Themometer confusion *now with new smaller pics!*

After going back and checking all the posts I could find on this topic, including my own, I still am not comfortable with where my probes are. I like to be as precise as possible because I would feel awful if I got my ball home when I thought my tank was ok and have it get burned through the substrate or have the wrong temp and humidity. I feel like I've asked this same question 50 times now but last couple times I made references to it was in another post so I figured I would make a new thread so it would catch peoples attentions.

My heating pad is set on low and is about 1/8th of an inch below the tank bottom. I have about 6layers of newspaper as substrate, and tiles underneath my UTH to keep the wood of my closet safe.

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/...r/DSCF0068.jpg

I have my probe stuck just under the lid of my hot hide and one under my cold hide for hot and cold temps, and my hygrometer in the middle.

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/...r/DSCF0071.jpg

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/...r/DSCF0072.jpg

One other thing I noticed today was that since I have my tank raised off the pad, its not underneath a little over an inch at the end of the hotside.

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/.../DSCF00712.jpg

On the above pic I outlined the area that feels cooler. Is that small area of cool gonna effect anything? T_T

Are my probes in acceptable places IE just under the hides?

If the UTH is making the newspaper substrate too hot, can I use normal carpet as a substrate? I have extra from a house project and can cut it to size if thats possible.

Sorry again for the super huge pics and sorry if I'm asking or posting too much o_O

-AK

EDIT: The current temps are: Hot Side: 90.7* Cold Side: 80* Humidity: 60%

No, please don't use regular carpet, as it will catch on their scales, as anyone who's ever tried to wear a snake and a sweater at the same time can testify.

I agree with Marla The fibers will catch on their scales. I would us some bedding. Also test the pad to see if its functioning correctly. My heat pad has its highest heat setting on low and reaches almost 110* and when its on high gets like 85* . I would check that. And the way you have the pad is perfect.

I checked the day before, its definately WAY hotter on the High setting.
But again I must insist someone confirm the way I have my probes placed in the hides o_O I think marla was the first one to suggest that and I just want to know if I have them in the right spot.
I believe it needs to stay 90-95 on the hot side and 75-80 on the cold side? and 50-65% humidity and over 70% for shedding?

All sounds good and looks good, though it's kinda hard to tell with the mega-gigantor photos since I can only see a piece at a time.

Yeah, I definately think ya gotta look into re-sizing your pictures. It would be a lot easier for us to be able to look at your pictures as a whole. I would imagine these pics are murder on people with dial-up connections too!! There is a stick about it in one of the forums, ya just gotta seek it out. It is really easy to follow.

And just check my sig for a link to free software to help you do it. :)

Yes, I believe your probes are fine. If you're really, really paranoid about the temps, you could always get another thermometer and put a probe beneath the newspaper, just above the heating pad...so you can measure the exact floor temp as well as the temperature inside the warm hide. Seriously though, it looks like you've got your setup going just fine. Even after you've had your snake for awhile, you'll still be tweaking and playing with it. I think we all do.

Like others have said, using carpet isn't a good idea. In addition to being uncomfortable for the scales, it would also be a real pain to clean. You could look into the "repti-carpet" or "astro-turf"-like stuff from the hardware store. That is easier on the scales...easier to clean, and relatively inexpensive. Keep two or three pieces of it around so that when you pull out a soiled piece, you have a fresh clean one to replace it with...then clean the dirty one really well and set it aside for the next time you need to swap them out. I believe they are less inclined to try and hide under the carpet than they are newspaper...but there's never any guarantees. Your little guy will go where he wants to and you won't know for sure until you get him...so just be ready to make the necessary adjustments as you go.

Thanks for the great replies. I think I may have to go get some repti-carpet, as it seems that logically as it is thicker then newspaper, it will not make the surface temp so hot but still heat up well enough to make the hot side hot enough, and if not, it will still make me feel safer about turning up the heating pad temp. I'm still looking for a thermostat for my heatpad, I have no idea where to find that >_<

You should be able to find a thermostat at a pet store. I got one at a reptile store, but they have them at petco too. In fact they were having a clearance on them recently ($9.98 ). Great deal, but I don't know if that is still going. Or you can get them online. LLL Reptile has a really good deal on one right now ($12.99)
http://lllreptile.com/v2/content/cat...att-thermostat

And with that you just plug the pad into the themostat, the thermostat into the wall outlet, and there should be a probe or something to monitor the temp of the pad that goes right on the pad? and then set to 93* or whatever right?

All correct, except that you want to set the thermostat to whatever temperature results in the proper temps inside, which may or may not be 93F.

Oh yay I'm getting tons of Marla replies today ^_^ Joy for me ^_^
Thank you Marla ^_^

I'm gonna try and get a thermostat today at Petco but if they don't have one, I'm gonna order that one online, it looks very nice good.

And I'm gonna get some repti-carpet too ^_^
Is this the kind I should get?

http://www.petco.com/product_info.as...rate&ct2=&ct3=

That's the stuff!!

You can get more carpet for the $ if you get outdoor carpet at Lowe's or Home Depot, but yes, that will work just fine. I hope your Petco isn't out of the thermostats, because that was a great deal and no shipping costs, but the $12.99 deal is still a better deal than you'll usually find. :)

Outdoor carpet from Lowe's?

Can you name a specific brand so I don't get the wrong one? ^_^

Sorry, I don't know any brands, but if you just check it to make sure it has a good, tight weave, it should be fine.

Ok I'll take a look, and post some pics of it when I get home so you guys can make sure I didn't get the wrong one before I open it ^_^

We just went to Home Depot last weekend and purchased some. It's usually in the carpet/flooring section of the store and you have to purchase it in lengths (usually by the square foot).

I would put the probes in the same places they are but under the layers of newspaper. That is where the cage will be the hottest. And we all know our snakes eventually find their way under the newspaper or whatever other substrate there is. If you leave the probe on top of the substrate then whatever temp you have it at will be good there, but it will be MUCH hotter under the substrate and on the actual surface of the plastic rubbermaid.

I went out and got that exact same thermostat from Petco for only $10 it was the last one too! But the instructions seem to be missing maybe thats why it was only 10$ >_<

It seems pretty self explanatory though so I hope I can figure it out ok ^_^

I plan on going out to get some outdoor carpet today from Lowe's.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by QuenteK25

I would put the probes in the same places they are but under the layers of newspaper. That is where the cage will be the hottest. And we all know our snakes eventually find their way under the newspaper or whatever other substrate there is. If you leave the probe on top of the substrate then whatever temp you have it at will be good there, but it will be MUCH hotter under the substrate and on the actual surface of the plastic rubbermaid.

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But is this the accurate temp for my tub then? If I put my probes under my substrate and it reads 93 or whatever degrees and it only reads like say 88 is that sufficient?

Just let us know if you have any questions about the thermostat.

Ok well I plugged in my thermostat and plugged my pad into the thermostat. Then put the probe between the tank and the heatpad. At first the temp seemed to drop then it seemed to rise. I assume this for adjusting? The temp now is at 89 and my heating pad is on LOW and the Thermostat on HIGH. I'm going to check it again in an hour and if the temp hasnt changed by more then .3 degrees I'm going to assume that is as hot as it gets on the low setting of the UTH.

Ok >_< I'm not quite sure how this thermostat is supposed to be working now. I thought it would shut off once it got to a certain heat and then if it dropped below, the heat would go back on.

It turns out the UTH on LOW and the Thermostat on HIGH only topped out at 88.9*

So I put the UTH on MED and I lowered the Thermostat as low as I could without the thermostat light going off, and now it has soared to 94.7 and I fear it is still rising. The instruction book is not in here so I dunno if I have to do something else with this thing. It doesnt seem like there is anything else to do other then plug it in, set the probe, plug in the UTH and set the knob.

Here's how I set mine up. First I plugged in my heating pad on low and waited for it to get to the temperature I wanted (90) (with the probe already in place). Then I plugged in my heating pad to the thermostat, and then plugged in the thermostat into the wall. I believe at this point the light was not on. So I moved the dial clockwise (hotter) until the light just came on, turning the heating pad back on. Then I turned the dial back just a nudge until the light turned off. This way, if it gets any cooler than the current temp (90) the light and heating pad will come back on. Then keep your eye on it for a while. It may need a little bit of tweaking with the dial to get the temp right where you want it. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions.

Thats pretty much what I did, except when I turned it back just a nudge and it turned off, the temp dropped from 92 down to 84 and the pad did not go back on. >_< I just put my new setup together, which is hopefully my final setup, so I'm beginning my final temp tests. Im about to post pics in the Husbandry section.

That's really strange. Did you try turning the dial back up again? Where do you have the probe?

yes i did and it went back on and started heating up again

And the probe is between the bottom of the tub and the heater.

When it started heating up again did it get too hot? Maybe you're moving the dial too much. Once you get it back on, keep an eye on the temperature until it gets to the temperature that you want, and if it doesn't go off on it's own, nudge it back again till the light goes off. Just keep playing with it. Once you get it set up how you want it, it should monitor the temperature pretty well.

At first I had my probe between the heating pad and the tub. But then I decided it would be better to actually have it IN the tub. I thought it would be better to monitor the temperature inside the tub rather than underneath it. I drilled a hole big enough to fit the probe through and taped it down underneath the carpet (on top of the layer of newspaper). Then I put tape over the hole so that my bp wouldn't try to stick his nose through it. My hot side temps pretty much stay around 90. I hope you can get it to work out. :)

I really hope I can get my setup done. I had to empty it out completely so I could clean the carpet and hopefully get rid of the stink in it. Tomorrow hopefully I will set it back up and have another go. I really hope to get this done and stable so I can have my BP by next weekend ^_^