Digital Thermometer?

[Timspear]

i have my ball in a 70 gal tall as a permanent enclosure with a uth(16 watts) under the hot hide. I also have a 60 watt red night bulb and a 100 watt household bulb.... Right now i have the Fluker’s Digital Thermometer
i have this on the substrate of the warm side right outside of the hot hide.... i'm getting the digi with the probe; should i bury the probe under the substrate? (i have about 3in's of coconut fiber)

[snakeman13]

yes,
you want the probe right on the glass.
if you put it on top, the glass will be much hotter than on top.
Possibly burning your snake.

[Vypyrz]

Are you using a thermostat to control the UTH? If not, then your glass is probably hot enough to burn your snake if it gets down to the glass. That much substrate will act more like an insulator and keep the heat trapped below it on the glass. I only use about 1/2 - 1 inch of substrate to allow for better heat dissipation...

[Timspear]

i buried the probe and it was 108!!!!! so needless to say i unplugged it. Surface temp is 90. No i have not got the thermostat as of yet (on Friday i will get one or a dimmer) The thermostat is the only thing i don't have. The reason i have so much substrate is because i made a underground hide in the middle of the tank between the warm and cool side. I had knee surgery last month and the snake was given to me recently thats why i didn't have everything setup for him before hand. Btw he is in my old WD setup which is why the 70 tall.

[Crazy4Herps]

Yep, definitely sounds like you need either a thermostat or a rheostat. Until you can get one, try lifting the enclosure off of the ground with plywood strips to allow some additional oxygen flow.

If I may share some advice on t'stats/r'stats, I have used both in the past, and, though r'stats can fluctuate and need to be adjusted, they do give you a ton of control, and generally work pretty well. It is MUCH better to use a r'stat than a crappy [therefore dangerous] t'stat. If you're going with a t'stat, look into spending a decent sum of money on one (I paid $80 for my Johnsons). If you don't feel comfortable buying a t'stat, go with a $10 r'stat at Lowes. As I said before, they aren't a perfect solution, but do make a big difference. I've been using r'stats on a couple of my enclosures for several years and I have yet to come across any problems.

[Timspear]

thanks I'm down for the r'stats. one more question.... since I have alot of substrate about 3.5 inches should I increase the temp of the uth from the standered 91? I won't do it until I get the ok.

[Timspear]

oh and the tank was already raised before; but thanks for the concern

[Vypyrz]

thanks I'm down for the r'stats. one more question.... since I have alot of substrate about 3.5 inches should I increase the temp of the uth from the standered 91? I won't do it until I get the ok.

Instead of raising the temp of the UTH, I would remove some of the substrate. A thinner layer will allow the heat to radiate up through it more readily and give you warmer temps on top of the substrate...

[Kaorte]

Try this thermostat if you are tight on cash: http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...6700973&sr=8-6

A thermostat will always be better then a rheostat. If you can afford the thermostat now, skip the rheostat.

When you do get some kind of control I would suggest using only a thin layer of substrate so the temperature differential from the glass to the top of the substrate is only a few degrees.

[Timspear]

cool I'll check it out. I have taken out the substrate and put down construction paper then paper towels over that (feeding on loose substrate prolly isnt that wise last time my bp got a mouthful of coconut fiber )