Crazy Temps

Ok a bit of set-up detail.... I have my thermostat (Ranco) hooked up to my UTH. The probe is in between the glass of the tank bottom and the UTH. I have it set at 94F. I also have a digital thermometer in the hide (terra cotta thing. It is the thing you set the pot in to hold the water. It is painted.) just above the substrate (cypress). My thermometer has different readings all the time. They range from 92 degrees all the way to 101. When it gets high I will lift the hide and let it air out. I have tried changing the settings on the thermostat but still getthe same results.

So my questions... how can I change this? Is it bad that the temps get the high?

Hi,

You do want to stop them getting too high yes.

I would put the thermometer probe directly on the surface of the glass under the hide and adjust the thermostat untill that reads no more than 95f.

Then you can just put a thin layer of substrate back and keep varying the thickness until it reads about 92-94f at the surface of the substrate.

Do you know why the temp probe is giving varied results - could it be as simple as the snake moving things around?


dr del

With the room temperatures varying the tank varies its ambient temperature but it is never a big jump, maybe like 4 degrees. The hide is where the big temperature jumps are coming from. We have changed the settings of the thermostat before and moved the thermometer probe to where only a bit of it is sticking out of the substrate and it is near the side of the actual hide so it doesnt get bothered. do you think drilling a hole in the top of the hide will help some of the heat escape? I am thinking it is just a build up of heat from the UTH. I am not sure what else to do as I have done what you have suggested and still get a wide range of temperatures.

Ok, is your tank insulated? If not, that could be a major factor behind the fluctuations. ALL glass tanks should be insulated with foam board or cork on the back and both sides to keep heat in. Also, tanks with screen tops should have the screen covered with foil or plexiglass to help with heat and humidity retention.

Try using a single layer of newsprint paper under your substrate. Then, you can place the probe against the glass under the paper and it gets moved a lot less. You can also hot glue the probe right to the glass and it won't budge. I do this with my more active snakes. :)

Also, try replacing the battery in the thermometer or replacing the thermometer itself. Sometimes you get messed up units that show a wide range of temps when actually all is fine. The best way to test this is to replace the battery, then use a temp gun to double check the readings.

Tank is insulated on the bottom and the back but not on the sides. It is a screen top but has foil over 80% of it. Just enough for me to fit my heat bulb on the cool side to keep it warm. If I glue the probe down to the glass then i dont get what the temperature is inside the hide. I get the temperature of the glass. That reads normally. The thermometer works. I just like the have the temperatures in the actual hides, so my probe is under the hide but ontop of the substrate. When the probe for the themomter is on the glass my temperatures read the same as the thermostat.

I will take pictures today so I can see if I can explain myself better though pictures.

Ok here is the setup I have for the snake.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...kesetup001.jpg

Here is the thermometer reading and then the Ranco thermostat setting.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...kesetup002.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...kesetup002.jpg

This is how I have the thermometer probe under the hide. It is right on the edge of the hide itself and is just above the substrate that is actually very thin under the hide. I can actually see glass at some parts under the hide. The bare parts are not near the probe though but it is also not thick where the probe is.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...kesetup004.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...kesetup005.jpg

We are going to insulate the tank on all the other sides. Currently the bottom and the back is insulated and the top is covered with foil other than where the heat lamp is.

Let me know what you think.

Is the thermostat probe directly on the heat mat that the thermostat is connected to?
If it is not, things could get bumped or pulled, which could melt your UTH and your snake..

The probe that goes to the thermostat is in between the UTH and the glass on the bottom of the tank (on the outside of the tank of course) the probe that is viewed in the picture is that of the digital thermometer that I just wanted to get an idea of how hot it was in the hide at the surface of the substrate. Thats where the 98 degrees is reading even though my thermostat is set to 94 degrees.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pitbulls4me

The probe that goes to the thermostat is in between the UTH and the glass on the bottom of the tank (on the outside of the tank of course) the probe that is viewed in the picture is that of the digital thermometer that I just wanted to get an idea of how hot it was in the hide at the surface of the substrate. Thats where the 98 degrees is reading even though my thermostat is set to 94 degrees.

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How hot is the air in your room?
You may want to put the UTH on one of the lowest settings possible. Under the substrate, you want it to read about 95F.

The room is pretty cold as my boyfriend does not believe in heat. It is probably mid 60s in the room which is why I am going to insulate the tank more. We just moved so getting the snakes temps back to how they were is different.

The UTH is reading 94 degrees right now. Thats not my issue. It is the temperature inside the hide that is concerning me. I dont know how else to explain it.... I am not a good explainer either..lol

I just noticed I had the same picture posted twice of the thermometer reading. This is the thermostat and its setting...
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...kesetup003.jpg

Sorry if that added to the confusion.

I have a Ranco set up as well.
Mine is actually set to 111 degrees (probe under the glass,above the UTH with an inch or so of repti-bark).

I used an infra red thermometer to dial in the temp under the hide.
It took a little while, but basically I would pull up the hide and take a reading with the infra red and the and just adjust the Ranco until I finally had it reading what I wanted.

I still check it regularly just to make sure.

But then the actualy temp of the UTH is really high and if your snake were to do enough rearranging then wouldnt he get burnt sitting on an 111 degree glass bottom?

And I have the exact opposite problem, my UTH temp is low but my temp inside the hide is really high.

I guess my point was that you just need to dial it in and I was recommending and infra red thermometer for accurate readings.

I'm assuming that the snake is smart enough that he would move before burning himself. There are 3 hides in his tank not to mention all the other spots he can hide behind plants, etc.

I would think that the thermometer would have to be set higher like mine is because it has to heat through a level of substrate. What do you use for substrate?

If I dialed it in... then my UTH would be at like 80 something in order for the temps inside my hide to be around 93 (but this is the temperature of the air at the surface of the substrate). I have been looking at getting an temp gun but cant at this moment. i have tried different thermometers in there and also changed the battery. Still the same readings.

And no snakes are not always that smart thats why several of our members here have snakes with scars from bad burns from both UTHs being too hot or lamps. My snake has hides and plants in there for him.

My thermostat should not be set higher, if it was my temps would be way over the 98 it is now and the 101 it can be! And I use Cypress as a substrate. As I stated earlier, the substrate is very thin in the hide as my snake moved some of the bedding out to make it more cozy. I can even see some glass in some spots.

I agree that a snake may harm himself by over/under exposure or burns in favor of security, but if there is a another place to go where they can still be secure...they will thermoregulate.

I won't add anymore comments...but one more question...what's the differential set at on the Ranco?

It is set at 1 I believe. I asked her about the proper settings and I have it set on heat, at 94 degrees.