Cant get right temps, help please

[weirdbuglady]

I have my 3.5' bp in a 40 gallon tank, and have made a lot of changes to try to get the right temps and humidity. (Next year I am getting a plastic cage from reptile basics, with all the best stuff, but for now this is what I have to work with). I keep 3/4 of the top screen covered with wax paper, cocofiber on the bottom, a hide on each side, water dish in the middle, and a nice piece of mangled wood she likes to curl up on. Before I had just a heat lamp, that would give me the right temps, sometimes it would get too hot. However the humidity I've managed to keep stable and within the correct range.

So here is what I have now: UTH under each side, each one hooked up to a repti-temp 500R thermostat. However I'm having trouble getting the temps up, it's been a few hours and the warm side only reads 84 on top of the substrate in her warm side hide. I tried putting the probe between the mat and the tank, and inside the tank under the substrate, and both had the same results. According to the packaging the reptitemp thermostat can go up to 110 degrees, so how come when I have it on the highest setting, it's only getting up to 84 (and then turning off, since the little light is no longer on). I wanted the thermostats because I've heard how hot UTHs can get. I don't know if I should leave one plugged into the thermostat to keep it in the low 80s, and leave the other one on its own and just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesnt get too hot?

I know I know I need to invest in some better equipment but the situation won't really be changed until the school year is over, or maybe I'll try to get a good setup as a christmas present My bp is getting babysat by my boyfriend (don't have room for her at college but he does) so I want to get everything set up perfectly before he takes her this weekend.

Any suggestions?

[dr del]

Hi,


O.k there are a few things to check.

How thick is the layer of cocofibre? What temps is the glass bottom of the tank reaching? is the zoomed t/stat at its highest setting?



dr del

[hoo-t]

Where is your thermostat probe now? Keep in mind that if you have the probe on the heat mat, it will only allow the heat mat to reach the set temp...not the cage! This means that it is going to take a while for the temps in the cage to come up. Think of it this way... if you set the thermostat to 92 degrees, the heat mat heats to 92 degrees and shuts off. The top of the substrate in the cage is only beginning to warm up, so it may still be at 70ish. The heat mat comes back on and heats to 92, then shuts off. The glass is starting to warm up, and the substrate next to the glass. Gonna take a while to heat up the substrate! You may want to set your thermometer probe next to the thermostat probe for a while just to monitor what the heat mat is actually putting out. This is one advantage of having a digital thermostat (helix or herpstat). It will show you the temp at the probe.

Steve

[weirdbuglady]

Fixed it! Problem was a combination of too much substrate and temp probe measuring in the wrong spot.

I took out cocofiber so theres only about 3/4" to 1", and put her hide, and the probe, directly over the middle of the heating pad on the warm side. It shot up to the mid 90s so I turned the thermostat down to keep it around 91/92. The cool side warmed up to around 80, going to try to keep that around 82.

The thermostat probes are inside the tank. The ones I got only have a dial from low to high but so far in my plastic tub for my little bp its keeping things pretty constant.

Whew.