Frustrated with trying to heat tank

I bought a new Tstat yesterday that actually has the temp on the dial and got a bigger uth for my new large tank. Heat gun gives me accurate temps but it isn't what the Tstat is saying! Prec is hanging out in the middle behind some plants where gun says it's 85...guess she knows best. Probe is on warm side on substrate just behind warm side hide. Heat gun is saying it's 87 there. Tstat says 90. She has enough aluminum foil on top of her screen and around heat lamp to keep the government from getting hold of her communications (joke). I just don't know what to do, other than spend more money on a boaphile tank right now that I just don't have the money for. Everything was perfect until this colder weather came in. It's 78 in the room. Any ideas anyone?


Molly & Precioucess

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Originally Posted by calmolly1

I bought a new Tstat yesterday that actually has the temp on the dial and got a bigger uth for my new large tank. Heat gun gives me accurate temps but it isn't what the Tstat is saying! Prec is hanging out in the middle behind some plants where gun says it's 85...guess she knows best. Probe is on warm side on substrate just behind warm side hide. Heat gun is saying it's 87 there. Tstat says 90. She has enough aluminum foil on top of her screen and around heat lamp to keep the government from getting hold of her communications (joke). I just don't know what to do, other than spend more money on a boaphile tank right now that I just don't have the money for. Everything was perfect until this colder weather came in. It's 78 in the room. Any ideas anyone?


Molly & Precioucess

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Could you share some photos?

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...b0b7f9fc7a.jpg
Temp on warm side hide ( I just had her out in my arms to warm her up and put her back there..she headed to the cool side ASAP )


Molly & Precioucess

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...a802507e10.jpg
Warm side


Molly & Precioucess

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...7950d624c6.jpg
Cool side

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...d7950c05f3.jpg
Cool side

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...5aed3ed361.jpg
CHE (was in wire holder, wrapped it to direct heat into tank) and aluminum foil 'lid'...


Molly & Precioucess

Quote:

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Originally Posted by calmolly1

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...b0b7f9fc7a.jpg
Temp on warm side hide ( I just had her out in my arms to warm her up and put her back there..she headed to the cool side ASAP )


Molly & Precioucess

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That's showing the temp on top of the hide is 89. What is the temp on the substrate and on the glass under the substrate? If the room temp is mid 78 and the temp on top of the hide is 89, if you're heating with a UTH the substrate must be pretty warm.

Probe for stat should be directly on the uth not inside tank. If its reading almost 90 on the top that means your uth is running 95-97 that is why she is hanging out in the middle. I put my probe between uth and the glass. It gives a better reading.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...dd82890bd8.jpg
This is under hide on substrate...

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...368a6d9586.jpg

This is where she is hiding mostly


Molly & Precioucess

How do you adjust the CHE temp, just let the uth probe control that too?


Molly & Precioucess

Ok moving probe as soon as hubby gets home to help lift the dang thing. It had no idea that's where y'all put em.

Now if I break out the credit card and order two boaphile tanks (yes I'm getting another lol) how does that work? Do I need another Tstat? Should I stack them? (After quarantine of course) and do you need a CHE and if so where the heck do you put it?


Molly & Precioucess

That should be on a timer or reostat

It doesn't emit light, only heat


Molly & Precioucess

I'm just so frustrated and confused. when she was in her baby tank as a hatchling a 10 gallon glass I could keep the temperatures and humidity levels exactly right. I really didn't want to get a glass tank as her adult one but that's what happened due to bad advice but I'd really like to get it back where everything remained as it should be it just seems like we started getting cooler weather at the same time as we put her in the bigger tank


Molly & Precioucess

Quote:

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Originally Posted by calmolly1

I'm just so frustrated and confused. when she was in her baby tank as a hatchling a 10 gallon glass I could keep the temperatures and humidity levels exactly right. I really didn't want to get a glass tank as her adult one but that's what happened due to bad advice but I'd really like to get it back where everything remained as it should be it just seems like we started getting cooler weather at the same time as we put her in the bigger tank

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If the ambient temp is 78 and your UTH can provide a hot spot of anywhere from 87 to 91 or 92, you should be fine. When they need heat they'll move to the hotspot, when they're done heating up they'll move to the colder end.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by calmolly1

Ok moving probe as soon as hubby gets home to help lift the dang thing. It had no idea that's where y'all put em.

Now if I break out the credit card and order two boaphile tanks (yes I'm getting another lol) how does that work? Do I need another Tstat? Should I stack them? (After quarantine of course) and do you need a CHE and if so where the heck do you put it?


Molly & Precioucess

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I'm planning on a Boaphile or something similar myself, my plans are to provide heat with a radient heat panel (RHP) there are some plastic enclosures where you can have a cutout with a screen on top that would work with a CHE, but that renders them un-stackable obviously. And yes you would want a Tstat with one of those as well.

Just wanted to add that I am using a glass tank too but with a heat mat and thermostat set up. I originally had the thermostat probe in the hide next to the digital thermometer probe. All was well with that for a few days but as soon as he realized he could burrow I started getting discrepancies as much as 5 degrees between the thermometer and thermostat readings (he was knocking the thermostat probe out of contact with the glass leaving it measuring air temps instead). What I am doing now is placing the thermostat probe under the tank in direct contact with the UTH and measuring the in hide temps with a secured digital thermometer probe. I find that there is a standard 2 degree different between the mat and the glass temp reading but adjusting for that has allowed me to correctly set the thermostat to whatever will keep it at 90 in hide. There is a marked difference between glass temps and the surface temps so since I know he likes to dig down anyway I have cleared out a coiled snake sized area on the glass in the hide. He curled right up in it and things have been stable since.

Thanks y'all! She moved to her hot side hide and I've got that set at 90 with an auto shut down if it gets to 95. The temp gun says surface of substrate under hide is 88. The cool side is 77 ambient and warm side 85 ambient. She is currently in a perfect BP ball lol


Molly & Precioucess