Probing tank temps

Ok, so I got myself some digital thermometers that also do humidity... the stupid things don't probe for the humidity though only the humidity were the display is at... I'll have to bring one back or something... ANYWAYS...

I'm currently cooling down my warm side, it was to hot, so here are the questions.

I use astroturf like stuff for the substrate and when measuring temps I want to measure belly temp correct? On the side with UTH the temp difference on the surface of the substrate and under it is VERY different. For example, I WAS using an uncontrolled UTH. Under the substrate(carpet) the temp was 113. On the surface of the carpet though, the temp was 94.

I would assume that I would measure the surface and not under it since the snake won't be going under it? What would be a good way to hide the probe wire(s) since I'll be measure the carpet surface?

Glad to hear you got something to check humidity with!

However I would ditch the Astroturf for Aspen or Bed-A-Beast or something like that as I hear cleaning the Astroturf stuff can be a pain and it doesn't simulate natural environment as much.

Just my :2cent:

Glad to hear you're fixing things so fast. It's nice to see this forum constantly helping people. Keep on keepin' on!:gj:

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Originally Posted by V1L3 DiaL3cT

Glad to hear you got something to check humidity with!

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Thats the bad things. Those cheap Indoor/Outdoor Accurite thermometers don't detect the humidity where the probe(outdoor temp) is. Only where you have the digital display (indoor temp). So should I stick the whole thing in the tank with the snake? I can't see that being a good thing. I found that odd when I brought them home. I've seen a few photos of people using this exact same thermometer.

Alot of people leave gauges to check humidity in their tanks, just leave them low to the ground. Wouldn't want snakey falling :)

So you're saying I can put both my digitals in the tank with the snake? I'm not sure if that sounds safe. Still not sure where I should be measuring the temps either... on top or bellow the carpet. I'm not going to switch that... yet at least.

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Originally Posted by V1L3 DiaL3cT

Alot of people leave gauges to check humidity in their tanks, just leave them low to the ground. Wouldn't want snakey falling :)

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hehe I went to check my temps last night (I had 2 UTHs because it had been cold, but now the weather's getting to where it should be, so I unplugged 1 UTH and need to watch my temps...anyway..) and saw that the screen was blank! I was really worried it had already stopped working, but I saw that somehow when Uli was climbing on it, she loosened up the battery cover just a little. I can't even imagine how it happened!

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Originally Posted by Theely

So you're saying I can put both my digitals in the tank with the snake? I'm not sure if that sounds safe. Still not sure where I should be measuring the temps either... on top or bellow the carpet. I'm not going to switch that... yet at least.

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I think you should measure under the substrate, but keep in mind that's what you're doing, and get some kind of idea about how warm it is on the surface of the substrate compared to the reading on the thermometer. But then I think the big reason people usually say to do that is in case your snake burrows through the substrate, which isn't too likely in the case of carpet hehe.
I use a carpet with aspen on top, and I actually put it under the aspen, on top of the carpet.

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Originally Posted by soy.lor.n

I think you should measure under the substrate, but keep in mind that's what you're doing, and get some kind of idea about how warm it is on the surface of the substrate compared to the reading on the thermometer. But then I think the big reason people usually say to do that is in case your snake burrows through the substrate, which isn't too likely in the case of carpet hehe.
I use a carpet with aspen on top, and I actually put it under the aspen, on top of the carpet.

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Under the carpet directly on the glass I can get a reading of 100 yet sitting on top of the carpet its perfect (90-92) and the cool side is at 78 and slowly climbing. 100watt infrared over the warm side, 60 over the cool.

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Originally Posted by Theely

Under the carpet directly on the glass I can get a reading of 100 yet sitting on top of the carpet its perfect (90-92) and the cool side is at 78 and slowly climbing. 100watt infrared over the warm side, 60 over the cool.

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How are you measuring both temperatures (on top of the carpet and under it) at the same time?
I just think you should measure the surface temp with your top on long enough to make sure that temp has evened out (so using both probes or using a temp gun) just because the surface temp is a lot more likely to vary with the top off than the glass temp

If you were doing it like that, then it sounds like you want it to read about 100, but I would check that over time too, as that might change with the weather. (or maybe you'll want to get another type of substrate hehe)

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Originally Posted by soy.lor.n

How are you measuring both temperatures (on top of the carpet and under it) at the same time?
I just think you should measure the surface temp with your top on long enough to make sure that temp has evened out (so using both probes or using a temp gun) just because the surface temp is a lot more likely to vary with the top off than the glass temp

If you were doing it like that, then it sounds like you want it to read about 100, but I would check that over time too, as that might change with the weather. (or maybe you'll want to get another type of substrate hehe)

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Thanks for your guys help btw. I appreciate it! I have two digital thermometers. I had one on top and below the carpet just to see the difference. Now I moved one over to the cool side to see whats happening over there. warm side is now 92 and cool is 80. the top of my tank is just a wire mesh. I read that I should probably cover that with foil though so I'll probably be doing that pretty soon since that helps with humidity as well.

Anytime, you could also cover the top or your screen mostly with a damp towel. Leave enough room for a heat lamp if you're using one or a CHE to not touch the towel but that's what I do for mine and that works pretty well. But if you go my route wash the towels once a week to prevent bacteria from growing on them. Good luck!

Hello there again! Good to see your doing well so far. Put the accurites right in the tank, don't worry they don't produce enough power to hurt your bp. The probe cannot measure humidity because it is meant for surface temps, the humidity mechanism is inside the device and is much larger than a probe, just letting you know so you don't go on a search for a "probe" humidity reader, you won't find one.

Here's an example of what you can do with the two devices (using Velcro so they can be removed)

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...4/2/setup3.jpg

Now that carpet you have, I have never used one so I can't really say from personal experience if they are good or bad, but I have heard bad things about them. What tends to happen is if your bp urinates or releases a bowel movement, the carpet will suck it right up, and you won't even know that there is a mess that there is a mess that needs to be washed out. Now think of your snakes sensitive belly running over that constantly.

Your UTH, since it is uncontrolled, is obviously too hot, but because you are using the carpet, this situation becomes a little difficult. I would still suggest you purchase at minimum a $10 lamp dimmer from a hard-ware store, and that way you can turn it down. It took 3 days before my uncontrolled UTH reached 115 degrees, luckily there was no snake with it, it was just a test run.

Because your water bowl is over top of the UTH, it may help quite a bit with raising your humidity, but if you do find that the humidity is below 50, you can cover some of the screen with a damp towel, with frequent washing (as mentioned). You can also try covering half of the tank with a damp towel and the other half with foil, that way you can keep the temps up on the cooler side with the aluminum covering, and the humidity up on the warm side. The 100 watt bulb still seems to be a bit much, but just keep an eye on your temps and humidity and adjust the wattage accordingly.

Ok, here is what I got going on so far... I went out and got some aspen substrate but I applied it on top of the carpet, like Soy.lor.n does. The probes for the therms are between the carpet and aspen. Warm side of the tank only has the UTH(with dimmer now) and is at 91.4 w/ 53% humidity, I'll be tweaking through the night I'm sure. Cool side has the 100watt infrared bulb and is at 80 w/ 47% humidity. The lid of the tank is completely covered with a damp towel except for the spot with the light.

If the humidity does not improve more with the towel and water bowl over the UTH... I also purchased all the goods needed to make that D.I.Y. humidifier. :D No need for doing that though if I don't have to.

Sounds like you're on the right track!:gj:
Keep us posted!

I've tried a few D.I.Y humidifiers, and well I failed lol. I ended up simply buying a compact room humidifier and keep it going 24/7 in my room where my bp is. As I mentioned before, you can buy a 70 watt bulb instead of the 100 and that will lower the amount of humidity being dried up and should still keep your ambient temps up.

If you put a probe under your cooler hide, then put a lamp over the cool side above the hide, the inside of the hide should warm up, and you will be able to monitor that temp if you keep the probe in there. Try and set your probes/actual accurite where you can get the readings you want all over the tank without moving them. I have one probe under my cool hide, one under the warm hide, the actual accurite displaying the ambient temp on the warm side (where there is NO lamp, so the coolest ambient temp is known) and the humidity displayed on the other accurite.

I'm going to bed for now, but I'll check how your doing in the morning, and I am sure others can help you still if your up for the night;)

Final numbers :P

warm side 92.3/53% humidity
cool side 81.4/45% humidity (has the lamp)

I'll work on fixing the humidity later, she seems to be enjoying the warm side anyways. Also, these temps are the probe readings between the carpet and aspen substrate, so the actual surface temp might be a little cooler on both ends? I'm going to attempt to steal a IR gun from work tomorrow just get some quick reading to get an idea of whats really going on.

I have noticed since all this changing today she was just kind of sitting around in random spots of the warm side not doing anything. Just chilling basically. Which is something she hasn't done before. I haven't had her very long as well though. She would go back into hiding shortly after noticing me. I've been going out there check on temps.

Off to bed I go!

Sounds like your doing better! If you want to get the humidity up a tad more on the cool side, fill a spray bottle with water, then lightly mist the aspen and it should absorb the water then slowly release it to help with your humidity.

If she is spending most of her time in her hides, that is a good thing. She will spend about 80% of her time in those hides, and if she comes out, it will likely be at night. So it is a good sign that she is settling in. Another good sign that she is comfortable is if she uses both hides. By switching from cool to warm and back again, she is regulating her temperature and you want her to feel equally secure in both hides so she will do that.