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  1. #1
    Registered User jewelz's Avatar
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    Issues with temperature...

    Hello all!

    Just a question about an issue I seem to be having with the enclosure for my baby female retic...

    She is about two and a half months old and a little over 2 ft long and I am keeping her in a 20 gal long terrarium with a locked screen top. I am using a 60w light for heat during the day and currently using a fleece blanket to shade the warmer side as well. I also have an under-tank heating pad(one for a 10-20gal tank) that I have stuck to the warm side as well. However, all of that being said, I CANNOT GET THE BLOODY TEMPERATURE UP! It's driving me nuts! She seems to be just fine. She isn't sluggish at all. She's eating well. She's slithering about and hanging from the tube of her fogger occasionally. She responds to me when I am near the cage by coming up to the glass and checking me out and such. But I feel like she must be freezing in there! Do I need to just buy a hotter bulb or something? I don't want to burn her, but geeze! I was thinking of getting a 100w bulb, because, as of right now, the temp in my room is sitting at around 70% and it is only barely that in her cage! I have a royal python that I keep in my kitchen and her terrarium sits at a nice 80-89 degrees all day. I would have moved the retic in there, but there is no way she would fit(either now or in a year, haha).

    Sorry for the semi-rant, but I am nearly pulling out my hair because I can't figure this one out!

    Thanks everyone!

  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran The Serpent Merchant's Avatar
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    What is the temperature of the room that the cage is in?

    Is the UTH being regulated by a thermostat?

    What are you using to measure temperatures?

    What are the current cage temperatures?

    What type of bulb are you using? (Regular light bulb, reptile heat bulb, halogen spot bulb, PAR bulb, other?)

    Checkout this thread on cage heating: http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Thermometers
    ~Aaron

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  3. #3
    Registered User jewelz's Avatar
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    Re: Issues with temperature...

    Hi there,

    For some reason, it changed my degree symbols to percentages symbols...weird. But the temperature in my room is about 70 degrees-farenheit. During the day, however, I am usually keeping it closer to 77. And I am using a 60w UVB reptile heating bulb. And yes, there is an in-tank thermometer/hygrometer that I keep directing underneath the light fixture. It is really odd to me that the tank is not heating up better!

    Thanks for the link! =)

  4. #4
    BPnet Veteran The Serpent Merchant's Avatar
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    But does the UTH have a thermoSTAT

    I have found that UV bulbs do not put out as much heat as Infrared or white bulbs.

    At that room temperature, I would expect the cage to be much warmer... are you sure that the thermometer is reading accurately?
    ~Aaron

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  5. #5
    BPnet Senior Member kitedemon's Avatar
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    I too would suspect the thermometer.

  6. #6
    Registered User jewelz's Avatar
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    Re: Issues with temperature...

    Quote Originally Posted by kitedemon View Post
    I too would suspect the thermometer.
    Yeah, I realized that after I had posted this. It may be the thermometer. I have a tendency to keep my place pretty cool, and I try to keep the snakes warmer to compensate for it. She seems to be doing just fine, and she isn't displaying any signs that she is cold(e.g. constantly basking right under the bulb) or anything like that. I think I am going to go to Walmart and buy one of those nice thermometers that you pictured in your post, Serpent Merchant. =) What section should I look in? And no, the UTH does not have a thermostat on it, however, I have the bottom of the tank elevated to prevent creating any sort of heat pocket. She hasn't had a problem with it so far(roughly six weeks). I just want to make sure she is staying nice and warm!

  7. #7
    BPnet Senior Member kitedemon's Avatar
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    It certainly sound like the snake is fine feeding is typically the best indicator. The thermometer helps do a quick check before issues arise. I personally don't like the accurites as I don't like seeing batteries in the enclosure among other issues. I personally would recommend any cheap unit that has a probe. The only way to cheaply determine a thermometer is halfway accurate is to buy 3 or more place all of them together and use the ones that are the closest to each other. The ones I often find are very cheap (2$ or so) so buying a handful 5 to ten is about the same cost of the accurite units.

  8. #8
    BPnet Senior Member I-KandyReptiles's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jewelz View Post
    Yeah, I realized that after I had posted this. It may be the thermometer. I have a tendency to keep my place pretty cool, and I try to keep the snakes warmer to compensate for it. She seems to be doing just fine, and she isn't displaying any signs that she is cold(e.g. constantly basking right under the bulb) or anything like that. I think I am going to go to Walmart and buy one of those nice thermometers that you pictured in your post, Serpent Merchant. =) What section should I look in? And no, the UTH does not have a thermostat on it, however, I have the bottom of the tank elevated to prevent creating any sort of heat pocket. She hasn't had a problem with it so far(roughly six weeks). I just want to make sure she is staying nice and warm!
    A thermostat is NOT optional for your Uth. You can find fairly cheap ones on amazon. They're called Hydrofarms. Your UTH can easily reach over 110• f in less than two hours. If you have the money, invest in a herpstat.

    http://www.spyderobotics.com

    Is your thermometer analog or digital? Does it come with a probe? If its one of those circular thermometers, chances are your temps are much different than what you think they are.

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  9. #9
    Registered User jewelz's Avatar
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    Re: Issues with temperature...

    I have the UTH on the side of the tank, not the underside. But I just removed it until I get my large multi-unit thermostat in a few months. She was doing fine before I put in on anyway. I have realized after trying a few different things that it is definitely the thermometer that is malfunctioning. It continues to read just around 70f no matter where I place it unless it decides to go cooler. Her hiding rock(which is directly parallel to the thermometer) was even warm to my touch, yet it still read under 70f. I will be making a trip to Walmart tomorrow morning to remedy this issue. Thank you to everyone for your responses. That'll teach me to trust analog thermometers in the future!!!

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