under tank heater

[Adam_Wysocki]

It’s the poor mans thermostat/rheostat

Rheostats are under $10 ... why wouldn't you just spend the $8.50 extra for a little better control?

Even better, invest in a thermostat. Prices range from $30 - $130, but when talking about the proper care of a living creature I think it's worth it. It's certainly a far better choice than "winging it".

-adam

[justcage]

Dimmers are the worst possible control for the herp world. If your room is not stable temp wise youll see 5-20 degrees of thermal flux in the element. A thermostat is the only way to have the same temp where the probe is all the time. Im my opinon it would be impossible for a snake to be burned inside without have burns on the outside. You would have to use radiation or inject something under the fasha of the scales..... overhead lightning is perfect for the basking herps out there and snakes are not one of them. If you think of it the majority of animals that bask are from dry parts of the world hence the direct ight during the day....Just my 1.5 cents

[Adam_Wysocki]

I feel that a dimmer is a reasonable solution for someone saving up for a thermostat. They take a lot more work and at least daily monitoring, but it can be done (20 years ago we did not have thermostats for our tanks).

If I had it my way, I'd yell and scream at the top of my lungs until everyone that owned a herp went out and bought a thermostat. Unfortunately, I'd die hoarse.

-adam

[justcage]

Yup, I have to admit I have 3 dimmers in my herp room for the just incase deal but fortulatly havent had to use them yet...

[Neumann]

Rheostats are under $10 ... why wouldn't you just spend the $8.50 extra for a little better control?

Yea, I agree and I do both (use a tile and a rheostat) in our cages. Here's why:

In my limited experience some heat pads will develop hot spots which will go unnoticed if they don't happen to occur right where the probe is. This happened to me on a corn snake cage last summer. The probe on the pad read 85F but there was a hot spot of 130F that had gone undetected for awhile. When you have a little airflow between the UTH and the tank buttom, the heat seems to be a little more even. However, the 3 biggest advantages I see to placing the UTH on a tile and sliding it under the tank are:

1- It won't fall off the tank (original problem in this thread)
2- You don't have to fool with it when you clean the tank.
3- You can move it to another cage if you upgrade

I once saw a rack system setup in a similar way, where the heat pads were recessed on the rack shelf and the tubs were slid over them. I don't know why they didn't just use heat tape, it would have been a whole lot cheaper...

Even better, invest in a thermostat. Prices range from $30 - $130, but when talking about the proper care of a living creature I think it's worth it. It's certainly a far better choice than "winging it".

I agree again- except for the $30 on/off style thermostat control systems. IMHO they're not a good solution in a drafty house that has a wide range of temperature fluctuations (unfortunately mine during winter-Alaska). They will go on and off constantly. I think the $130 proportional style ones, like the Helix, do a much better job.

You're only "winging it" if your not measuring your temps and doing something about them. I think the best investment a young (often poor) herper can make, so as not to wing it, is in a good dual indoor/outdoor thermometer. They're cheap and IMO an essental tool for good husbandry.

[justcage]

The cheap on/off tstats has a saet differintal and cannot be adjusted.. Rancos and Johnson Controls have a 1 degree dif and are adjustable... Just think about how much the unit costs to manufacture.. If they sell it for 30.00 then it is about 5 bucks to make maybe alittle more/less...kinda scary...

[DrEwTiMe]

just cirious what do thermal burns look like on a BP

[justcage]

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...ad.php?t=15764 This was using a Zoomed pad....

[DrEwTiMe]

OH MY GOD!!! That is horrible! Im surprized that the snake made it through that. Having to have 6 inches of scales removed, wow i hurt just thinking about it.

OK i use a UTH that is stuck to the bottom of the tank and i also use a ceramic heater on top. From what i gather in this post it is bad to have thre UTH stuck directly to the bottom of the tank. But if i get a rheostat will that solve the problems of possible overheating?

And also i do definitly notice that over the tank heaters take a great deal of the humidity away from the tank, and i even have a warm are humidifier in the room with my BP. If i take the heat lamp away the humidity gets better but the UTH is not enought to keep the tank at the temp that it should be, so im kinda in a bind. What should i do to keep the heat up but stay away from heat lamps?

If this was already answered excuse my stupidity i did not catch it hehe

[Brandon.O]

I wanna know how long it took for that to happen.......

The person said 6 days.....but it couldent have gotten that bad in only a day.I think maybe that snake was left in there alone for 6 days and thats eventually what happened to it.