Soon to be new owner.

[Shin86]

k well my point is that reptibark is fir....end of story...if it was bad they wouldn't sell it...

[Shin86]

i'm not trying to come off rude, so i'm sorry if i'm coming off like that(little hungover), plus i just like to argue with ppl

[JeffJ]

Also traviZ

if it feels warm to you its too hot.

remember our body temp is about 96-98 which is already as warm as the snake should feel. (96*F) if it feels warm to you it means its beyond our body temperature which is too hot.

the thermometer isnt bad. its accurate. IF its digital your going to have to put your heat pad on a dimmer or a thermostat. my accu-tmep digital thermometer never goes above 99*F on my taks. and thats with 1/4" substrate. i set it a lil high because there is a few degrees of error/heat loss.

[JeffJ]

So, is Repti bark bad? A handful of people here use it, and it does say it's ok to use in the caresheet.

JeffJ, kiln drying it gets rid of the vapors?

according to what i read kinl drying is a way of treating it to make it safe. (makes the toxic vavours evacuate the wood fibers.) but there is also the issue of oils that may or may not be toxic. Research is the best option.

now according to zilla Reptile bark is "treated" to make it safe and blended with eucalyptus. i don't know there methods but they claim its safe.

Duglas Fur IS part of the same soft wood family as pine and cedar so i dont know. this is why i just stick to aspen. i never have toworry whats going on with my substrate.

[JeffJ]

Jeff, thank you! Not decades, I'm afraid, but about 5 years now!

haha oops im getting you confused with one of the other staff members thats older then dirt maybe

however i stand by my word that i trust your advice 100%. you have helped me much. and it has always been spot on advice.

[TraviZ]

Thank you for the lovely debate. I am going to stick with my reptie-bark as it claims its safe, but when its time to change out in the future, I will switch to an aspen. Does aspen hold humidity better?
Is it bad my friend likes the extra hot under his rock?
Last question, is there a difference between dimmer and thermostat and is there any generic models I can buy at a home improvement store or something? I hate to spend 50 dollars at petco on a 1000watt model when my heat pad only pulls 24watts. but if thats the only option, then ill do it asap.

[Shin86]

no repti-bark holds humidity better....

[Shin86]

u can pick up a dimmer at any store with a hardware section

[JeffJ]

Thank you for the lovely debate. I am going to stick with my reptie-bark as it claims its safe, but when its time to change out in the future, I will switch to an aspen. Does aspen hold humidity better?
Is it bad my friend likes the extra hot under his rock?
Last question, is there a difference between dimmer and thermostat and is there any generic models I can buy at a home improvement store or something? I hate to spend 50 dollars at petco on a 1000watt model when my heat pad only pulls 24watts. but if thats the only option, then ill do it asap.

Aspen does a great job with humidity. ive never had a bad shed using it. only when i used sand (i know bad JeffJ, BAD)

you can get a lamp dimmer that will work on a heat pad just fine at lowes, Home Depot or any other place like that. a dimmer is like what it says. it dimms a lamp, (restricts current to the device) there for making the heat pad not run as hot.

a thermostat its a device with a temperature probe that monitors the temperature and either dimms or turns the heat source on and off as needed to keep the target temperature. the lamp dimmers are about $15 and 300W it will work just fine for nay heat pad and or lamp combo. just be sure nothing over 300W or it becomes a fire hazard as your overloading the potentiometer ion the dimmer.

as for the heat under the rock. its not uncommon for it to be a lil hotter in there as the cave will gather heat. if your friend stops using the cave its because its too hot. tone it down a few more degrees. and anything over 100*F can be potentially lethal or cause irreversible brain damage to the snake.

[TraviZ]

thanks! I will think about the dimmer, another thing though, should i get a second smaller pad for the cold side, I cant get it to get above 75 naturally.. light or not.