I am reposting this in the proper forum. I had it as an addon on my Intro thread in the OT area... not much traffic there lol. I'd really like some advice, because I want to be able to responsibly take care of an animal.


As of right now, I have the following:

15g 24x12x12 critter cage.
1 1/4 inch or so of Aspen substrate
2 Acurite indoor/outdoor thermometer w/ Hygrometer
8x8 UTH

First thing I did was do the duct tape / aluminum foil project to the locking screen top:



and then I applied the backing, substrate, applied velcro to the 2 accurites, with each probe going under the substrate where the hides will go. I bundled the extra cable and stuck it to the top of the tank with velcro as well. I did use a couple small pieces of duct tape to the bottom of the tank to hold the probe cables down. Is this okay?

I also applied the 8x8 UTH under the right side of the tank, under where the vent is on the top.

I also applied backgrounds to sides and back to "shrink the cage".



Now after letting it settle over night with the water dish in, I was getting the following readings:

Warm side ambient: 72F
Warm side probe under substrate: 111F
Warm side humidity: 78%
Cold side ambient: 68F
Cold side probe: 66F
Cold side humidity: 78%

Now obviously, these numbers are not good at all. I have a Reptitemp 500R on the way that I will use to control the UTH, to regulate the temp on the hot spot.

And since my house stays cool, I am going to buy a CHE/socket lamp clamp etc to bring up the ambient temps in the enclosure. I assume 100w would be enough? I am also going to buy some kind of foam/cork board to apply to the sides and back to help insulation.

Is too much humidity bad? I live in SE United States, so it is pretty humid here. I thought about making the vent a little bit bigger to let some humidity out and allow more heat from the CHE in.

Another quick question: I plan on purchasing a hatchling BP. Is 24x12x12 big enough? I assume it is. How long would it take to outgrow it?

Thanks for the info guys. Sorry for the bad pics- stupid cell phone camera ha.