Need to add a thermostat but my baby bp is in the early stages of shedding.

[SrSkisAlot]

I ordered a thermostat to control my heat pad so I can use that instead of a lamp....and it should arrive tomorrow. I also have a second identical hide that I want to add. My baby bp looks to be in the early stages of shedding...his color is dull and his eyes are milky.
Is it too late in the shed for me to take him out of the tank to add the thermostat, second hide and do some general maintenance?
He hasn't been coming out of his hide much lately and I assumed that was related to the shedding. I don't want to stress him out but I also think its important to switch to the heat pad w/thermostat.

Any suggestions?

Thanks guys!

A picture of him taken yesterday: http://i.imgur.com/BcyYO.jpg

[SRMD]

I ordered a thermostat to control my heat pad so I can use that instead of a lamp....and it should arrive tomorrow. I also have a second identical hide that I want to add. My baby bp looks to be in the early stages of shedding...his color is dull and his eyes are milky.
Is it too late in the shed for me to take him out of the tank to add the thermostat, second hide and do some general maintenance?
He hasn't been coming out of his hide much lately and I assumed that was related to the shedding. I don't want to stress him out but I also think its important to switch to the heat pad w/thermostat.

Any suggestions?

Thanks guys!

A picture of him taken yesterday: http://i.imgur.com/BcyYO.jpg

my baby bp shed last night and throught out his shed i was handling him and he had a perfect shed just aslong as when you take him out be gentle etc...
and when you put him back in his tank, guide him towards the hide thats why i did and he was fine.

but in my opinion its fine to take them out for like 10-20 minutes no longer

[Inarikins]

The thermostat probe should go between the UTH and the tank bottom, so you shouldn't have to remove him. Just carefully lift the tank and position the thermostat. Adding the second hide shouldn't be hard either. He might be snappish if he's in blue (milky eyes) but you should be able to add another hide without a problem. Leave off cleaning his tank until after he sheds because he'll probably poop afterwards (they usually seem to) and then you'll have to clean it again but other than that you shouldn't have a problem adding the thermostat and hide.

If you start the thermostat at a low temp and monitor carefully you really shouldn't have an issue adjusting the temps while he's in there. Just bump the thermostat by .5 degrees at a time making sure you give a chance for the thermometer to read correctly before adjusting the thermostat again. If you're watching it even if it's too hot for half an hour or an hour or whatever he won't get burned. It does take time for burns to develop and if you're going carefully with a thermostat in place you shouldn't have any problems.

He's pretty deep in blue, and he's eating wow! What a little champ. While you wouldn't have any problems making changes he'll probably shed in a week or less. Probably less than a week. As soon as his eyes clear up again, it's 2-4 days to a shed. You could always wait, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

[SrSkisAlot]

The thermostat probe should go between the UTH and the tank bottom, so you shouldn't have to remove him. Just carefully lift the tank and position the thermostat. Adding the second hide shouldn't be hard either. He might be snappish if he's in blue (milky eyes) but you should be able to add another hide without a problem. Leave off cleaning his tank until after he sheds because he'll probably poop afterwards (they usually seem to) and then you'll have to clean it again but other than that you shouldn't have a problem adding the thermostat and hide.

If you start the thermostat at a low temp and monitor carefully you really shouldn't have an issue adjusting the temps while he's in there. Just bump the thermostat by .5 degrees at a time making sure you give a chance for the thermometer to read correctly before adjusting the thermostat again. If you're watching it even if it's too hot for half an hour or an hour or whatever he won't get burned. It does take time for burns to develop and if you're going carefully with a thermostat in place you shouldn't have any problems.

He's pretty deep in blue, and he's eating wow! What a little champ. While you wouldn't have any problems making changes he'll probably shed in a week or less. Probably less than a week. As soon as his eyes clear up again, it's 2-4 days to a shed. You could always wait, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Okay, I'll probably wait then. Its only a 10 gallon and I want to rearrange the hides and what not. Are they comfortable being handled right after shed?

Also you mentioned the probe should go between the UTH and the bottom of the tank. I keep hearing/reading different things about that. Some people say under the UTH, some say between, I've even heard attached to the bottom of the tank from the inside and also in the substrate near the surface. Can you please help me out with understand the pros and cons of the different ways to mount the probe?

[Inarikins]

Should be. The skin can be a little sensitive after but you shouldn't have any problems moving him to another enclosure so you can change his tank around.

You don't want your thermostat probe getting wet with urine or urates or something so that's why you generally don't place the 'stat probe inside. Your thermometer probe should be inside, placed right against the bottom over the UTH and tacked down with hot glue. That's because BPs burrow into their substrate and will lay as close to the heat as possible. You want to measure that spot so you know just what temperature your snake's being exposed to. You're less likely to get the thermostat probe moving around on you when it's between the bottom of the tank and the UTH. If the probe gets moved and is dangling in open air the thermostat is going to try to compensate for what it thinks is the improper temp by blasting the UTH at full power, which will lead to burns in the long run.

[SrSkisAlot]

Should be. The skin can be a little sensitive after but you shouldn't have any problems moving him to another enclosure so you can change his tank around.

You don't want your thermostat probe getting wet with urine or urates or something so that's why you generally don't place the 'stat probe inside. Your thermometer probe should be inside, placed right against the bottom over the UTH and tacked down with hot glue. That's because BPs burrow into their substrate and will lay as close to the heat as possible. You want to measure that spot so you know just what temperature your snake's being exposed to. You're less likely to get the thermostat probe moving around on you when it's between the bottom of the tank and the UTH. If the probe gets moved and is dangling in open air the thermostat is going to try to compensate for what it thinks is the improper temp by blasting the UTH at full power, which will lead to burns in the long run.

Okay, is there a particular way I should remove the UTH because its already stickied to the bottom of the tank lol.

I was kind of thinking of hot gluing the probe to the bottom inside since the UTH is already attached and the thermostat I bought is for indoor gardens and designed to be in damp/wet soil. Do you think that will work out?

thermostat: http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...635871-6067315

[Inarikins]

I've never used a hydrofarm, so I guess I'm not really sure if that'll work or not. :/ If it is mean to be used in soil then you're probably okay, but somebody might come along and correct me. Just make sure when you hot glue down the probe you don't glue over the actual probe part, it'll make the heat reading part freak out and could give you imprecise readings. I would just glue down the cord near the probe in that case.

If you want to put it between the UTH and the bottom of the tank just peel it away, put your probe into place on the heat mat, then carefully stick the heat mat back down. So long as there's some kind of airflow for the UTH already in place then you'll be fine.

[tlich]

I use a hydrofarm right now, they work fine. I also currently have a 10gal tank, I still use an infrared heat lamp to maintain ambient temps and cool side temps. If the room the tank is in don't drop below 75 then you won't need the heat lamp. You can also just tape the tip of the probe and cord to the Uth for now (use duct tape or aluminum tape something that won't fall right off), until you can hot glue it down. Peeling the Uth off could damage it but people do it and don't have any problems, I just wouldn't want to risk damaging the coils inside it.