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  1. #1
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    Problem with heat

    Well I recently bought all sorts of stuff to set up an enclosure for a ball python I will be getting soon. I bought the Acu-Rite digital thermometer/humidity reader and I bought a 10 gallon glass tank and compressed coconut husk substrate and an under tank heating pad.

    I did a test with the heating pad and thermometer in the empty tank (no substrate, water dishes or anything) and the hot side got up to 105 degrees (I was just testing to see how hot the pad could actually get). Well I put substrate in the tank and did a test again and this time with the probe of the thermometer on top of the substrate in the enclosure the temperature was 80 degrees...even though the heating pad was up around 100 degrees. What's the deal? The heating pad is producing more than enough heat, but the heat is not getting through the substrate to the surface of it....how do I fix this? I know....surface temperature in the enclosure needs to be like 92 degrees

  2. #2
    in evinco persecutus dr del's Avatar
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    Re: Problem with heat

    Hi,

    How deep is the layer of substrate you are using?



    dr del
    Derek

    7 adult Royals (2.5), 1.0 COS Pastel, 1.0 Enchi, 1.1 Lesser platty Royal python, 1.1 Black pastel Royal python, 0.1 Blue eyed leucistic ( Super lesser), 0.1 Piebald Royal python, 1.0 Sinaloan milk snake 1.0 crested gecko and 1 bad case of ETS. no wife, no surprise.

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    Re: Problem with heat

    About 1 inch thick...just looking at it, it seems like there should be even MORE substrate....maybe 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. But right now it's only 1 inch thick and for some reason the heat isn't getting to the surface at all.

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    BPnet Veteran lord jackel's Avatar
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    Re: Problem with heat

    Quote Originally Posted by BigDan35
    About 1 inch thick...just looking at it, it seems like there should be even MORE substrate....maybe 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. But right now it's only 1 inch thick and for some reason the heat isn't getting to the surface at all.
    Two things...first the substrate is just to catch feces and urine so it doesn't need to be that thick...maybe 1/2" at most...second it will take some time for the pad to heat the substrate up so it may start out at 80 but eventually will get much closer to the pad temp (no the same but close)...so I recommend you get a reostat or Thermostat to regulate the pads temp (even though it seems like you don't need it yet...you will)
    Sean

  5. #5
    in evinco persecutus dr del's Avatar
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    Re: Problem with heat

    Hmm,


    Well sadly I've never used that substrate ( I use newspaper) so I'm unsure of what to suggest next but I do have a few questions that might speed up the process of others helping;


    How long did you leave it all set up and running before checking those temperatures? and what is your humidity running at?

    It does seem to me that an inch of damp substrate will do a fairly good job of insulation but people with more experience of it are far better sources of information.


    dr del
    Derek

    7 adult Royals (2.5), 1.0 COS Pastel, 1.0 Enchi, 1.1 Lesser platty Royal python, 1.1 Black pastel Royal python, 0.1 Blue eyed leucistic ( Super lesser), 0.1 Piebald Royal python, 1.0 Sinaloan milk snake 1.0 crested gecko and 1 bad case of ETS. no wife, no surprise.

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    Re: Problem with heat

    Quote Originally Posted by lord jackel
    Two things...first the substrate is just to catch feces and urine so it doesn't need to be that thick...maybe 1/2" at most...second it will take some time for the pad to heat the substrate up so it may start out at 80 but eventually will get much closer to the pad temp (no the same but close)...so I recommend you get a reostat or Thermostat to regulate the pads temp (even though it seems like you don't need it yet...you will)
    I heard snakes like to burrow...is a ball python one of the exceptions to that? If so then that makes sense...I could take a 1/2 inch of substrate out and see what happens....I have had it plugged in for awhile with the probe sitting on top of the substrate and it has raised the temperature up to 86.5 degrees....but it's been at that temperature for awhile now so I think that's about as hot as it will get on the surface. So I will try taking a 1/2 inch of the substrate out and seeing how that affects it....if it still isn't up to around 92 degrees then do you suggest getting a ceramic heat lamp to combine with the under tank heating pad?

    As I mentioned before...the pad got to about 105 degrees when I tested it...but with the substrate acting as a barrier...if, let says, the highest temperature that will be on the surface is 88-89 degrees....even though the pad itself is around 105 degrees, then why would I still need to get a thermostat? I thought I needed one of those only if the heat was getting too hot....so it could keep it at the right temperature...but if the heat isn't hot enough because of the substrate lessening it then wouldn't a thermostat be useless?

    And my humidity reading right now is 42%...all I have in the tank is 1 inch of substrate...and a water dish.

  7. #7
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    Re: Problem with heat

    Hi,

    Well one of the problems is snakes can burrow - and 105f is hot enough to cause problems.

    You want to have the top of the substrate at the right temperature without the possibility of the animal burrowing down and encountering dangerous temperatures. At this point you are definately going to need some way to regulate the uth. A ceramic heat bulb will also need a thermostat and (obviously) a good gaurd to prevent the snake coming into contact with it - they are also renowned for sucking the humidity out of the tank which leads naturally to my next question.

    What kind of lid to you have on the tank at the moment?

    Could we have a bit more precise timeframe than "a while" as it can take a tank a day or two to settle down completely depending on the setup?


    dr del
    Last edited by dr del; 05-26-2007 at 07:53 PM. Reason: changed wording
    Derek

    7 adult Royals (2.5), 1.0 COS Pastel, 1.0 Enchi, 1.1 Lesser platty Royal python, 1.1 Black pastel Royal python, 0.1 Blue eyed leucistic ( Super lesser), 0.1 Piebald Royal python, 1.0 Sinaloan milk snake 1.0 crested gecko and 1 bad case of ETS. no wife, no surprise.

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    Re: Problem with heat

    I've got a screen lid on the tank....but I read that those let out humidity...so I was going to follow the advice of one of the members here and cover 3/4 of the screen lid with tin foil and then cover that with duct tape. And when I say awhile...I mean about 2 hours or so.

    And I didn't think about the fact that the snake could burrow and come into contact with the very bottom of the glass and the 105 degree heating pad. So that's a good point you made, I will need some other form of heat though. Because as it stands right now...the heating pad is at 105 degrees, yet only making the surface temp at 86 degrees....so if I get a thermostat to keep the heat pad at lets say, 92 degrees....then I doubt the surface temp of the substrate would get any higher than about 83 degrees or so. I will take a 1/2 of substrate out now....and leave the pad on for a whole day...over night and check the temps tomorrow and see what they are....then go from there.

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    Re: Problem with heat

    Hi,


    I don't know if you've already seen this but it might give you a few ideas.

    Glass tank setup sticky



    dr del
    Derek

    7 adult Royals (2.5), 1.0 COS Pastel, 1.0 Enchi, 1.1 Lesser platty Royal python, 1.1 Black pastel Royal python, 0.1 Blue eyed leucistic ( Super lesser), 0.1 Piebald Royal python, 1.0 Sinaloan milk snake 1.0 crested gecko and 1 bad case of ETS. no wife, no surprise.

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