My first snake is here

[The Serpent Merchant]

Well for now, i got a leviton plug in lamp dimmer. I know its not a tstat, thats comming, but honestly, as soon as i plugged it in i just felt so relieved. Obviously these mats have no buisnss being unregulated..

I'm glad you have realized that.. far too many people don't believe us when we say that UTH can get up to 130+ and have the ability to burn or even kill a snake if unregulated.

[serpent fan]

Well, i gues i was lucky, because i wanted to see how hot i would get with no snake in there, glad i took that precaution.
And if ive learned anything, its that you should heed the warnings of forum people. Ive seen many a fish tank crash because people thought they knew better

[serpent fan]

Lol i feel like this thing doesnt work. I pluged it in @ every setting temp goes up. Pluged my lamp in, every setting is "bright as crap) except for the lowest, which apparently is the seizure setting becuase it made my lamp blink really fast

[The Serpent Merchant]

Was there any noticeable difference in brightness before it hit seizure mode?

[serpent fan]

Just the tinyiest bit. I have the mat pluged in and set it to just before s.m. right now its on 93, ima keep a super close eye on it, but my snake is cold to the touch, as long as im in arms length of the cage, is it ok that i just have a single papertowel layer on the bottom (took out shirts) i want my snake to stay warm

[serpent fan]

Hmm could it be that all my lamps use cfl's (compact floresent bulbs) there the spiral bulbs right? I just say they dnt work with this unit

[The Serpent Merchant]

all my lamps use cfl's

That would be the issue as CFL's cannot be dimmed and it explains the seizure as well.

it probably is working fine. UTH's take some time to settle into their new temperature when the power adjusted I usually wait at least 30 minutes in-between adjustments for this reason. if you can measure the surface temperature of the tub and be sure that the temperature is under 95 then a single layer of paper towels is fine. Just keep a close eye on it until everything is stable. (the more stable temperature in your room is the easier it will be to get the UTH stable)

[serpent fan]

Man stiill tryn to zero in on a temp...

[serpent fan]

Ok well, ill try waiting longer between adjustments. I feel like if i look at it, the temp will do the opposite of what i want it to,lol

[The Serpent Merchant]

It is the hardest part. The nice thing is once everything is set up and dialed in it is much easier... and with a thermostat it almost becomes self-sufficient