Thermostat is driving me crazy!

[kiiarah]

Just chipping in here as an admitted newbie, but Reed the reasoning behind not putting the probe in the tank is that if it gets bumped by the snake (and it is likely to) it can very quickly and easily cause the heat mat to heat and heat to the point of endangering the snake. Without the thermostat probe on the mat the pad is trying to heat to the thermostat set point, but since the probe isn't reading the mat anymore it will just get hotter and hotter. The reasoning behind not putting tape in the tank should be obvious, do you really want to chance it when you could just get it set up safely outside the tank? You should always use a thermostat and it should always be safely out of reach of any animal in the tank.

Both my thermostats (ball python and leopard gecko) are set up taped to the bottom of the heat mat outside the tank. I did have some trouble with one of them at first, but it is an admittedly older style model and it has stabilized quite a bit now. Many will tell you it should be fine to peel back the UTH just enough to get the probe in between it and the glass. Personally, I was afraid to risk it. I trust them and I am sure that it works some, maybe even most of the time, but because I am paranoid I figured I would just sleep better at night not having to worry about a fire hazard from possible damage to the internal wiring. It is your call but I am just casting my vote for taping the probe to the bottom of the tank on the center of the heat mat. Just be sure of course to allow adequate ventilation under the tank (I believe a quarter to a half inch is recommended) It is safe and it works fine. And whatever you do, please please never put tape in your tank, regardless of who may claim it is fine.

[KMG]

Then what do you suggest I use to secure the probe in the tank?

It does not go inside the tank.

1. If the probe gets moved from where you have it set up the tstat will think the uth is not hot enough and crank up the power. This will make unsafe temps in your tank and put your snake in danger.

2. You snake could urinate on the probe location causing the tstat to think the uth is not hot enough and crank up the power. This will make unsafe temps in your tank and put your snake in danger.

3. The water bowl could be flipped causing the tank to flood which will make the tstat will think the uth is not hot enough and crank up the power. This will make unsafe temps in your tank and put your snake in danger.

You see the pattern?

Place the probe outside the tank between the uth and the bottom of the tank. The common way to secure it is foil tape, hot glue, or duct tape. If I remember correctly the tstat you have has a huge probe. Some have found putting the it between the uth and the tank to be problematic as it causes a gap in contact of the uth and the bottom of the tank. Those people have found placing the probe under the uth to work better to provide a more uniform heat pattern. So doing it this way it would be tstat probe, uth, then the tank bottom. You can still use the same items to secure it.

Note that when you secure the tstat probe you will get best results by taping the wire behind the probe to secure it. You want to avoid covering the probe itself as it can get insulated and cause inaccurate readings to the tstat which will give you a hotspot that is not in the desired temp range.

Tape on snake is really bad as it can tear their skin from their body. Use Google images to see some pics of what tape can do. You can also search the forum as I know I have seen pics here as well.

[pinheadjas]

My only other questions are if I place the probe under the tank, there is no danger of the probe melting or causing a fire hazard? And why do the stupid companies that make these things tell you to place the probe in the tank? One more thing, will being on the back side of the UTH still gauge the proper temp? I tried it last night as a trial run to see if I could place it as described above however, it couldn't get above 78-80.even if I had the tstat set at 95. I didn't want to crank it to the max or above 100, fearing the worst would happen as I slept.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Follow my first post and you will get it.
Fwi one of my racks is set to 103 to get a 93 degree inside the tub spot.

[Eric Alan]

I didn't want to crank it to the max or above 100, fearing the worst would happen as I slept.

If things start bursting into flames when they reach 100 degrees, I need to find another place to live.

[KMG]

My only other questions are if I place the probe under the tank, there is no danger of the probe melting or causing a fire hazard? And why do the stupid companies that make these things tell you to place the probe in the tank? One more thing, will being on the back side of the UTH still gauge the proper temp? I tried it last night as a trial run to see if I could place it as described above however, it couldn't get above 78-80.even if I had the tstat set at 95. I didn't want to crank it to the max or above 100, fearing the worst would happen as I slept.

Yes, it will still work on the back. If your probe is small then put it where we originally told you to. I was just giving that as a back up method if your probe is one of the huge ones.

Like Pit said sometimes to make up for the heat lost traveling through the materials the tank is made of makes it necessary to set the tstat higher than your desired hotspot temp. This is normal but it shouldn't be anything crazy. It usually just requires a few degrees higher than your target.

Any adjustments you do to your tstat give it a few hours to settle before adjusting it again. You can drive yourself crazy trying to adjust it before it has settled because you keep adjusting it before you allow it to rest on a temperature. Take it slow and only make small adjustments each time.

[pinheadjas]

I'll give it a shot. Thank you all for the advice.

[Reed12321]

Yes, it will still work on the back. If your probe is small then put it where we originally told you to. I was just giving that as a back up method if your probe is one of the huge ones.

Like Pit said sometimes to make up for the heat lost traveling through the materials the tank is made of makes it necessary to set the tstat higher than your desired hotspot temp. This is normal but it shouldn't be anything crazy. It usually just requires a few degrees higher than your target.

Any adjustments you do to your tstat give it a few hours to settle before adjusting it again. You can drive yourself crazy trying to adjust it before it has settled because you keep adjusting it before you allow it to rest on a temperature. Take it slow and only make small adjustments each time.

Okay, i'll pull back the UTH and put the probe there, but my concern was that it would be either too cold or too warm if I put the probe there. The whole reason I got a thermostat was to avoid reaching into the tank and checking temps 20 times per day, but I suppose I have no other choice.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Once you get it set you dont have to check so often.
Dont over complicate things.

[Eric Alan]

Okay, i'll pull back the UTH and put the probe there, but my concern was that it would be either too cold or too warm if I put the probe there. The whole reason I got a thermostat was to avoid reaching into the tank and checking temps 20 times per day, but I suppose I have no other choice.

The whole reason to use a thermostat correctly (including proper placement of the probe) is so that you DON'T have to reach into the tank and check temps 20 times per day. A properly used reliable thermostat won't allow for temperatures that are too cold or too warm - that's the whole point and why we're trying to help (because your other choices involve possible harm to your snake).


Soap box time! I seriously wish that thermostats didn't have numeric temperature reading displays on them at all. People get too worked up about the "temperature" of their thermostat and how or why it's not the same as the temperature of their hot spot and why they still need to check the temperature of that hot spot if "that's why I spent so much money on this thermostat!". Someone should design a mid-range proportional thermostat with color settings instead of numbers (like a rheostat's dial). In my head, that would make things so much easier to explain when these discussions happen.