Which Thermostat to use with a CHE and how? (+ general Q)

[Quarks]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and in the process of figuring out how to set up a CHE for my BP. I'm a first time owner and want to make sure I've done the appropriate research before messing around with installing very hot heating elements.

Right now the ambient temp in the room happens to be 75-85 degrees F throughout the day/night so I haven't installed the CHE I have yet, (I set up everything else first and my snake has been living in the enclosure for 2 days so far) but I need to get on with the installation this week. I have a dome and a basic CHE but not sure how to check the wattage. This equipment was bought used. It works but I'm not sure of the specs.

General setup:

I have an adult male BP in a 40 gal Exo Terra enclosure. He's got 2 hides, warm and cool and a habba hut in between them. (along with other clutter) I'm planning on buying a third hide that is identical to the on the hot side to be the new cold side hide, and keeping the current cold side one as a humid hide near the middle. Humidity has been fluctuating between 50-80 % as I work on the enclosure modifications but will stick around 65% at night when things aren't moving about and the door stays closed. I've heard some things about high humidity being fine for BPs and some things about it growing mold so I'm not sure I want to vary from the care sheet in that area but I'm interested what people's opinions on this would be.

The Exo Terra has been fitted with 3 glass panels on the top to help keep in the humidity. The quadrant over the uncovered mesh panel has enough space for the CHE to lie flat on the top of the mesh.

Temperatures:

I've got a UTE mat on the hot side that has a probe attached underneath it taking a consistent temp. The hotspot surface temp (temp taken on the glass) is consistently 91-93. I foolishly thought I could keep the probe stable in the enclosure underneath a hide but the snake moved it around immediately and the thermostat went bananas. According to my temp gun it reached over least 100 deg. I'm glad I caught that before the he spent any time sitting on top of it. The probe taking the temp under the mat works great to calibrate and the surface temp has been a nice 92 deg F for 24 hrs.

The room I'm in will probably get about 10 deg colder after a few days so I'll need to get the ambient heat source in the enclosure set up by then.

Questions:

Here are the temps I have written down as an optimal goal for cool and hot sides: Cool side should be no colder than 75 deg F, optimal is 76-82. Hot side should be no hotter than 90 deg, optimal is 83-88. Are these temps correct?

How do I check the specs/wattage on my CHE? What sort of thermostat should I plug my CHE into? I know dimmers are an option but I would feel safer with a thermostat regulating the lamp temp at all times. Where does the probe for the CHE thermostat need to be in the cage? How far away from the CHE does the cave decor need to be? I've been referencing this: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...f56a096c36.jpg for general setup for the CHE.

Would the snake prefer the CHE to be 'shining' directly over his hide and UTE hotspot -OR- installed 5 inches over (still well within in the hot side of the enclosure) NOT shining directly onto the hide?

That's all the questions I have right now! I'm sure I'll have many more later as I encounter more challenges in caring for my BP. (Though hopefully all goes well all the time lol)

[Luvyna]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new BP! It sounds like you've done research before making your setup and it's great that you've come here to find out how to improve.

Your optimal temps seem to be roughly in the right range, although I think 86-92F is the most common recommended range for the surface temp under the warm hide. It tends to vary slightly depending on who you ask though. 83F for the warm side would be a bit too cool imo.

Any thermostat that you can connect to a UTH would be fine for a CHE as well. I use a Jumpstart Hydrofarm thermostat for my CHE which is a decent and affordable option.

For the CHE thermostat probe, the diagram you have been following is an excellent reference. It should be ideally dangling in the air under (or close to under) the CHE to measure the air temperature (also be sure to monitor surface temps under the CHE with your temp gun). You should also have an air temperature thermometer somewhere else in the enclosure so you can get a sense of the temperature gradient.

If you already have a UTH for belly heat you could consider positioning the CHE so it's not directly over the hot spot, but directly over the hot spot is probably fine too as long as your surface temps (on top of and under hide) are appropriate for the warm end and the ambient temp is around 80F. Alternately, if you have the problem that your cool end ambient and surface temps get too low you could put the CHE on the cool end instead.

[Quarks]

Thank you for your advice!

Sounds like I'll be buying another Jumpstart or springing for a Herpstat at some point. I've been recording surface fluctuations on the surface hotspot several times today in my notebook (since he's been hiding out in the cooler hide all day) and it's gone from 90 up to 94 and back again. This isn't a huge deal I guess but any more than a 4 degree flux would be pretty bad imo. I guess the warm hide and substrate helps to keep in the heat and make the overall temp consistent but still...

Thank you also for clarification on the warm side temp vs cool side. I ordered the exo terra dual thermometer/hygrometer this week and it'll be placed on the cool side of my tank to take ambient temps.

So all together:
Jumpstart Thermostat for UTE
Jumpstart Thermostat for CHE
Zoo med thermostat w probe for hot side
Cheapo dial hygrometer that works surprisingly well so far when tested for hot side
Exo terra thermostat/hygrometer for cool side.
Fat Notebook to record temps in every day morning/night (science!)

Biggest question of mine at the mo:
I'm not sure how to secure the probe for the CHE: in the image linked on my post above it said a 'conduit to encase probe' and that 'probe should be in fixed position', but I'm not sure what it's talking about. What is a conduit and how do you encase a probe in it?

I'm currently looking at those Herpstats that have got two probes and two outlets... From the reviews I saw on the Jumpstarts, they fail pretty consistently after about 2-4 years and often in dangerous ways. (herpstat price is expensive, ouch, but I think that's what I'll end up getting eventually)

[Quarks]

I set up my CHE!

Here are pictures of my probe setup:






Now I have a few more questions:

Should my probe be any lower higher or more to the left/right?

The probe is controlling the CHE by measuring the temp right underneath it, so does that mean that probe is taking care of measuring the ambient temps for the warm side of the tank, or do I need that other thermometer on the warm side to measure ambient temps?(that's not the CHE thermostat)

Currently the one suctioned to one panel of the hot side of the enclosure reads 5 degrees below the probe directly under the CHE.I am planning to have one thermometer measuring temps on the hot side and one on the cool side. How accurate are these Century Thermostats? Currently saving up to get a Herpstat in 2020 cause I know these germination heat mat thermostats often die after about 2-4 years.

Current Cage Temp reads:

I've got a zoo med thermometer setup in the cage and an ExoTerra thermometer in transit. I use both of these to try and check the accuracy of the Century brand thermostat probe/readout. So far Century probe right under the CHE (see picture) is reading 85 deg. (I'm starting low in case the swing temp for this new thermostat is... big)

The surface temps of the substrate and objects below the CHE measure around 79-82 degrees. Should they get much hotter than this once the CHE is heating up the air to 86-87? Surface temps seem to be rather similar throughout the enclosure, on both hot and cool side.

I'm watching the humidity escape at a quicker rate so I'll probably either order another piece of glass to fit over the last panel that has a round hole for the CHE or I'll go with the cardboard/foil setup I saw suggested in another post.

Hides and other issues:

Hide questions and other concerns related to temperatures on a separate post linked below:
--> Snake choosing to be in 74° F??

That's all for now! Phew, I thought I had things all set up before he got here and there is still so much to do! Hopefully he and I will be all settled within two weeks and on a good routine.

[Luvyna]

I had no idea that Jumpstarts have a tendency to fail within 2-4 years Gotta look into that now, thanks for the heads up. One of my biggest nightmares as a snake owner is having a thermostat gone rogue. I'm planning to upgrade my BP's enclosure in a year so maybe I'd better get new thermostats at that time as well.

For equipment it sounds like you've got all the essentials! Great that you're recording temps too, you sound very meticulous about your BP care and it's really nice to see that. I think your BP is in good hands

The CHE set up you have looks great! Your probe positioning looks fine to me. Having two independent ambient temperature thermometers, one each on the warm and cool ends, is definitely a good idea, especially as you're still stabilizing temps in the enclosure.

I don't know how accurate Century Thermostats are unfortunately, the best you can do is try to compare its measurements with that of other thermometers and your temperature gun.

79-82F is an excellent range for ambient temperatures throughout the enclosure and surface temps on the cool side. I actually don't think you should go any higher than that for ambient temperature as that would be uncomfortably warm for the snake. I believe you said you have a UTH on the warm side too, right? As long as the UTH is under the warm hide and heating the surface of the bottom of the enclosure to around 86-90F, then you don't need to increase the warm side temperatures above where they are already at with the CHE.