Just got my herpstat and uth - need some help

Right now, I have the ZooMed UTH stuck on to the bottom of my glass tank. Between the tank and the UTH, i stuck the herpSTAT probe. The Herpstat temperature on screen reads 92.3 (meaning the UTH is at 92.3 F)

I have the thermoMETER probe hot glued to the inside of the tank, dead center of the UTH. I then spread a 1.5" coat of Exo Terra Plantation Soil (coco-husks) over the bottom & placed a hide over the hot spot. The thermoMETER probe is reading 88.3 and the whole setup has been running almost an hour.

The thermoMETER readings dont seem to be going any higher, staying at 88.2-88.4

What should I do ? I want 90-92 F on the warm side above the UTH, should I use the infrared heat lamp that I have to level off the temps ? Damn I thought the UTH would be enough to heat up the warm side, leaving the infrared to control ambient temps.

Also, a question about Safety.. How thick does the layer of substrate have to be in order for your snake NOT to get any burns ? I have around 1.5" layer of coco-husk all around and its pretty moist stuff. Will this do?

They will most likely burrow under the substrate anyways, so make sure that probe is hot glued down on the inside of the tank to the bottom center of the hotspot. Now, the thermostat is set at 92...but you may have to set it at a higher degree to achieve 90-92 inside the tank. I have my herpstat set to 106 in my rack to achieve 92 inside the rack...see what I mean? I'd raise it a few degrees and then check the thermometer, do some trial and error before you find what works for you.

As far as the substrate...IMO 1.5" of coco is WAY too much. 1/2" is about all you need. As long as the hotspot on the glass is only 92 max, it will not be a safety issue, however with too much substrate the heat will not get through at all.

Okay, so the problem isnt that I stuck the herpstat probe between the bottom of the glass tank and the UTH, right? And gotcha, 1/2" coco husk is good. I'll play with the herpstat temps and see how it goes. Thanks for the fast response.

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Originally Posted by mattchibi

Okay, so the problem isnt that I stuck the herpstat probe between the bottom of the glass tank and the UTH, right? And gotcha, 1/2" coco husk is good. I'll play with the herpstat temps and see how it goes. Thanks for the fast response.

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Right, that should not be a problem at all. Just play with the temps a little to get the desired temp. I know in my tank it's set to 96 or 98 to get a temp of 90-92 inside. I'd start at 95 and work your way up as needed, just give about 30-60 minutes between changing it to allow the temps to fully adjust and read. Good luck! :)

That is one way to run a probe set up. There are others but the usually way is to set the herpstat at 94ºF and keep the substrate a bit thin over the hot area and re check it. Personally I half bury the hot hide in the substrate and have just enough inside it to absorb any pee. I keep my herpstat at 92ºF and it gives me 90-1ºF unless the room temps take a nose dive then the interior temps drop too.

The other method is to place the probe inside where you describe the thermometer probe. The herpstat probe must not move (in any set up it MUST not move) I use hot melt glue to firmly fix it to the bottom. This will give you more contestant temps if you have great variation in room temps. I use both methods the later the probe has more opportunity to be moved so it needs to be really secure. I tack the cord and then cover the whole probe. and tack the probe cord down along its lengh.

apparently I type to slow...

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

apparently I type to slow...

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I just type really fast...sorry! :D :salute:

great minds... slow fingers... :P

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Right, that should not be a problem at all. Just play with the temps a little to get the desired temp. I know in my tank it's set to 96 or 98 to get a temp of 90-92 inside. I'd start at 95 and work your way up as needed, just give about 30-60 minutes between changing it to allow the temps to fully adjust and read. Good luck! :)

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Yup, starting to get the right thermometer readings now that the herpstat is adjusted to 98~. Getting 92-93 on the thermoMETER now; however, when I put my hand on the cocohusk directly above the UTH, it doesnt feel hot at all (just a tiny bit warm). only when I dug my finger deeper into the soil to touch the glass did it feel hot. Is this okay ? The thermometers are probe ones so they should be working fine.

Yeah, the hottest point in the tank (which is the glass on the bottom) should only be 92 at most. Above the substrate will be lower temps. If your snake needs to be warmer it will burrow. All of mine on aspen do anyways, which is why the hottest point should be 88-92. Did you say the probe is hot glued to the floor?

thumbs up to L Gray :gj:

Yup, the thermometer probe is hot glued to the bottom of the glass tank. and I didnt know snakes would burrow to get warmer, but if thats the case, then I have no worries then.

Seems like I got my temps right.. humidity is super high (65-70%) after i put in the coco husk substrate. When I took her out to modify her setup today, I also saw she looked like she was gonna shed soon, so the higher humidity is definitely good.

Thanks a bunch Lgray, youve helped me a lot with my first new snake :)

ok, I'll add a few things

1- You will 'lose' some temperature on the glass, but you'll lose even more thru the substrate... (Be prepared to set the temperature anywhere from 5 to 12 degrees higher than what you really want/need)

2- Wooden substrates (aspen, coco, yadda yadda yadda) will take longer to heat than paper towel or newspaper, meaning that the real hotspot SURFACE temperature won't reflect accurately until a few hours

3- As LGray23 Already mentioned 1.5" of substrate is kinda way too much (and it will give you even more trouble getting the right temp inside). Regularly .5" or 1" is ideal.

4- I have been kinda flamed here before for this, but I really don't like setting the T-stat probe in-between the glass and the UTH because of 2 reasons:
(1) The temperature that the T-stat is reading is the actual UTH temp, instead of the
Temperature after it has dispersed through the glass.
(2) Placing the probe between the glass and the UTH will most likely create an air bubble around the probe, meaning less UTH/Glass contact area.


But that's just me :D

remember anything your not sure of just ask someone here will be more than happy to help you with what ever you need.

bah, I fell asleep and then came back to add a few things, but it looks like some have been already covered... lol

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Originally Posted by BallsUnlimited

thumbs up to L Gray :gj:

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X2 that lady can type:rofl::rofl:

Last question..

Now that I have the UTH setup, do I need to drop temps at night time?

Right now, I have about 80 F on the cooler side, and 92 on the warm side. When I was using just the infrared light, I would drop the ambient temps to 85 on the warm and 80 on the cooler.

Is this necessary?

No:gj:

No drops are not necessary at all. The way you have the probe your are likely to get a natural drop anyway. Typically regular rooms get cooler over night and the ambient air temp is not effecting the probe so it continues to apply the same power even thought the ambient temps drop some.

In great room shifts it is often necessary to alter the set up or configuration of the herpstat. If you feel you need that ask and I can go into greater tuning. I don't keep a stable room temp so I am quite familar with the pit falls associated with that.