confused about heating

[heh1987]

I am a little confused about my heating situation. I can't seem to get my temps up (according to my thermometers) but my girl is only staying on her cool side.

Right now my accuweather says the hot side is at 80.4 and the cool side is 77.2..which is too cold on both ends, so i can't figure out why she isn't going to the warm side.

let me give you some basic info. I have also included pictures of my set up.

-29 gal glass aquarium
-repti-bark substrate about 2-3 inches thick
-accuweather thermometer and old flukers 2 in 1 I am still using.
-2 identical log hides ( i know not the best , I am working on something new)
-I have two of the smallest zoo med heat pads on her hot side. they go out about half way
-on the cool side I am also using the smallest zoo pad, but it was an old one so It won't stick on the bottom and doesn't provide much heat.
-I have a 75 bulb on the hot side
-my house temp is about 65-70 degrees right now

[Vypyrz]

Where is the probe of your Accu-Rite located? Also, 2-3 inches of substrate is probably too much. Try reducing it to 1/2- 1 inch on the warm side which will let more heat through. Are you controlling the UTH's with anything?

[heh1987]

it is on the side of the wall, but at the very bottom under the substrate. I am not using anything for the UTH right now. I am too broke for a thermostat at the moment, but maybe i could pick up some dimmers

[Vypyrz]

Definitely get some dimmers. They are better than nothing. When I first started out I was using an uncontrolled ZooMed UTH and I found it running at about 105F. Here's what I suggest:

1) at least get some dimmers to control the UTH's.
2) Reduce the amount of substrate on the warm side.
3) place the probe of your AccuRite directly on the glass above UTH, and under the substrate. This will let you adjust the UTH with the dimmer to set the temp at about 92-93. It will be a little cooler on top of the substrate, but this will be the max temp that your snake will be exposed to if they push the substrate aside. Actually, since you are using a UTH on the cool side, you may need to reduce the substrate on that side as well...

[heh1987]

that is definitely reasonable, I can work on getting that done