Ok. Every last one of you are.....

[Vanchesterfield]

..exactly right.

I got my first BP around the 4th of July and thought that I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. I did more lurking around the forum than posting. But today I had the urge to tell every single one of you that you were right. About everything. I updated my setup to include two larger hides ( he had just one and was starting to out grow it. Ditched my ceramic heater and nighttime bulb for a UTH (which I have a question about), and even invested in one of those fancy Repti-foggers because I was begining to get carpal tunnel from spraying that damn tank 8 trillion times a day just to keep the humidity up.

So again, thank you for all your help and support!! I'll post pictures soon!

So to the UTH question,

I have an Accurite thermometer/hydrometer and placed the outdoor probe on the bottom of the tank over the UTH. I also have the UTH hooked up to a lamp dimmer to help regulate temps. BUT the temp reads nearly 120 degrees Farenheit, and the temp on top of the substrate is around 89-91 when I measure it with my IR temp gun. Should I be concerned? The substrate is about 2 inches thick and I have never seen my BP burrow like my corns. His warm hide is about 1/3 on the pad (on top of the 2 inches of substrate.

Ok I'll stop rambling and once again thanks and I hope I can start to contribute more!

[Vypyrz]

So to the UTH question,

I have an Accurite thermometer/hydrometer and placed the outdoor probe on the bottom of the tank over the UTH. I also have the UTH hooked up to a lamp dimmer to help regulate temps. BUT the temp reads nearly 120 degrees Farenheit, and the temp on top of the substrate is around 89-91 when I measure it with my IR temp gun. Should I be concerned? The substrate is about 2 inches thick and I have never seen my BP burrow like my corns. His warm hide is about 1/3 on the pad (on top of the 2 inches of substrate.

Ok I'll stop rambling and once again thanks and I hope I can start to contribute more!

120F under the substrate is too hot and will burn your snake should it get down into the substrate. It will be easier to regulate the temps if you reduce the amount of substrate. Using a thick layer of substrate acts almost like an insulator. The heat can't dissipate up through the substrate so it builds up underneath it. If you use a layer about 3/4in. it will allow the heat to radiate up through the substrate easier. Then you can adjust the dimmer to get a temp of about 93-95F under the substrate which should give you fairly good temps on top of it as well and if your snake does get down into the substrate it won't get burned. I would recommend getting a thermostat to control the heater. All you have to do is set the temp you want the heater to run at and it will regulate it, and you don't have to continually adjust it. You can get a basic digital thermostat online for about $30 and the price goes up from there depending on what type of features and power handling capabilities you want. If you decide you want to get one I can post up a few websites for you. Hope this helps...

[Lolo76]

I agree about reducing the substrate depth, and would even recommend switching to newspaper or paper towels... that's mostly what I use, and it's SO much easier to maintain! BPs aren't really burrowing snakes anyway, so they don't seem to mind - the one who does like to burrow just gets in-between the sheets of paper, LOL.

As for the humidity issue, you can solve that by switching to a plastic tub. I know it's prettier to have a glass tank, especially with one or two snakes, but I'd get annoyed having to mist constantly... had that problem myself before switching to tubs, and now I actually have to worry about it getting too high. But hey, if the reptile fogger works and you like glass tanks, that's fine too! I'm planning to switch my JCP into a 20gal glass tank eventually (he's too small now), just to have one "display reptile" in my living room. He's always out & perched on his branch, so I figure he'll make a nice display animal.

[Maverick67]

I use a glass tank set up and to keep the humidity in a good range i covered most of the screen with aluminum foil. It help a lot. I only need to mist once a week or so.

As for the uth. with the accurite thermometer it is better if you attach the probe (outside end) inside the tank below the substrate over the uth. then regulate from there. you would attach the thermostat probe to the underside of the uth outside of the tank.

Good luck post some pics when you get a chance.

[Vanchesterfield]

I use a glass tank set up and to keep the humidity in a good range i covered most of the screen with aluminum foil. It help a lot. I only need to mist once a week or so.

I have 3/4 of the screen top covered with 3 layers of foil and was holding at around 40%. But to reach the 55%-ish range I was employing not only myself but my kids as well to spray.

This morning I pulled a lot of the substrate off the UTH and it dropped the temps dramatically!

[snakesRkewl]

Forget the substrate and move it aside and take your temps directly on the glass.
The temperature on the glass should not go over 95.
Then when you have that temperature correct replace no more than 1 inch of substrate and you should be good with the uth.

I hope your room temps stay stable, if not lamp dimmers aren't advisable.

[Vanchesterfield]

Ok went ahead and ordered a reptitemp thermostat last night. Unplugged the uth and will stick with the lights for a few more days till the thermostat comes in. Update to follow!!

[Karbon]

I used to use wood chip substrate, then I got tired of picking the dang chips up from what seemed like everywhere.

I switched to paper towels and I couldn't be happier. SO MUCH easier to clean.

When I switched though, the paper towels are obviously much thinner and the snake closer to the actual heating pad, so I got a Rheostat (monitors and keeps temps at a certain level) and it's worked out so much better.

[ChuckSM]

While I love petstores, they sucker you into buying crap. Substrate is one of them. Use newspaper. The only reason to use bark or any substrate is so that your tank looks pretty and everyone can ooo and ahh over it.

after you do that, it is all in playing around with the dimmer to get the right setting