Can't get susbtrate temp up?

Hello,

I've set up my terrarium for my new snake, but I can't seem to get my UTHs to heat up even with their thermostats cranked. I
m only gettin 77 to 78 degrees or so on the top of the substrate.

I have about 2" of reptibark over paper towels as my substrate. I realize that this is probably too much substrate, but I'm not sure how much I should have.

Also I have not covered my wire mesh top yet, so humidity is low. Will this affect the substrate temps?

I'm just dialing in the thermostats at the moment, I don't have the snake yet so I have some time to fiddle around.

You want to set up your enclosure completely before trying to adjust temps and what not. Having your screen covered will effect your temps but not dramatically. 2 " of substrate is way to much; I don't have experience using repti bark but I would think an inch would be sufficient.

I'm planning on cutting a sheet of acrylic to cover it tonight, so I'll see if it has any effect.

I'll roll the reptibark back to an inch or so as well. Will removing the paper towel help?

The paper towel shouldnt affect it too much, but alas it will do something. If you can't get it right by cutting down the thickness of the reptibark, just use the paper towel or newspaper.

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Originally Posted by TheKingInYellow

I'm planning on cutting a sheet of acrylic to cover it tonight, so I'll see if it has any effect.

I'll roll the reptibark back to an inch or so as well. Will removing the paper towel help?

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I would leave the paper towel, it is too thin to absorb much heat and will make cleaning easier. Yeah I think the directions that come with the UTH talk about how thick the substrate can be, if it is too thick the heat just can't penetrate.

Calibrate your temps at the surface of the tub, not the surface of the substrate. Your snake will move the substrate out of the way if it needs to get warmer. If you calibrate temps to the surface of the substrate the surface of the tub will be WAY too hot.

Substrate serves three purposes:

First and foremost....it is there to absorb wastes.
Second....sometimes it is used to enhance the appearance of an enclosure (make it look more natural or fulfill some other "design" choice)
Third....occasionally, an animal will want/need substrate for its comfort, either to burrow in (most common) or for cushioning its floor.

Ball Pythons don't need it for comfort. They only need it to absorb wastes. Whether or not you want it to enhance the appearance of your enclosure is entirely up to you. If you don't care about that....simple paper towels or newspaper will suffice. If you want it to "look nice"....repti bark is fine...but you only need just enough to cover the floor of the enclosure. You don't need to build up a "thickness"....and as you've already seen, having a deep layer causes complications.

Jamie is right that you want to be measuring the temps at the floor of the enclosure rather than on top of the substrate....a thin layer, just enough to cover the floor....makes this much easier to balance out.

I was gonna respond but Jamie and Judy got it all covered.
Best of luck with the setup.

Got it :)

I'll move the substrate aside and re-test my temps tonight.

Thanks for the advice!

Also, where do you have the thermostat probe positioned? I always put it directly on the heat tape and completely cover it with tape so room temps don't interfere with the probe.

Yes, that's what I've done. The probe is foil tapped to the UTH on the outside of the tank.

I'm using an IR temp gun to check the interior temps though.

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Originally Posted by TheKingInYellow

Yes, that's what I've done. The probe is foil tapped to the UTH on the outside of the tank.

I'm using an IR temp gun to check the interior temps though.

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Is the probe completely covered by the tape? Definitely calibrate on the surface of the tub though. In a rack system I have my stat set to about 96 which gets me about 92 or so on the surface of the tub.

Yes, completely covered by tape.

I think my mistake was calibrating on top of 2" of substrate :D

:) Yeah, 2" is way way too much for a BP. You just need enough to cover the paper towel, a light "sprinkling" of wood.

And yeah, make sure you're taking your temps at the bottom surface of the tank. If it's good temps there, and you don't have too much substrate, then the surface temps should only be 1-3 degrees lower. That way the snake can shove aside the substrate if they want to get warmer, and you know they won't get burned by doing it. :D

It's actually for a JCP, not a BP. There is only a husbandry forum in the BP section though...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TheKingInYellow

It's actually for a JCP, not a BP. There is only a husbandry forum in the BP section though...

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Ahhh...ok. Well, knowing the species of animal being discussed tends to make a difference on how folks approach it...although the mechanics of heat and substrate are pretty much the same in this case. I've moved the thread into the morelia forum for ya. ;)