They are confusing the thermostat probe with the thermometer probe. The thermostat probe gets taped to the UTH and the thermometer probe is placed inside the tank, I've never ever seen it done any other way. The point of the thermometer probe is to read the temps inside the tank, so why place it on the outside? That makes zero sense...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LGray23

I ALWAYS tape the thermostat probe to the heat source, and the digital thermometer probe goes inside the tank...

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Looks like there was a mix up =P haha I have the thermometer in the tank and the probe taped to the uth.

I have to work 10pm to 6am tonight... I'm going to have my girlfriend check on it tonight for me but I'm still going to be worried that it's getting too cold =((

I've never heard of a UTH being too cold, unless you got the wrong size (like the mini one in a 20L tank would not work well...). I would hot glue the probe inside the tank, onto the hottest part of the floor. I hate fiddling around with those things with all my snakes, I got a temp gun for 35 bucks to avoid any confusion. So much more convenient!

I just saw the one on the pro exotics site that im going to order lol!

It seems to be doing good now =) my thermometers are saying 80 and 77. The humidity is holding steady at 60, I finally dug up the right size piece of glass to cover some of the screen!! That took forever haha

Thanks for all of the help everyone!! =) next I'll probably need help with what to feed her lol the kid at the petco said that they weren't eating the frozen ones so they were feeding live rat pups. I think that, with a little wiggling, she will eat a f/t jus fine =P