I was wondering where everyone places their thermostat probes and why.

Here I go:

I have a strong opinion that it is best to put your thermostat probe directly on the heating element that the thermostat is supposed to be controlling. I have put the probe on the bottom of the enclosure directly above the UTH. I found that this does not work well with plastic enclosures because the bottom of tubs tend to 'sag' when snakes or water bowls end up on top of the UTH and this will cause the temp to vary in different levels in the rack and in the individual enclosure when the snake moves. I also hear of alot of people that like to put the thermostat on top of the substrate. I have never tried this because my snakes would 'move' the probe.....one minute you have a substrate surface temperature of 95, then the snake bumps the probe up a bit and you end up with a 95 deg. air temp in the enclosure. IMO...The probe should be in a 'fixed position', directly attached to the heating element, and insulated from the air for the best temperature control.