Temp and Humidity Issues

I have a 10g glass tank (the Exo-Terra kind). I have a UTH and a 25 watt light on the top of the tank. I covered the open screen with a towel. I have insulated 3 sides of the tank with black foam core board.
I am getting between 45-50% humidity. Near the UTH I am getting low 80's, and by the light I am getting high 80's.

I am not sure what the surface temp is for the UTH, but I am sure it is around 100 because it is very warm to the touch.

Are these temps alright? Or should I be doing something differently?

warm to the touch is prolly too hot.

do you not have a thermometer with a prob?they are pretty vital to have.only 12 dollars at walmart.

for the humidity it wouldnt be a bad idea to mist it once a day.

do you have a pic of your setup?

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Originally Posted by Butters420

warm to the touch is prolly too hot.

do you not have a thermometer with a prob?they are pretty vital to have.only 12 dollars at walmart.

for the humidity it wouldnt be a bad idea to mist it once a day.

do you have a pic of your setup?

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I JUST left, so I can get a picture later.
I have a dimmer for the UTH, should I just turn it down a little?
I live in chicago, so there are no walmarts :/
I plan on investing in a thermostat and probe thermometers later this year and once I have some money coming in. So for now, this will have to do.

since you have a light the snake most likely has a basking spot so i would turn down the dimmer a bit.i use dimmers and none of them are even half way down the slider.how warm is your room?

is there any way you can order a thermometer online?you should be fine with a dimmer as long as you can adjust the slider but you need a probe under that warm hide.a few degree change in your room can cause major problems

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Originally Posted by Butters420

since you have a light the snake most likely has a basking spot so i would turn down the dimmer a bit.i use dimmers and none of them are even half way down the slider.how warm is your room?

is there any way you can order a thermometer online?you should be fine with a dimmer as long as you can adjust the slider but you need a probe under that warm hide.a few degree change in your room can cause major problems

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my room is usually around 70, although it does fluctuate a lot because it has a huge window. I could order a thermometer online, but I am trying to make do with what I have right now.
I do check the temps like, every hour because I am so paranoid D:.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

my room is usually around 70, although it does fluctuate a lot because it has a huge window. I could order a thermometer online, but I am trying to make do with what I have right now.
I do check the temps like, every hour because I am so paranoid D:.

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not to harp on you but if you dont have a probe on top of the uth you are never gonna get a real temp and that is dangerous.that snake you have will live to be over 20 years old and you need this tool to help monitor its conditions.not to be rude but if you do not invest in this i will no longer try to help you out.im sorry if i come off the wrong way but im doing my best to help you and you long term buddy

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Originally Posted by Butters420

not to harp on you but if you dont have a probe on top of the uth you are never gonna get a real temp and that is dangerous.that snake you have will live to be over 20 years old and you need this tool to help monitor its conditions.not to be rude but if you do not invest in this i will no longer try to help you out.im sorry if i come off the wrong way but im doing my best to help you and you long term buddy

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I understand that, I am sorry if I seem uncooperative. I just need to get the temps stable until I can afford to drop the cash for a nice thermo and hydrometer and a thermostat, one that will last more than a few years. Which probably means a few weeks. I really just need some short term help, but if you can't help me with that, then that is fine.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

I understand that, I am sorry if I seem uncooperative. I just need to get the temps stable until I can afford to drop the cash for a nice thermo and hydrometer and a thermostat, one that will last more than a few years. Which probably means a few weeks. I really just need some short term help, but if you can't help me with that, then that is fine.

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you can save up for a thermostat and use the dimmer until then but if you do not monitor your temps on the warm hide your snake could be in for a horrible fate.anything over 100 can cook the insides of your snake.is this a hard lesson you want to learn? you will never be able to get the temps stable w/o a good probed thermometer.i wish you and your snake good luck!i hope its got the smarts and awareness to get out of the heat if it needs to.once again good luck and dont ask me for help if you cant gather a few dollars for a vital peice of equiptment

You can get a tempgun fairly cheap. They run about $15-20. Absolutely accurate, and you can instantly get the temp of any section.

I am getting a second hand thermostat for the meantime. The tempgun sounds like a good idea as well.
Thank you all for the suggestions.
The temps in his enclosure are fairly stable now. 82 on the cool side, 90 on the warm side. ambient temp of my room is around 75.

you should find out the surface temperature directly above the UTH if you havent already. to do this simply tape down a thermometer probe directly to the glass on the bottom of the inside of your tank. now using tape inside the enclosure is usually not recommended but if you use aluminum foil tape and stick it down properly it will never come off. if you dont have this tape or dont want to use tape then figure out a way to keep the probe fixed to the glass so that you can find out the exact surface temperature that your snake may come into contact with.

Foil tape is not a good idea inside and should only be used OUTside the enclosure. The only tape that should ever come near the inside of an enclosure would be painters or artists tapes...since they're so weak. And then ONLY when you've exhausted all other ways to keep things in place.

The two best ways to secure the probe are suction cups and hide weight. Those little suction cups from crafts departments with the little hooks work wonders when you bend the hook around the wire. That way the sharp end of the hook is out of the way as well.
If the bottom of your enclosure just won't take the cups, then just place the hide over the wire. Granted, you might have to be repositioning the probe depending on how much your snake likes to 'redecorate'... but that's a ton better then having a snake stuck to tape.

Thanks for the idea :D

foil tape is probably the best tape to use inside the enclosure because of its strength. have you ever used it? if you have then you would understand how difficult it is, even for the keeper, to pull off of whatever surface it is applied to. for that reason i say use it because there is no possible way that the snake could ever remove and get stuck to the tape.

any other tape that could be removed from its stuck surface would be dangerous in my opinion, for various reasons, but i have never used other types of tape and dont have first hand experience.

but because i have used aluminum foil tape inside rubbermaid tubs for years now and have never had a problem and never will have a problem, i can safely say its safe to use.:)

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Originally Posted by bigballs

foil tape is probably the best tape to use inside the enclosure because of its strength. have you ever used it? if you have then you would understand how difficult it is, even for the keeper, to pull off of whatever surface it is applied to. for that reason i say use it because there is no possible way that the snake could ever remove and get stuck to the tape.

any other tape that could be removed from its stuck surface would be dangerous in my opinion, for various reasons, but i have never used other types of tape and dont have first hand experience.

but because i have used aluminum foil tape inside rubbermaid tubs for years now and have never had a problem and never will have a problem, i can safely say its safe to use.:)

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I don't know if I will even need tape (I have a nice heavy hide) but I will check out the foil tape :D

Never say something can 'never happen'...it will.

I use foil tape in abundance on the outsides of glass and plastic enclosures alike. Mostly to tape the UTH on and the t-stat probe to the UTHs. Through this use I know two things about it:
It is VERY sticky with sharp edges.
It can roll up from the corners with a lot of movement and debris.

Now, I don't know about you...but my snakes love to move around at night. Any bedding you use can get onto the edges of the tape, causing the stickiness to reduce and the edges to roll up with movement. I would NOT want my snakes coming in contact with that stuff, since it's hard to get off my own skin. :)

I prefer being certain of safety over having to occasionally reposition a thermometer probe.

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Originally Posted by Argentra

Any bedding you use can get onto the edges of the tape, causing the stickiness to reduce and the edges to roll up with movement.

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doesnt happen.;)

and as you have said youreself, you have no experience using the tape within the enclosure so you can take my word for it or not.

dont use the tape if your not comfortable doing so. simple as that. but please dont tell me that something will inevitably happen due to your opinion of improper husbandry practices.

put it this way, i love and care for my snakes probably just as much and as well as you do for yours and im just as certain for their safety as you are for theirs.

thanks!:)

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

I don't know if I will even need tape (I have a nice heavy hide) but I will check out the foil tape :D

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hey sorry to take your thread so off topic here.;) as long as you can accurately determine the temperature that your looking for then thats great. also if you decide to foil tape it down then make sure the surface is clean, dry and clear of debris for maximum tape strength. i always do that just to be safe.;)