Which should I use a thermostat for? And where to place the probes?

[Ivyna J Spyder]

Right now my BP is in a 20 gallon tank. I have the top 80% covered with plexiglass to hold in heat and humidity and three sides covered with foam. The temps fluctuate since the temps in my room do... It's really a pain.

I use a 100 watt red bulb and a UTH to control the heat. I have to use both in tandem to get the temps where I want- the UTH alone isn't enough to get the ambient temps high enough. Both are controlled with rheostats but I'm getting sick of tweaking it constantly, so I want to get a thermostat like maybe a Herpstat...

But I don't know which I should hook up to the thermostat- the light or the UTH? (Or should I just get a Herpstat II and control both? Or can both be controlled with a regular Herpstat? Or maybe I should get a Herpstat for the light, and a cheaper on/off one for the UTH? o_O)

That and where exactly should I be measuring the temps? Under the hide on the warm side? Outside the hide? Under the substrate? (inch of aspen) On top?

Thanks for any advice...

[blackcrystal22]

Right now my BP is in a 20 gallon tank. I have the top 80% covered with plexiglass to hold in heat and humidity and three sides covered with foam. The temps fluctuate since the temps in my room do... It's really a pain.

I use a 100 watt red bulb and a UTH to control the heat. I have to use both in tandem to get the temps where I want- the UTH alone isn't enough to get the ambient temps high enough. Both are controlled with rheostats but I'm getting sick of tweaking it constantly, so I want to get a thermostat like maybe a Herpstat...

But I don't know which I should hook up to the thermostat- the light or the UTH? (Or should I just get a Herpstat II and control both? Or can both be controlled with a regular Herpstat? Or maybe I should get a Herpstat for the light, and a cheaper on/off one for the UTH? o_O)

That and where exactly should I be measuring the temps? Under the hide on the warm side? Outside the hide? Under the substrate? (inch of aspen) On top?

Thanks for any advice...

A thermo stat will not work very well for the lamp. I don't even think it'll work at all.
What type of UTH are you using? If your not already using flexwatt then I suggest it as most pet store UTHs don't get very hot and can't work well with a thermostat because when you tell it to be 95F it can only go up to 90F etc.
Flexwatt is far more cheaper than any UTH but you'll probably have to buy foil tape for it to sit under the tank. It REQUIRES a thermostat, usually a digital one is best, but I've heard its ok to use the non-digital ones as long as your not using it for incubation.
You put the thermostat probe at the lowest place your snake could get to to get warmth. :]
So if he burrows, underneath the aspen, right above the UTH.

[Ivyna J Spyder]

This type of UTH (Exoterra Desert Heatwave) gets to be over 100 so I think it'll be fine... Trust me, my problem is not keeping the temps high enough- it's keeping them low enough when the temps in my room spike during the afternoon and I can't be there to constantly fiddle with the rheostat. Come winter maybe I'll need flex watt but for now this heats more than enough.

And there's a layer of non-adhesive shelf liner between the aspen and glass that he can't burrow under, so he'd never come in contact with the glass anyway.


Should I be measure the temps where it gets the hottest perhaps...? Even if I measure 90 on the hot side at one point, it can measure 96 just an inch or two away. Meh...

[Blue Apple Herps]

A thermo stat will not work very well for the lamp. I don't even think it'll work at all.
What type of UTH are you using? If your not already using flexwatt then I suggest it as most pet store UTHs don't get very hot and can't work well with a thermostat because when you tell it to be 95F it can only go up to 90F etc.
Flexwatt is far more cheaper than any UTH but you'll probably have to buy foil tape for it to sit under the tank. It REQUIRES a thermostat, usually a digital one is best, but I've heard its ok to use the non-digital ones as long as your not using it for incubation.
You put the thermostat probe at the lowest place your snake could get to to get warmth. :]
So if he burrows, underneath the aspen, right above the UTH.

The commercial UTH WILL get very hot. There is no reason to abandon the UTH, especially for a 20g tank. The UTH will work just fine. Now, if it's not getting warm enough, then there may be something wrong with your UTH. Try plugging it into the outlet unregulated; it should get well over a 100º (obviously don't do this with it still attached to the tank!). If it's not then it might be defective.

You should be able to get it warm enough with just the UTH and all the insulation that you have. And a t-stat can definitely do heat lamps. If you wanted to be safe get the Herpstat II, I have the Pro and absolutely love it. I put the probe on the warm side directly on the glass under the substrate.

[Blue Apple Herps]

This type of UTH (Exoterra Desert Heatwave) gets to be over 100 so I think it'll be fine... Trust me, my problem is not keeping the temps high enough- it's keeping them low enough when the temps in my room spike during the afternoon and I can't be there to constantly fiddle with the rheostat. Come winter maybe I'll need flex watt but for now this heats more than enough.

And there's a layer of non-adhesive shelf liner between the aspen and glass that he can't burrow under, so he'd never come in contact with the glass anyway.


Should I be measure the temps where it gets the hottest perhaps...? Even if I measure 90 on the hot side at one point, it can measure 96 just an inch or two away. Meh...

What are the ambient temps in your room? If you're measuring 90 at the warmest point, but it's 96 a few inches away, then you're not measuring the warmest part...

That is quite a fluctuation. Maybe I misread the OP, if you're having trouble keeping it cool enough, ditch the lamp and only use the UTH.

[Ivyna J Spyder]

My room's ambient temps range from 72-78 throughout the day and night.

Hmm. So would just a Herpstat with the UTH be enough? I figure I can always use the lamp as backup for when it gets really cold.

Is an on/off or the proportional better for a UTH?

[blackcrystal22]

Haha, Sorry, I've never bought any 'good' UTH brands. D: All of mine were cheap, thin, and not very reliable. They don't get above 90F usually.

Plugging it in to a T-stat should work fine, I've only use flexwatt with one but I would assume it would work the same way.

Putting the probe at the lowest, hottest point is best.. or sometimes where they prefer to be on the warm side (in a specific hide) so that they're getting their ambient temperature.

[littleindiangirl]

UTH's work very well with a good thermostat as long as they aren't defective. Blue had a good idea though, just plug it into the wall and measure how hot it gets to double check if it's still working correctly.

I used a infrared heat lamp to keep my cool side warm, it was on 24/7 and kept the temp in the low 80's for ambient.

Don't worry, you'll have some trial and error, but with a thermostat you'll find it is much easier to accomplish.