New Thermostat!

[indygunnerguy]

Excellent. I saw from your other posts that you've been asking good questions and getting a lot of great advice, so keep up the good work - and don't worry, it gets much easier once everything is all dialed in. (Also, your Gargamel is a great-looking little snake!)

As soon as you get your temp gun tonight, measure the temp on the cool side and the hot spot. If the hot spot is too hot (88-90 F is your target range, so anything upward of 92 F might be a bit concerning), then I wonder if it might be safer to turn off the UTH until your thermostat arrives on Friday, as long as your ambient/cool side temp is still a reasonably consistent 78-80 F. Your ball python can comfortably hang out in that ambient temp range for a fair amount of time, compared to the pain/stress and long recovery process if it sustains a burn from an unregulated heat mat.

Thanks! When I use the heat gun, Do I point it at the substrate or the tank itself ( the glass)?

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[Ax01]

I think this is very true of NON PROPORTIONAL dial units, but I have the single dial model of this one and I DON'T find that to be true at all. Once i set this one, it stays at a stable temp. It is proportional and has a brain to control it. I have found that the only difference between setting with a dial vs a digital readout is that sometimes it takes a couple of adjustments to zero in on the temp you want, but once you do that, it holds just fine. Maybe I have been lucky, but mine has been running consistent temps for months without any adjustment.

^ this. this is like just a Herpstat w/ knobs and no digital readout.

Thanks! When I use the heat gun, Do I point it at the substrate or the tank itself ( the glass)?

measure the hottest part, so under the substrate on the enclosure bottom.

[indygunnerguy]

^ this. this is like just a Herpstat w/ knobs and no digital readout.


measure the hottest part, so under the substrate on the enclosure bottom.

Ok so he was sitting on the hot spot, so I did not want to disturb him. The substrate measured exactly 90 with my heat gun. On the cool side of the tank, everything was around 70 to 72. I soft where someone said to cover the mesh lid with foil to hold in the heat better. Should I do that? Or should I buy a CHE and run it on my thermostat?

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[indygunnerguy]

I also sprayed some water onto the substrate in order to up the humidity. my humidity is staying around the mid to upper 30's and I know that is extremely low. He seemed to quite like the shower lol!

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[RedRabbit]

If you're already having difficulty keeping the humidity up right now, then unfortunately the addition of a CHE would likely dry things out even more. I use plastic tubs, so I may not be able to advise as much on this front, but for screen-top tanks, I've seen others recommend covering the top with foil (like you mentioned) and insulating the sides with foam in order to preserve temperature better. Covering most of the screen-top might also help with humidity, but you may need to spray/mist more frequently as well, or look into substrates that hold moisture better without getting too "soggy" (which would increase risk of scale rot). I've heard good things about Reptile Prime coconut fiber substrate, but have not used it myself, and it is somewhat pricey.

[indygunnerguy]

Thanks! Yeah I'm using the shredded Coco substrate and it seems to hold moisture pretty well. I think I'm going to try the foil trick to try and hold in some heat. I don't mind having to mist the tank every day. It would be a all sacrifice for getting my temps up using the CHE. But before I buy it, I'm going to just try the foil and see if it holds in enough heat.

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[RedRabbit]

Thanks! Yeah I'm using the shredded Coco substrate and it seems to hold moisture pretty well. I think I'm going to try the foil trick to try and hold in some heat. I don't mind having to mist the tank every day. It would be a all sacrifice for getting my temps up using the CHE. But before I buy it, I'm going to just try the foil and see if it holds in enough heat.

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Sounds like a plan. You'll definitely want to get your humidity on target sooner rather than later, to avoid the headache of a bad shed. Aim for 50-60% to start with, and if you're still running into shedding issues, you have wiggle room to bump it up further as needed. You also want to take into account that hygrometer measurements tend to vary a lot more than temperature measurements do.

[reptilemom25]

Thanks! Yeah I'm using the shredded Coco substrate and it seems to hold moisture pretty well. I think I'm going to try the foil trick to try and hold in some heat. I don't mind having to mist the tank every day. It would be a all sacrifice for getting my temps up using the CHE. But before I buy it, I'm going to just try the foil and see if it holds in enough heat.

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Hi! Looks like you are making some great changes. I have a little bit of input on the temp/ humidity dance that is a glass enclosure. My newest baby is set up in an exo terra glass enclosure. It has a spray foam background that wraps halfway around the sides so that provides some insulation I have 2/3 of the lid covered, and I still have to use a CHE to get my ambient up enough. My room runs 72, and without the CHe I don't get more than 74 in the enclosure. I am misting twice a day to keep humidity in the 50's. I also have substrate about 2" deep everywhere except over the heat mat under his hot hide. Deeper substrate helps hold humidity if you wet it down well. I am not really thrilled with the setup as humidity is dipping more than I want during the day. I talked to the guy at pro products about installing an RHP, and after chatting with him I have ordered a heat panel and a sheet of plexi glass the same size as the top of my tank. I am going to put the plexi glass over the existing screen top and mount the RHP to that. The exo terra has enough ventilation even with the top covered, but for a regular tank you would need to drill a few extra holes. I have had good success with the RHP in my PVC enclosure so I am hopeful it will help with the issue. they seem to bleed off a lot less humidity than a CHE. They are pricey, but I plan to use the enclosure for my Rosy Boa when this baby outgrows it so it is worth it to me.

Based on my experience learning about this hobby over the last year, I think that if this is going to be a long term pet for you, your best bet would be to make the glass enclosure work for now, or even switch to a tub if you absolutely cannot get it dialed in, and save up for a PVC enclosure with an RHP for his forever home. I have been very happy with going that route, and it's what I plan to do for my new guy.

[indygunnerguy]

My digital thermostat also measures humidity. After I sprayed last night, it jumped to 99% LOL. I checked it this morning after it had time to settle, and it was still around 70%, but I'm just not sure how accurate my humidity reader is. I'm going to cover the lid with a piece of cardboard with foil over it. I plan on cutting a hole about 1/2" wider than the CHE so it can still do its thing and cut holes on each side for air flow and see how that works out once I get my thermostat installed. I will post pictures of this "marvel of engineering" once I get it made ;P

[indygunnerguy]

Sorry I meant digital thermometer, not thermostat LOL!