Question about heat

[MedusasOwl]

Okay, after reading some threads I moved Gomez's t-stat probe to be taped up against the bottom of the flexwatt for better heat control. But since then, I can't seem to get the heat above 90 on his warm side. I'm leaving the temp gauge in and it's right against the plastic (I cleared away a spot of substrate for it) and I really don't understand how this is the case...

I was getting closer to 95 when the probe was *in* the tank but unsecured so to be knocked around every which way by a curious baby BP. Now with the t-stat turned all the way up and the thermometer right where the belly heat should be, it's staying at 90. I put my hand on the surface and it's not burning hot, so I know the temp dealie isn't lying to me...

Little help? I hate to keep fussing while he's settling in, but I don't want him to get sick or be uncomfortable either

[SatanicIntention]

Why not try putting it in his hide on top of the substrate? I secure the two probe wires of my t-stat along the wall of the tub(with clear packing tape-isn't very sticky regardless so no harm done) instead of taping it to the bottom and then run the probes themselves into the warm and cool hides. They maintain the hide temps very well and the ambient temps are just controlled by the air in the room. Amani thermoregulates quite normally and spends an equal amount of time in both hides. The temps inside the hides measure 95 and 84 respectively. I haven't had any problems with fluctuations such as when she lays on the t-stat probes(ok, maybe the cool side fluctuates from 84.4 to 84.5.. jeez, LoL).

Just my two pennies

[MedusasOwl]

Thank you! Turns out I was being impatient, and it did go up a bit afterall

Still it's tempting to put the probes inside the tub with maybe a bit of art tape to strap it down. The lovely thing about art tape is it's meant to hold stuff in place without *really* being sticky, so you can ink and such without ruining the artwork.

But since the set-up now appears to be working out afterall and I don't want to jostle the little guy around, I'm going to leave as is for now. Plus the only hide he likes right now is the skull, even after I cut the tissue boxes in half for him His fat little butt leaves no room for probes in that thing, lol. So i need to find other suitable hides.

[SatanicIntention]

Glad it all settled out after a bit. I know opening the lid and such can cause a bit of fluctuation, so letting it sit for a few hours to stabilize can be all it needs sometimes

For good hides, look at WalMart or Home Depot/Lowe's, they have clay or plastic pot saucers(the bowl the pot sits in). Baby snakeys love these, especially the clay ones as they are heavy, low to the ground and dark. Work great and easy to clean. You can cut a hole in the top(flat bottom) of the plastic ones or you can just knock a small part out of the side on the clay ones. Easy stuff.

[buckdawg]

I'm glad that to hear things are stabilizing for you. I encountered a similar situation in that I initially had the probe inside the tub but found the temps fluctuated too much. But when I taped the probe to the heat tape (flexwatt) I really had to crank the temps up to get it warm enough inside. (On an aside, my tub is in the office in my house, i.e. room temp = +/- 72 and I do need a heat lamp to ensure proper thermal gradient.)
What I ended up doing, and it's been successful for me for several weeks now, is I taped the heat tape to a piece of reflectix. I set the tub on the reflectix (with spacers) and cut another piece of reflectix about 4" wide to wrap around the base of the tub. Effectively, this creates a sleeve within which the base of my tub sits. I've found that this holds the heat real well.

[Adam_Wysocki]

I tape my probes directly to the heat tape on all of my racks and I completely cover the entire probe in tape so that the only thing it is touching is the tape itself. This creates a barrier of reflective tape between the probe and the ambient air temps of the room and allows the probe to only be effected by the temperature of the tape.

Works great for me!

-adam

[justcage]

I tape my probes directly to the heat tape on all of my racks and I completely cover the entire probe in tape so that the only thing it is touching is the tape itself. This creates a barrier of reflective tape between the probe and the ambient air temps of the room and allows the probe to only be effected by the temperature of the tape.

Works great for me!

-adam

Have ot agree with ya there.. I tape to the element as well.. You will have to bump the temps on the themrostat up to get the correct temps int he actual cage.. My stats are usually 5-6 degrees higher then the temps I am going for in the cage. It depends on whats beng heated through.. Some materials are denser than others..

[DrEwTiMe]

in order for me get the best temps i do what most others do. I have the UTH UNDER the actual tank and then i put the probe on the bottom of he tank from the inside. In my experience from hacing snakes with thermal burns, the pads can get up to `120 degrees is they do not have some kind of regulation on them. I set my herpstat to 94.3 and my snake has never been better

[ddbjdealer]

in order for me get the best temps i do what most others do.

I think EVERYONE in this thread has said they tape DIRECTLY to the flexwatt/uth... I would say "most" others do not put the probe directly inside the enclosure... especially for heating multiple units.

[DrEwTiMe]

Why would you tape directly to the UTH? If you installed it right its under the tank. Im no seeing how you woudl be able to get probe in there. I put the probe IN the tank but under all layers of my substrate so that it rests right on the glass. That is the most accurate way to get a temp. If yu attact it right to the UTH how are you getting accurate temps, you want the GLASS to be the right temp for the snake to rest on not the UTH.