Quote Originally Posted by kitedemon View Post
Ok lets back track a second... you said you tank is 85-90 degrees, correct? is that all over the tank? Or just a hot spot?

You need to have a gradient 78-81º on the cool side and a ambient temp of around 78-85ºF.

The biggest problem with the stick on type thermometers is two fold, the measure the temp of the glass where they are stuck. This is the largest issue as this temp is not one that has massive importance. The other is they can become grossly inaccurate as the paper card often swells and jams the needle.

You really need to measure the temps inside the hides in addition to the ambient air temp you have currently with the dial. If your ambient air temps are actually 85-90 it is likely the whole set up is too hot.

There are a number of UTH on the market that will not get overly hot. 110ºF is just over body temp for a small mouse or rat. The issue is snakes cannot digest at 110º. I like the lower wattage units like you have a failed t-stat is not usually a massive issue. The problem with out a t-stat is the temp will vary with the room temp a t-stat will stabilize this and help prevent great amounts of variation.

I Am in NS and there is no problems ordering herpstat from Dion (spyder robotics direct sales) I paid 27¢ shipping and got away with out being charged tax. The product is covered under free trade and shipped USPS so there is no issues with brokerage and tax (PST and or GST,HST) might be charged. Greg West (http://www.cornelsworld.com/) he is in Alberta so that might be better...

I think you will discover finding the accurite difficult that model is discontinued and walmarts in my area never had them to begin with. IMO no great loss I hate them. All the cheap digital thermometers are about the same so buy a hand full of cheap ones and only use the ones reading the same.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/New-Digital-L...ht_3059wt_1114
sometimes you can order a bunch. I bought 25 for 30$ with shipping. I found 6 to be poor and gave them away. If you damage a probe you can easily replace it.
The hot spot is his right side of the tank, which is 85-90 degrees. No higher than 92. (closest to the heating element.) his cold side is at a steady 80 degrees, hides on both sides and his UTH is under his right hide.