I have to heat my flexwatt to 100 to get the tub's substrate to 90. Is that normal?

I have 1 foot of 11 inch flexwatt taped down to board with foil tape and then a big 28qt tube sits on top of it with a few pieces of paper towel substrate. I noticed I have to eat the tape up to 100 just to make the substrate 90. It's weird because the bottom of the tub shows its like 110. Is this ok?

What kind of thermostat are you using? What kind of thermometer?

The ambient temperature of the room your tub is in will also have an effect on what you need to set the T-stat for to maintain the desired temps. My ambient room temps are usually 68 so I need to set my heat tape to 105 to get the temps I need.

If you have the tape set to 100 you shouldn't be seeing 110 in the tub floor unless there is something wrong with your thermostat or thermometer.

When you use paper towel or any paper as a substrate you want the bottom of the tub to be your target temperature. When the snake is on the papertowel the heat passes almost right through it. So when you snake is on the papertowel he gets the 110 degrees.

I would also check your snakes body temp after he has been on the heat for a little while. Non Contact IR Thermometers are the best for checking body / surface temps

Thermostat is Johnson Controls

Thermometer is RBI 201 Infrared Thermometer
http://reptilebasics.com/image.php?type=P&id=16245

The probe is taped directly to the heat tape. The tub sits on top of the tape.

Ok the buttom of the tub reads 110. This is the part that directly touches the tape. The top where substrate lays is about 100. There's 3 layers of papertowel on top and it measures 90. The snake itself is about 89 when I press the thermoment against him.

The snake generally prefers the warm side. So if it was actually 110 I'm pretty sure he would move.

what I did was use what Tim Bailey does for his thermostat probe. Its a great idea!

http://www.baileyreptiles.com/images...y/diycbr24.jpg

It keeps my heat tape around 105 or so and the bottom of the tubs right around 90ish...

What does the top of your tub's floor measure? (the part that touches the snake.) Mine is always a big difference from the bottom of my tub. I think there's some heat buildup between the tape and the tub that doesn't fully carry to the top where it touches the snake.

My surface temps are 90 and 80 hot/cool with an ambient of about 82. I use paper towels as my substrate too. I'm also using a rack system with 3 inch tape controlled by a helix proportional thermostat. I don't believe the part of the tub that touches my snake ever exceeds 95 degrees; with my substrate temps never going past 92.

I would venture to guess that your ambient room temps are too cold. I had to insulate the exposed portions of my tubs in my rack in order to correct my issues I had with my thermostat settings.

Anyone else want to chime in?

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

So if it was actually 110 I'm pretty sure he would move.

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Ball pythons are well proven to burn themselves when the heat is too high even though they had a cool spot to move to.

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Originally Posted by Spaniard

My surface temps are 90 and 80 hot/cool with an ambient of about 82. I use paper towels as my substrate too. I'm also using a rack system with 3 inch tape controlled by a helix proportional thermostat. I don't believe the part of the tub that touches my snake ever exceeds 95 degrees; with my substrate temps never going past 92.

I would venture to guess that your ambient room temps are too cold. I had to insulate the exposed portions of my tubs in my rack in order to correct my issues I had with my thermostat settings.

Anyone else want to chime in?

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You are probably right. My ambient temp is about 72-75 since that's the room temp in my apartment. I know it's too low but I don't want to heat the entire room for just 1 snake. Too much wattage / electricity cost. What I plan to do is get an UTH / dimmer for warming the cool side. Until then I just want to keep my snake warmed to 90 so he can digest the big mouse I gave him last night.

Also, do your surface/substrate temps match your under tub temps?

I've never thought to temp check the underside of my tubs to be honest. My rack has a recessed grove for the flexwatt so my tub never actually touches the heat tape.

Getting a UTH for the cool side will help a great deal with your temps as long as your room temps are constant and don't vary much; otherwise tweaking with the dimmer will drive you crazy.

Like mentioned above, belly's of bps are not very sensitive to pain so its very likely that a snake will burn its belly even when provided with a cooler option..

Good luck tweaking your set up. If I can manage with ambients of 68 you'll figure something out ;)

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Originally Posted by Spaniard

I've never thought to temp check the underside of my tubs to be honest. My rack has a recessed grove for the flexwatt so my tub never actually touches the heat tape.

Getting a UTH for the cool side will help a great deal with your temps as long as your room temps are constant and don't vary much; otherwise tweaking with the dimmer will drive you crazy.

Like mentioned above, belly's of bps are not very sensitive to pain so its very likely that a snake will burn its belly even when provided with a cooler option..

Good luck tweaking your set up. If I can manage with ambients of 68 you'll figure something out ;)

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Yeah I have a good apartment central air / heat thermostat so my temps are very steady. I'm considering just getting a human heating pad that has different heat settings and seeing how that works. And then if needed, I'll get a dimmer or 2nd thermostat for it.

Thanks for clarifying about the underside of your tub. I'll stop looking at those temps completely and just focus on what touches my snake.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spaceturtle

Yeah I have a good apartment central air / heat thermostat so my temps are very steady. I'm considering just getting a human heating pad that has different heat settings and seeing how that works. And then if needed, I'll get a dimmer or 2nd thermostat for it.

Thanks for clarifying about the underside of your tub. I'll stop looking at those temps completely and just focus on what touches my snake.

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I wouldn't recommend using a human heat pad, they're not designed to be left running 24/7. I would only use it as a temporary fix for a day or two. Rich at reptilebasics.com could help you out with pre-wired flexwatt at no additional cost. He will even help you decide what size you would need given your current heating elements.

Edit: If not a regular UTH on a dimmer is safer and will probably run you $25 total if you wire the dimmer yourself.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spaniard

I wouldn't recommend using a human heat pad, they're not designed to be left running 24/7. I would only use it as a temporary fix for a day or two. Rich at reptilebasics.com could help you out with pre-wired flexwatt at no additional cost. He will even help you decide what size you would need given your current heating elements.

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That's what I use currently for the warm side. I guess I can do the same with the other side, I just don't want to throw down another $80 for a thermostat. I guess flexwatt + rheostat or dimmer would work fine. I also might try a zoomed UTH since those aren't such a snake cooking risk.

As long as you use your Ranco for the warm side your cool side should be more than fine with the dimmer + flexwatt or ZooMed UTH.

I went to amazon and bought 2 UTH and 1 rheostat. Cost me $67 shipped. I got the extra UTH just in case something ever fails, or if maybe I decide to scrap the flexwatt over safety reasons.