Terrarium Prep. Questions.

Hey, I'm getting my first BP Tuesday and I'm pretty excited. I have a few last minute questions though. I'm using Eco-Earth coconut fiber and currently I have a layer of about 1/2 inch thick, how thick do you suggest I have it. It is also packed down fairly tight, should I leave it loose or keep it tight? I have an 8"x8" 8 watt substrate heater and a 75w blue light bulb on a Repti Temp 500R thermostat, do you think the heater could overheat the coconut bark to the point where it comes too hot? Should I place my clay hide directly on top of where the UTH is or should i place it slightly to the side?

Thanks in advance, Perry.

Hello.

I personally use newspaper as a substrate, but with eco-earth I would think 1/2 thick is fine. You don't want it so thick that the heat from the under tank pad can't come through. It doesn't really matter if it's packed down or loose.. your snake will mix it up when it crawls around anyway.

You will need a digital thermometer to measure your temps.. preferably 2 (or an indoor outdoor thermometer that can take two readings, one for the warm side and one for the cool side) temps should be 80-82 warm side and 90-92 on the cool side. You should also have a digital hygrometer (to measure humidity which should be between 50-60%)

You said the bulb is on a thermostat, but is the under tank heater? UTHs get quite hot and can burn a snake if they are not on a thermostat.. I'm not sure I trust the repti temp thermostats. I use Johnson and Ranco on/off t-stats.. though the best are the proportional t-stats (Helix and Herpstat)

You should have at least two hiding spots for your snake, one on the cool side and one on the warm side. It's fine to place it directly above your heating pad.

I kinda wrote that bad lol. I do have 2 identical clay hides and I know where my cool end one will be but I was just wondering about the hot ones. Both the UTH and the bulb are on the thermostat, I have a digital probe thermometer and I am planning on getting another one before I get my snake. My hygrometer is analog (I know they're inaccurate) and I do plan on getting a digital within the next week or so.

Thanks for the answers, Perry.

If you plan on getting a digital, head over to Wal-Mart and grab an Acurite. I has a prob for your warm side and it is a hygrometer. It will cost you a hefty $12. I found mine by the gardening area, since it is technically an indoor/outdoor thermometer/hygrometer.

You can't put two different wattage items on one thermostat.. it can only do one type at a time. You'd need a separate t-stat for each.

Your lamp/bulb doesn't really need a t-stat...but the UTH certainly does! Keep just the UTH on the stat for now and just raise or lower the lamp for temp control there by clamping it to a shelf or pole or something.

As for the Reptitemp 500R... it should do for now, but you should Seriously look into getting a Ranco or Johnson stat from Reptile Basics before too long. Reptitemps are notorious for breaking down suddenly. I have the one I bought (before I knew better) controlling my Leopard gecko UTH...but I also have a rheostat as a backup just in case.

Yes, you want that warm side hide over the area of the UTH. You'll be placing your warm side probe for the thermometer under the hide, so it should be right over the UTH. Ecco-earth should be ok... but it tends to mold easily so watch it. Personally, I would use either blank newsprint (3 sheets or so), blank papertowels, or aspen (which is what I use now) which keeps humidity but doesn't mold.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shelby

You can't put two different wattage items on one thermostat.. it can only do one type at a time. You'd need a separate t-stat for each.

---

This is twice in the last day or 2 I've seen this, but I don't remember seeing this before. Why can't things with different wattage be on the same thermostat? :confused:

Well, because the thermostat would need to give different amounts of power to them to achieve the same temperature. The one that isn't on the probe will either get too hot or not hot enough.

Alright thanks for the information. I'll definitely be getting a Helix thermostat (the Helix DBS1000 should be alright I'm assuming, should I get the night drop too?) next payday, I'll try and swing by Walmart today for the thermometer/hygrometer. After my first major cleaning (after her first shed) I'll give aspen a try. Another question, would it be alright to have a blue light running all day and night provided i do have a white light running on a 12 hour timer too?

Thanks, Perry.

I picked up a digital hygrometer/dual thermometer for 25 bucks at walmart. My humidity is still pretty high but it is drying out now. I can't wait as I now believe I'm getting her tomorrow. :)

When using Eco Earth, right after letting it soak, you might want to put it in the oven for about 30 min in a lasagna pan to dry it out. Then lay it over the bottom of the tank and let the temps settle back down before putting your BP back in.

I wrung it out by hand and put it in the terrarium with the heat and light on, the humidity has dropped from around 88% this morning to 68% currently. I have the lid off now but I'm not worried about the humidity at the moment as I have a week until I get her so I should be able to perfect the humidity and temps.

The Helix is great.. no need for the night drop.

I really don't know on the blue bulb.. I know red bulbs are fine to be on overnight.. as well as ceramic heat emitters.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Perry

Another question, would it be alright to have a blue light running all day and night provided i do have a white light running on a 12 hour timer too?

Thanks, Perry.

---

We had blue "moonlight" bulbs on our original 20L vivariums, which we had plugged in 24 hour power strip; 2 plugs for day, 2 for night plus 4 more just regular power plug ins. Anywho, we had a regular white light lamp for the day time and the moonlight bulb lamp for night so we could see them.

So, to answer your specific question, yes you can leave the moonlight bulb on all the time, but I wouldn't count on it as a heat source.

See the link in my signature for a full write up on how we had our original glass vivariums set up and let me know if you have questions. =)

We still use these power strips and just turn on white lights automatically for the day.