Regulating Heat

[digizure]

Hello, I bought a used snake rack from a guy on craigslist. It's a very nice homemade rack with six shelves. It comes with a Vivarium Electronic VE-100 and heat cable that are nicely flushed on each shelf. Currently, I have four pythons in each tub (on each shelf) and when I used my thermogun, it shows 87 degree on 4th row (bottom), 83 on 3rd row, 90 on 2nd row and 88 on first row (top). This doesn't make any sense. I know that heat rises but that does not apply here.

Is it possible that the heat cable is no good? A friend recommended that I take out the heat cable and replace it with a heat tape. Your thoughts?

[el8ch]

A 3 degree variance is not uncommon in racks, but the 83 reading on the 3rd shelf is pretty off. It does seem strange that your top rack is not the hottest also. Is the ambient air temperature in your room stable? Is there air flow through the rack that may cause uneven temperatures? From the top to the bottom of some of my racks there is about a 3 to 4 degree difference.

Heat cables are tested and true and if used in the proper application are just as good as heat tape. I assume it is possible that you have a dead spot in your cable, where replacing the cable would be the only solution to regulate your temps again. Heat tape is another route you can take, just personal preference and what works best for your rack at this point.

[Rat160]

I also read that thermo guns were unreliable. If you hit something at a different angle it may read a different temp. Also with a thermogun your measuring surface temp when your looking for ambient air temp. Just what I was told by a exotic vet. I keep my abient room temp stable and all my shelves on my rack usually vary by 2-3 degrees. I also use heat tape.

[digizure]

I live in San Diego and most rental homes does not come with AC. It gets pretty warm during the day with temperatures between 80 - 90 (this week). I think I will replace the heat cable with another one and hopefully that will fix my problem.

[AK907]

Currently, I have four pythons in each tub (on each shelf)

Umm... Why are you housing four snakes in each tub?

[digizure]

Sorry, it was midnight when I typed the original post. I guess I was tired. Ha. I meant to say that I have four pythons and they are housed separately, in four tubs.