New to ball pythons! Need help with how to measure hot spot temp!

How do you properly measure hot spot temp? I have a accu rite thermometor/hygrometer from walmart for 12$ with probe, and i put the probe right where my snake would sit, on top of the eco earth. Should i be measuring by putting the probe on the bottom on the glass directly above the UTH? or am i doing it right? please help! thanks

Do you have a thermostat regulating your UTH?

How thick is the layer of eco-earth?

Your probe placement sounds fine as long as the substrate layer is thin enough.

Here is a thread that covers cage heating in detail:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers

im using a lamp dimmer hooked up to it and its working well. my eco earth layer is about an inch thick. i tried putting the probe on the glass on the bottom, and temps are at about 100-104 right now. but with the substrate on top, it's like 87-90 steady... need help quick! thanks

How thick is the eco-earth?

Your lamp dimmer isn't working well. The bottom of your tank is way too hot. No part of the cage should ever get above 95 degrees. What if your BP digs down into the substrate and lays directly on the glass?

Here are some good thermostats:

Budget: http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR.../dp/B000NZZG3S

Mid-Range: http://www.reptilebasics.com/ranco-etc-111000-pre-wired

Best: http://spyderrobotics.com/home/products.html (for a single cage I would recommend the Herpstat intro + or the Herpstat 1)

so just keep the probe on the glass? im confused cuz i was told temps on hot spot should be 90-92, and i worked hard to get it to that, but now i might be doing it wrong because im measuring the top of the substrate instead

How thick is the Eco-Earth? If it is any thicker than 1/2" The UTH isn't going to be able to safely create the hot side temperature as the floor of the tank will be too hot.

Yes the hot side of the cage should be 88-92 degrees at the top of the substrate layer, but the floor of the tank can't be so hot that your snake would get burned if it digs down into the substrate. You probably need to remove some of the substrate to make a thinner layer so heat can be transferred more easily to the surface without making the floor of the cage so hot.

how much is too hot for the bottom of the glass?

It needs to be 95 or less

i just thinned out the substrate to 1/2 inch and now the bottom of the glass is at 95. whats the lowest temp the hot spot should be? not sure if the top of the substrate is gonna be able to get to 90 like its suppose to be.. i have a babyish albino 165g

88 is the coldest the hot side can drop to.

seems really hard to be able to balance the glass temp to be 95 or less, while balancing the hot spot on substrate to be 88-92... :(

That's why I use paper towels for substrate. Just a single layer of them. This way the temperature of the floor of the cage and the temperature ontop of the paper towels is within a degree of each other. My cages are designed to house reptiles, and hold heat/humidity in very well, because of this I don't need a substrate like eco-earth that releases moisture into the air in the cage to help maintain humidity. If you aren't having humidity issues you might consider switching.

well my humidity levels are about 44-48%. i posted in another thread, someone said that's ok humidity as long as i have a humid hide that has a bit more

If your humidity is sitting around there I probably wouldn't switch then. To boost your humidity you can add warm water to the eco-earth.

Add a cup at a time so you don't flood the tank. You want the substrate to be damp not dripping wet. The added water will also help transfer heat which might solve your temperature issue. (remove the snake before adding water)

like literally take everything out and add warm water, then mix all the substrate? ive been misting til its damp but that seems to not really do anything

Yes.

Misting will just make the surface damp. By mixing in larger amounts of water you should see a noticeable increase in humidity. Just don't put so much in that your tank turns into a swamp. Having aluminum foil or plastic wrap around 80% of the screen top of your cage will help to keep the humidity in the tank as well.

ok thanks. im having so much trouble with this hot spot temp... im worried for my ball python. right now the glass temp is 91, hot spot substrate temp is only 82.. seems like at that rate, glass temp will be 95, with a hot spot of only 86! :O

What is the temperature of the room that the cage is in? Do you have any other heat sources?

normal temp. bout like 70 degrees. im using a UTH and a 75 watt infared lamp to even out the temps. please help! im worried now

i use the infared to keep the cool side about 75-79 degrees, without it, cool side goes to like 70

i have a 1/2 inch of eco earth over the glass, so im using 2 thermometers to see the temp. the glass temp is 91, 81 for the surface temp (hot spot), i have no idea how to get glass temp of 95, and a surface temp of 88.. (hot spot) since it seems like they are 10 degrees apart :/

Personally, I found glass to be far too quirky and it was far harder to maintain temps and humidity at an appropriate level so I made the switch to tubs. I have no issues with temps at all now.

If you're as stressed as I was in the beginning, I'd suggest going to Walmart tomorrow and buying a size appropriate, lockable tub that you can make into your snakes new home. Use 1 layer of paper towel as substrate, mist the lid once a day and you'll be fine.

I use lamp dimmers on my heat mats and it works perfectly.

could i reuse the heat pad i have now? are they hard to take off

all my temp and humidity are all great. but my only problem right now is the glass temp, which is apparently way too hot... but i haven't seen my ball ever dig any holes or burrow at all. she loves to just go in there and sit. I can keep the substrate surface temp of hot spot at 89-92. if i don't need to worry about the glass (directly above UTH) temp, that thats gonna save me alot of trouble. My substrate for the hot spot area is about 1/2 inch

Generally you're not supposed to peel them off and reuse them. However, I know someone who did once and she doesn't have issues with it.

What I do with my mats, is pout the sticky side down on a sheet of tin foil, trim it up and just tape it to the bottom of the tub. Makes it super easy to switch to bigger tubs later.

You could do this and I'm sure it'd be fine. Just monitor temps closely for the first few days to make sure they're stable.

Honestly, in my opinion I would use paper towels for substrate, easy to maintain and easy to keep track of the temperature... I currently have a tank with my BP in it with paper towels and monitoring the temperature with the small layer of paper towels is pretty close to the glass temperature... I keep mine around 88 I have a UTH with a hydrofarm thermostat to monitor it... And I keep my humidity at around 45-55 with the aluminum foil covering most of the screen top I can reach levels of about 65-75 when I spray the inside with warm water.. Maybe switching substrates would make things easier...

Lol, yeah, I guess switching the substrate would help too haha.
I know shavings and Eco earth are more esthetically pleasing, but sometimes practicality wins over. I used to be an aspen shavings girl, but cleaning and monitoring their bathroom habits are just easier with paper towels.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by timely.grace

Lol, yeah, I guess switching the substrate would help too haha.
I know shavings and Eco earth are more esthetically pleasing, but sometimes practicality wins over. I used to be an aspen shavings girl, but cleaning and monitoring their bathroom habits are just easier with paper towels.

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Lol exactly it looks nicer I wouldn't mind having it but just not as simple and practical as a few paper towels hehe

my hot spot temp is at about a steady 89 right now. the glass might be like 100 or so but is that something to worry about? im almost positive my ball python doesn't burrow or dig or anything, she just goes in there and lays for long periods of time on the surface.

i have probably more than 1/2 inch eco earth substrate on top of it so its not easy to push into the glass

she also weighs 165g if that helps any

I wouldn't be okay with "almost positive."
On the off chance that she does burrow, she will burn her belly. Go buy some paper towels and ease your mind lol. Far cheaper, anyway :rolleye2:

ill give it a try forsure. wat do u think i should do for tonight tho? and is burrowing common for ball pythons? im actually positive she doesn't burrow but she loves to tap her head on the glass and "sniff" around.. but ive only had her since last wednesday haha

They tend to try and burrow under I would turn the UTH off to be safe but u need to fix the issue soon u don'twant ur BP to become burned so that's the safest bet she'll be ok for a night without it plus if u have a heat lamp that would be good to temporarily keep ur temperature up for now too just a thought better safe than sorry u know :)

ok thanks. so if i replace the eco earth substrate with paper towels, controlling the temp is gonna be way easier? (using a lamp dimmer for UTH)

Should be easier if u put one layer of paper it's super thin so the temperature of the paper towels should be a degree or so off from the actual glass temperature so u can be more accurate and ensure that if BP won't getburned even if she touches the glass... AI lamp dimmer is ok but I say invest in something more reliable a good start is with a hydrofarm thermostat I just got one and it monitors the temperature turning my UTH know and off for me so it stays at the temperature I set it at (roughly 88) it's not too expensive to start with too.