:( Major temp probs...

[GirDance]

I got the enclosure re-set up again today... And again, major temp problems!!! With no heat source on at all my overall temp is at 89.8.

I turned on my UTH for a total of 5 mins, the 'hot' side became the 'super hot side' at 97.6 in the hide the probe is in, turned it off after 5 mins of watching the temp go way too high, and it's taken half an hour to get down to 94.7 in that hide.

The probed temp in one of my 'cool - but really not so cool hides' is 89.4...

Yeah, my house is not so fun to live in - we're dealing with the 90 degree heat daily and while sleeping, but I don't want the snake to have to...

How can I lower the heat in the enclosure (or better, the rest of the house too!!!!)

You can see the temp in this pic if you look close ( 89.7 / 89.1)... and that's with *NO* heater on...

Click here for picture.

[dr del]

Hi,


What are you using to regulate your UTH?

dr del

[XIII]

Note that the temps are actually 83.7 and 89.1. I would just turn the UTH on the tiniest bit and see if that get's your hot side where it should be.

[GirDance]

It's not 83.7, it's 89. It looks like a three because I shrank the photo. I can post the full size if you'd like.


I didn't use anything at that point because it's too hot in there with nothing on at all. I turned on the UTH for exactly 5 mins timed just to see how high it would go, and then how long to cool back down.

[GirDance]

Here's the close up... They've evened out now that the UTH has been off for an hour or so.


Click here for picture.

[bearhart]

Don't freak out at 97d. Unless your snake is not comfortable and won't come out of its hide for anything then it will move around to keep its body temps correctly. I'm not saying that you shouldn't work to keep things in the right range but I wouldn't switch into emergency mode until 99+. Before I was schooled by the people here I used to have a warm-side hide that was over 100 most of the time. But, my BP would hang out in there for a while and then come out and press up against the glass somewhere to cool himself down and then head back in. Alot of the real concerns about temperature come from the fact that BP's will prioritize a particularly good hiding spot over all other things.

So, I would recommend getting your warm side down while making sure you don't make other areas too cool. But, I would also recommend watching your snake and determining if its actually comfortable with changing hides. If its not then you are losing the most important thermostat of them all - the snake. If you read on reptiles you'll find they all know exactly how warm they are and how warm they'd like to be. So I think a comfortable BP is the best thing you can achieve. If they are comfortable and not holed up hiding all the time you can get alot of good information from simply watching their behavior.

[GirDance]

I'm more concerned with the fact that my cool side is 89 and won't drop lower... There is no 'too cool' in this house it seems because I can maintain an almost 'hot side' heat without even having a heater turned on...

[bearhart]

so you can't get a temp lower than your surroundings except perhaps by keeping the humidity on the higher side. I always find that the cage temps tend to increase as the humidity goes down.

If your temps are actually that high you might be able to cool the tank via evaporation by keeping the *outside* of the cage wet. Perhaps you should consider a constant misting onto the glass coupled with a simple fan. voila - you've got yourself an evaporative cooler!

[bearhart]

I'm more concerned with the fact that my cool side is 89 and won't drop lower... There is no 'too cool' in this house it seems because I can maintain an almost 'hot side' heat without even having a heater turned on...

yea - I didn't catch that at first. Its very uncommon.

[GirDance]

Yeah... I think it might be uncommon because most *people* find living at that temp unbearable!!!

Thanks!! I'll definately try that, we have two fans in here, but they don't seem to be doing much... Maybe I'll try a wet towel over the vent with a fan aimed down at it... With the paper towel in there instead of coconut fiber my humidity is too low at the moment as well...

If I can't get it down should I just go without a 'hot' side till we get an air conditioned place at the end of August?? Or settle with the 98 ish hot side and the 89 cool?