BP Tub Not Warm Enough!

[Cassiopeia]

Hello, I'm new to this forum (this is actually my first post)! I got my BP Cassieopeia about a month ago. I have her in a 44Q tub (which I know is big for her age however I filled it with a lot of foliage and she seems to really like it ). However I have a couple of concerns. I have a Zoo Med Repti-Therm UTH at 8 watts but it virtually does nothing. After some research I am now finding out that it is terrible. I'm going to get a different, bigger and higher wattage UTH and keep that on the warm side and the small one in the middle. I have a thermostat with a probe and have been checking the thermometers and the temperature is currently at 70!!! I am freaking out because I'm worried she is too cold and don't know what to do in the meantime. I have a heater in the room that I'm using to heat up the room her tub is in. I wanted to know if anyone had better suggestions on what to do? I also find that my humidity gets pretty high (70-80%) and wanted to know if anyone had any suggestions for that also? Thank you so much in advance, any advice is appreciated!!!

[Eric Alan]

What do you have your thermostat set at? What kind of thermometer is telling you that it's 70°? Where is it measuring that temperature?

If you can, pictures are worth 1000 words.

[Cassiopeia]

What do you have your thermostat set at? What kind of thermometer is telling you that it's 70°? Where is it measuring that temperature?

If you can, pictures are worth 1000 words.

Thank you SO much for your reply. I'm using an analog thermometer and hygrometer right now and I know they aren't the most reliable (planning to get a digital one asap) My thermostat is set to 90 because it is on the warm side and if I lower the thermostat to see what the temp is at on that side, it turns off at 70-75 so it's not making much of a difference. I'm figuring if the thermostat (it's a Zilla thermostat) is telling me that it's also at 70 then the analog thermometer is pretty close. It's measuring my temperature in the middle towards the bottom, however the warm side is also 70 even though I have the thermostat set to 90.


The warm side is on the right, right now she is in the cool side hide but yesterday she was on the heatpad all day.

The thermometer probe is on the hot side



What I do to double check temp on the warm side is when I have the thermostat set to 90, if I lower it until it hits what temp it is, it turns off. It turned off around 75 this morning which is a little better, then I turn it back up to 90.

I hope this helps, thank you so much!!!

[PitOnTheProwl]

The Zilla 1000, I will be the first to tell you the numbers printed on it are not even close.
Second, the thermometer in there is measuring ambient temperature and not the hot spot.
Your thermostat probe should be between the tub and the UTH, use a non contact thermometer to measure your hot spot temps.
Also the UTH doesn't do much for ambient temperatures. How cool do you keep that room?

[Cassiopeia]

I keep the room about 65-70 in winter and basically whatever it is outside normally.

[Eric Alan]

Here's the easiest way to describe what I'm seeing:

A heat pad on the under side of the enclosure acts like a stove in the kitchen with its burners on full blast boiling a pot of water. Once you are done boiling water, you turn the dial for the burners on the stove off. You don't leave the burners on and turn the dial of the house A/C unit down to 65° and assume the burners will be the same temperature without making any adjustments to the stove's dials. It works the same in reverse - you can turn the burners all the way up and leave them on. The house A/C unit will never read hot enough to harm you, but there's no way you're setting your hand on the stove without getting burned.

I'd be willing to be that the second scenario is what's going on in your setup - the heat pad is running on full blast, is dangerously hot for your BP, and yet the thermostat and thermometer are telling you that the enclosure is still too cool. Basically, you've got the stove cranked up and are trying to use it to heat the whole house when all you need to do is boil a pot of water.

In order to function properly, the thermostat's probe needs to read the temperature of the heat pad (the burners), not the temperature of the enclosure (the house). The best way to do this is to put the probe in direct contact with the heat pad on the outside of the enclosure. Either sandwich it between the pad and the enclosure, or tape the probe itself flush to the head pad. This allows for the thermostat to read the actual temperature of the pad.

On a similar note, those analog gauges are notoriously inaccurate. I'd strongly recommend either a probed thermometer or a non-contact (infrared) thermometer that will be able to tell you the actual surface temperature of your hot spot.

Does this make any sense? If not, please feel free to ask question - we're all here to help!

Best regards,
Eric

[Cassiopeia]

This makes a lot of sense, however I don't think it's dangerously hot for her because its set to that specific temp (then again if the numbers are inaccurate thats a differents story). I'm going to move the probe on the heat pad and see if that makes a difference with the temp reading. And I'm aware that analog is unreliable and as previously mentioned getting a digital thermometer/hygrometer asap. So what you're saying is that the air temp isnt as important but the temperature of the bottom, where she is actually touching is, correct? So as long as the temps on the bottom is okay and the air temp is decent she will be fine?

[bcr229]

This makes a lot of sense, however I don't think it's dangerously hot for her because its set to that specific temp (then again if the numbers are inaccurate thats a differents story). I'm going to move the probe on the heat pad and see if that makes a difference with the temp reading. And I'm aware that analog is unreliable and as previously mentioned getting a digital thermometer/hygrometer asap. So what you're saying is that the air temp isnt as important but the temperature of the bottom, where she is actually touching is, correct? So as long as the temps on the bottom is okay and the air temp is decent she will be fine?

Her ambient still should be in the mid-upper 70's. During the winter I have my house heat set to 68*F and use a separate electric heater in the snake room to bring the ambient up to 75*F.

[Cassiopeia]

This is so relieving thank you so much!!!

[Albert Clark]

Do everything that Eric said and bcr229 as well. I am using the same type of set up for my quarantined animals and the exact same Zilla rheostat for one of my tubs. I taped the the probe to the uth ( zoomed) on the out side of the tub directly to the non adhesive side of the uth. I tweaked it a couple of times, probe placement and temperature setting on the rheostat dial and I get perfect warm spot temps. The setting on your dial should be at 95f - 97f and that should give your warm spot a temperature of 88f - 91f. You are too low on the dial setting and that probe should be taped directly to the heat mat. I supplemented my set up with a 75watt che (ceramic heat emitter) to handle the ambient temperature. My temps are all stabilized at this point. My tub is a bit smaller than yours but mine is deeper. That's why you will have to tweak the settings but you do need a digital thermometer / hygrometer. Consider a temp gun also.