Heating under Aspen

[DLLNP]

Hi Everyone,

How does everyone compensate for the heat that builds up beneath the layer of aspen substrate?

I have my thermostat set at about 90, the surface of the aspen sits at about 84-85 but if I dug a little further down into the aspen the temps get all the way up to 104-5! Should I just let the snake regulate that himself by shifting around the aspen... Or should I try and make it so the hottest possible temperature beneath the aspen is 95ish (this happens to be for a boa not a bp). What are your thought?

Thanks!


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[dan86]

Get the hottest part to be under the substrate as the weight of your snake will press the bedding down and will get to the heat

[Fraido]

Get the hottest part to be under the substrate as the weight of your snake will press the bedding down and will get to the heat

Agreed with this, make the hottest spot under thw substrate. You could also use less bedding in that area.

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[chrid16371]

Thin out your aspen on your hot spot and make sure underneath is no hotter then 94 IMO. Are you using a glass tank?

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[PitOnTheProwl]

Too much aspen and you only ant the hottest spot your snake can touch to be 95 degrees.

[For Goodness Snakes]

Hi Everyone,

How does everyone compensate for the heat that builds up beneath the layer of aspen substrate?

I have my thermostat set at about 90, the surface of the aspen sits at about 84-85 but if I dug a little further down into the aspen the temps get all the way up to 104-5! Should I just let the snake regulate that himself by shifting around the aspen... Or should I try and make it so the hottest possible temperature beneath the aspen is 95ish (this happens to be for a boa not a bp). What are your thought?

Thanks!


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It sounds like to me that you have your probe set up incorrectly. If your set point temp on your thermostat is at 90 and your probe is set up correctly then your hottest spot in your cage should not exceed 90. Is your probe making intimate contact with your heat source? Ideally and this is key, your snake's temperature should range from 80 to 90. If you don't have a temp gun you should get one, a temp gun is so much more effective than a thermometer.

If you have more questions feel free to call me at 408-981-6694 or email me at fgsnakes@sbcglobal.net

Best of luck.

Brian Gundy

[chrid16371]

Where is your thermostat probe? If you have it inside I would move it in between the heat mat and bottom of tank and you will probably have to bump up your thermostat a little to compensate for the loss of heat through the cage bottom. Putting the probe between the uth and cage bottom gives you less chance of the snake bumping and moving it, if that happens it could end up cooking your snake. Like I said a few posts above thin out the aspen on the hot spot, then you will have better temps above. The more aspen you use the more the heat gets trapped and the less heat that gets to the surface.

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[DLLNP]

Are you using a glass tank?

Nope, plastic tub!

It sounds like to me that you have your probe set up incorrectly. If your set point temp on your thermostat is at 90 and your probe is set up correctly then your hottest spot in your cage should not exceed 90. Is your probe making intimate contact with your heat source? Ideally and this is key, your snake's temperature should range from 80 to 90. If you don't have a temp gun you should get one, a temp gun is so much more effective than a thermometer.

Thanks... and you are absolutely right, my probe is set up very poorly. Unfortunately it is the best I was able to do, my probe is huge and doesn't fit between the heat mat and the tub so I have had to tape it to the perimeter of the heat mat which seems to be between 6-9 F cooler than the center of the mat. Although it seems to almost balance out due to the heat loss from the heat mat to inside the tub. But luckily I have a temp gun so I have been monitoring the hot spot on the inside of the tub very closely, I thinned out the aspen and reduced the thermostat setting to 88 and now my hot spot ranges from about 84 on top of the aspen to 93 below the aspen on the actual tub plastic. I think I can be satisfied with this.

Where is your thermostat probe? If you have it inside I would move it in between the heat mat and bottom of tank and you will probably have to bump up your thermostat a little to compensate for the loss of heat through the cage bottom. Putting the probe between the uth and cage bottom gives you less chance of the snake bumping and moving it, if that happens it could end up cooking your snake. Like I said a few posts above thin out the aspen on the hot spot, then you will have better temps above. The more aspen you use the more the heat gets trapped and the less heat that gets to the surface.

Thanks for the advice, I have thinned out thee aspen. And if you read above you'll see where my thermo probe is.. not the best set up but I think I finally have it set up in a safe way.

[chrid16371]

You could always switch to paper towels and then you won't have as much heat loss. My Leopard gecko rack is set at 93 and at bottom of tub I get 90 and top of paper towel I get 88.3-88.6 which is perfect for Leo's.

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