Regulating Temperatures

[RichH]

Hi. First let me say thanks for the help. I have a tank from The Reptile Factory that my wife and I picked up at the Midwest Reptile Show in August. We're running an under tank heater controlled by Jump Start MTPRTC, Digital ETL-Certified Heat Mat Thermostat. My cold side temps are holding a steady 77 degrees and my humidity is around 60 %. I have a digital thermometer with temperature probe made by Zoo Med. My inside temperature probe is on the bottom of the enclosure while my probe connected to the under tank heater/thermostat is taped to the bottom side of the tank. My under tank heater is sitting on a piece of tile and my enclosure is supported by being stacked on three pieces of tile. I'm showing a difference of eight degrees between my the thermometer on my hot side and the temperature reading on my thermostat. I'm struggling with maintaining an appropriate hot side temperature. Sorry for the long detailed message, I just wanted to provide as much information as possible.

[Ax01]

what is your exact hot side temp currently? i set my thermostat to reach an 89-90degree hotspot below the substrate for my enclosures. sometimes that means there will be a difference between the temp u set your thermostat and what your thermometer reads depending on the enclosure, ambient temps, etc.

[Yzmasmom]

Agreed - what is he hot side sitting at?

My thermostat is set for 91 and sometimes reaches 92 while it cuts off and cools down, but through the glass on her side, it only hits about 88 so I have a black night ambient heat light over the hot hut, which usually keeps it between 88 and 91 and the light is so dim that it doesn't bother her at all. I have the same kind of light on the cool side to keep her hide at 78-81 and use light dimmers on the lights to adjust as needed.

They are never perfectly steady because the house temps change. I just check on her 2-3 times a day and adjust if needed. In the wild, temps will fluctuate a few degrees during the day - it's just crazy changes you want to avoid. She's perfectly happy and eats normally.

[RichH]

The hot side is at 89 which i know is good. Just didn't think there would be such a difference between the two temperature settings. I'm happy with things now. She just fed for the first time and is in her hot hide digesting. Everything went well.

[Yzmasmom]

Nice!!

[PitOnTheProwl]

Temp taken on top of or under substrate?

[dmt_jovi]

Temp taken on top of or under substrate?

The million dollar question

Altough I'm joking Pit asked a serious question and the correct answer is the difference between a healthy snake and a serious burn waiting to happen.

[Yzmasmom]

The million dollar question

Altough I'm joking Pit asked a serious question and the correct answer is the difference between a healthy snake and a serious burn waiting to happen.

Very true!!! When we first got our girl we had an uth without a thermostat and her substrate level probe read 88-90. When we realized she needed a thermostat, we moved the substrate and checked the temp. It was 100+!!!!! No wonder she didn't use the hot side!!!