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  1. #1
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    herpstat 2 question

    Hello everyone, long time reader and decided to make my first post today. I got my first ball python about a month ago and everything is going pretty good so far, she eats real well for me and switching her from live rat fuzzys to frozen rat fuzzys was actually pretty easy and just refused the first one. The only two issues I am having right now is her hot spot and of course keeping humidity up to 50%. But I wanted to tackle hot spot first because I feel like that more important and misting x3 to 4 times a day seems to be helping.

    So I have a question for all the herpstat 2 users. I am having an issue with the hot spot area staying at ~90 durning the night when everyone is in bed. Every morning when I go downstairs to flip on lights and grab my stuff to head off to work her hot spot temp says 85 to 86...So I bump it up 3 to 4 degrees and head off to work and by lunch time when I get back home it's back to ~91 sometimes 92 and then I drop it couple of degrees and it holds at 90 for the rest of the day until we go to bed again. So I am wondering will a herpstat 2 keep that hot spot at ~90 with the dimming feature, I feel ~85 is too cold of a night drop. So I am considering buying a one but I don't want to drop 200 bucks and found out it's not going to make a bit of difference.

  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran Snow Balls's Avatar
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    Re: herpstat 2 question

    Yes the herpstat 2 will have a dimming feature and keep the hot spot the same temp 24/7. The $200 is well worth it, I own 4 herpstats, including the herpstat 2. How cold does the room you keep the tank in get at night? The ambient air in that room could contribute to your thermostat not being able to keep up with the hot spot temp


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  4. #3
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    Re: herpstat 2 question

    Quote Originally Posted by Snow Balls View Post
    Yes the herpstat 2 will have a dimming feature and keep the hot spot the same temp 24/7. The $200 is well worth it, I own 4 herpstats, including the herpstat 2. How cold does the room you keep the tank in get at night? The ambient air in that room could contribute to your thermostat not being able to keep up with the hot spot temp


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Thanks for the reply. She is in the finished part of the basement where we hangout the most durning the evening and all the entertainment is at, tv/xboxs/my workstation desk area. So I think when we are not down there and everything is off it's getting to the lowers 70's. My guess 72ish and yes I did have to add a CHE on top of her tank because the UTH was not able to keep the air temp ~80. Before she was delivered to us from the breeder and I was testing things. I had to crank up the UTH thermostat to like 103 to register 75 air temp and I thought to myself nope, that's getting too hot and went out the local pet store and bought a 60 watt CHE and put it on it's own thermostat which is set to 78. That's why I was looking at the herpstat 2 so I can run the UTH and CHE on it.

  5. #4
    BPnet Veteran Malum Argenteum's Avatar
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    I recommend Herpstat no matter what the situation.

    That said, any thermostat isn't going to make the heating keep up with big ambient temp fluctuations any better than any other thermostat. Either your heat sources are underpowered for the amount of temp rise you need, or the probe(s) are incorrectly placed, or you're attempting to use a heating device for a task it isn't designed for (e.g. using a heat mat to raise viv air temps is not only not going to work, but is very dangerous -- as you mentioned) or some combination of the three.

    Optimizing the enclosure for your climate extremes is far better than throwing more heating equipment (which can fail) and misting sessions (hard to deal with when on vacation, or sick) at problems, especially since moisture and temperature are somewhat interrelated. You don't mention what kind of enclosure you have or what your climate is like, but a PVC enclosure is by far a better choice in cold or dry climates than is a fish tank (which is better for...fish ) or an ExoTerra (tolerable for some species, but ideal for few), since they hold heat and moisture well while still offering enough stock ventilation for most species of snakes in most climates.

    More info than you asked for, but hope it helps.

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  7. #5
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    Re: herpstat 2 question

    Quote Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum View Post
    I recommend Herpstat no matter what the situation.

    That said, any thermostat isn't going to make the heating keep up with big ambient temp fluctuations any better than any other thermostat. Either your heat sources are underpowered for the amount of temp rise you need, or the probe(s) are incorrectly placed, or you're attempting to use a heating device for a task it isn't designed for (e.g. using a heat mat to raise viv air temps is not only not going to work, but is very dangerous -- as you mentioned) or some combination of the three.

    Optimizing the enclosure for your climate extremes is far better than throwing more heating equipment (which can fail) and misting sessions (hard to deal with when on vacation, or sick) at problems, especially since moisture and temperature are somewhat interrelated. You don't mention what kind of enclosure you have or what your climate is like, but a PVC enclosure is by far a better choice in cold or dry climates than is a fish tank (which is better for...fish ) or an ExoTerra (tolerable for some species, but ideal for few), since they hold heat and moisture well while still offering enough stock ventilation for most species of snakes in most climates.

    More info than you asked for, but hope it helps.
    Thanks for the reply. Right now, she is in a 20L glass tank as a temp home. I am eyeing an Animal Plastics 4x2x2 (T12) or a 4x2x1 (T8) PVC one for her forever home, when she starts to outgrow her current place. I don't know how people do it but me I couldn't afford to buy a small PVC tank and then turn around and buy a 4ft one 6 months to a year later. I almost bought the 4x2x1 PVC one when I started this project but everyone and their dog was telling me don't do that they like small space and a 4ft space right out of the gate will just stress them out. Start small and work your way up as she grows. I am still halfway temped to buy it and move her into it and stop going toe to toe with the humidity and temps because I am from Kansas and it's always dry and right now bitter cold.

    So here is how I have her tank setup for right now. Probe 1 is in between the heat mat and glass. I got an inch of echo earth and cypress mulch mixed together and in her hot hide I placed the probe of a zoo med digital temp on the surface of the substrate. I use that to read how hot it is in the hide, so I don't have to pop the lid each time and disturb her getting a reading with the lazer temp gun. So I judge if I need to up a few degrees or down a few degree based on that zoo med temp gauge. On the cool side I added another hide and behind that hide on the glass I have probe #2 about two inches from the substrate. That probe controls the CHE on top in about the middle, it's set to 78 and I don't have to mess with that too much and seems to be holding the air temp to about 80.

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  9. #6
    BPnet Veteran Malum Argenteum's Avatar
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    I very much agree that too large an enclosure can be a serious problem, both from my own experience and that of people I've sold offspring to. But cold and dry are problems, too (I'm in Wisconsin, so I sympathize with you). Can't win sometimes.

    AP cages can come with a center divider (so a T8 can be two 2 x 2 x 1' enclosures) that is removable. Do know that their lead times are months (sometimes like 6 or 8) so order early.

    Personally, when I can I like to hit the animal itself with the temp gun (avoid the eyes!) to get the most accurate info, but that probe in the hide is a great idea.

  10. #7
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    Re: herpstat 2 question

    Quote Originally Posted by dandrek View Post
    Thanks for the reply. Right now, she is in a 20L glass tank as a temp home. I am eyeing an Animal Plastics 4x2x2 (T12) or a 4x2x1 (T8) PVC one for her forever home, when she starts to outgrow her current place. I don't know how people do it but me I couldn't afford to buy a small PVC tank and then turn around and buy a 4ft one 6 months to a year later. I almost bought the 4x2x1 PVC one when I started this project but everyone and their dog was telling me don't do that they like small space and a 4ft space right out of the gate will just stress them out. Start small and work your way up as she grows. I am still halfway temped to buy it and move her into it and stop going toe to toe with the humidity and temps because I am from Kansas and it's always dry and right now bitter cold.
    My male is in a T11 from AP, both my leopard geckos are in T8's - I love them and don't regret it at all. If I ever get a female ball python, I may go with a bigger cage just because the male uses every inch of the T11 and he's only 5ft and 1500g. I live in Va, but right now the daytime highs are not above freezing and our house humidity is about 30%. With mine, I use cypress mulch mixed with echo earth.

    I also use both the Herpstat 2 and the herpstat 1 - the only complaint I'd say, is that on the herpstat 2, its easy to get the wires to the two probes mixed up - each dial controls a separate stat, but the input for the two probes is on the right side and labeled "left and right". So for controlling different cages or locations, make sure you label which goes where ;0

    I keep the house set at 67*F - I use a UTH for the hot spot, and keep two CHE's for ambient control. To keep the humidity up I keep a damp cloth draped over his terra cotta pot hide, a large natural sponge on really really dry days or when I'm away overnight, and a ceramic passive humidifier on the hot side. I was also told the "they don't like open space" stuff, for both geckos and ball pythons. That may be true for some snakes that are of nervous disposition, but he's been in the T11 since he was a year old. He was in a 40 breeder from the start as a 100g hatchling. I've fostered and rehabbed many different species, wild and captive - after a few days for adjustment time even the wild ones seem to appreciate as large a space as their situations allowed. In my experience as long as temps, humidity, and cover are all correct and stable, then your animals should thrive. It just takes some extra work on your part.

    As for Animal plastics...I LOVE their product. But right now their lead time on cages is 12-18+ months. I just got my female gecko's T8 in November - I ordered it Christmas Day 2019.

    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...0/IMG_3205.JPG
    Last edited by Crowfingers; 01-21-2022 at 09:29 PM.
    No cage is too large - nature is the best template - a snoot can't be booped too much


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  12. #8
    BPnet Veteran Crowfingers's Avatar
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    Re: herpstat 2 question

    For your heat mat, something that I found helps mine (probe between the mat and the AP cage - there is a pre-cut groove to help the mats lie flat) is to keep a very minimal layer of substrate over it. I found that the surface of the deeper substrate would be 86, but the actual bottom of the cage would be 95, I was having to set the thermostat higher to try and get his surface area where I wanted it, which was too dangerous. Mine has never been a burrower, and flattens his substrate more than moves it, so I just keep a thin layer over it. Just enough to absorb urine, that way I can be sure that if he ever does lay right on the bottom its not going to get too hot. The thermostat is set at 88 and usually the bottom of the cage is 89-91*F depending on the house temps.
    No cage is too large - nature is the best template - a snoot can't be booped too much


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  14. #9
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    Re: herpstat 2 question

    Quote Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum View Post
    I very much agree that too large an enclosure can be a serious problem, both from my own experience and that of people I've sold offspring to. But cold and dry are problems, too (I'm in Wisconsin, so I sympathize with you). Can't win sometimes.

    AP cages can come with a center divider (so a T8 can be two 2 x 2 x 1' enclosures) that is removable. Do know that their lead times are months (sometimes like 6 or 8) so order early.

    Personally, when I can I like to hit the animal itself with the temp gun (avoid the eyes!) to get the most accurate info, but that probe in the hide is a great idea.
    ok, I might have dialed in the temp drop issue some more. I lowed her substrate from an 1inch to about a 1/2 inch in the hot hide right before we feed her and over the weekend it seem to hover around 87 to 89ish now.

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    Re: herpstat 2 question

    Quote Originally Posted by Crowfingers View Post
    My male is in a T11 from AP, both my leopard geckos are in T8's - I love them and don't regret it at all. If I ever get a female ball python, I may go with a bigger cage just because the male uses every inch of the T11 and he's only 5ft and 1500g. I live in Va, but right now the daytime highs are not above freezing and our house humidity is about 30%. With mine, I use cypress mulch mixed with echo earth.

    I also use both the Herpstat 2 and the herpstat 1 - the only complaint I'd say, is that on the herpstat 2, its easy to get the wires to the two probes mixed up - each dial controls a separate stat, but the input for the two probes is on the right side and labeled "left and right". So for controlling different cages or locations, make sure you label which goes where ;0

    I keep the house set at 67*F - I use a UTH for the hot spot, and keep two CHE's for ambient control. To keep the humidity up I keep a damp cloth draped over his terra cotta pot hide, a large natural sponge on really really dry days or when I'm away overnight, and a ceramic passive humidifier on the hot side. I was also told the "they don't like open space" stuff, for both geckos and ball pythons. That may be true for some snakes that are of nervous disposition, but he's been in the T11 since he was a year old. He was in a 40 breeder from the start as a 100g hatchling. I've fostered and rehabbed many different species, wild and captive - after a few days for adjustment time even the wild ones seem to appreciate as large a space as their situations allowed. In my experience as long as temps, humidity, and cover are all correct and stable, then your animals should thrive. It just takes some extra work on your part.

    As for Animal plastics...I LOVE their product. But right now their lead time on cages is 12-18+ months. I just got my female gecko's T8 in November - I ordered it Christmas Day 2019.

    https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...0/IMG_3205.JPG
    Oh that is a cool looking setup. Knowing that they are on a 12 month wait time, I think I am going to order that T8 now and get my name on the list. Any accessories you might recommended? I know I am going to do the LED lighting because I don't fee like wiring up LEDS myself.

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