New Member! First snake questions...

[Meletee]

Yes on the glass under the substrate. Not too sure why you would need to worry about spillage? If it gets spilled you just clean it up. Just to be sure, your uth is on the outside of the tank, correct? All of my water dishes are actually partially covering the uth, it can help with humidity.

[Mephibosheth1]

You don't have the UTH inside the tank do you??

there shouldn't be a problem with water and a UTH if the UTH is under the glass outside the tank

the order of things is (from top to bottom)

substrate
thermometer probe
glass
thermostat probe
UTH

[Hammer2576]

No! Lol it's under the glass. And I don't have a thermostat right now. What if I get a lamp dimmer for now to control the uth??

[Hammer2576]

Yes it's under the tank. So should I have the thermometer probe on the glass, where should the humidity probe be at? Thanks for your help! And I'll be getting a lamp dimmer to help soon

[Meletee]

I don't think there is any specific spot that the hygrometer probe needs to be placed. If I'm wrong, please somebody correct me.

As long as it is reading 50-60% normally, all is fine. During shed cycles humidity should be between 60-70%, so some light misting then and covering the top with some plastic wrap or tin foil can help keep humidity levels up.

[MarkS]

It's not a good idea to have any electrical devices INSIDE the tank. Keep the heat pad underneath and outside of the tank. I think the biggest mistake most beginners make is keeping the tank too hot. I try to keep the warm side of my tubs between 86-90 and try to make sure it never goes over 95. I don't generally concern myself with the cool end, but then again my snakes are in a room which is generally between 75-80, but even in the winter when it gets colder in there I don't get concerned. You're never going to achieve perfect temps all the time in any kind of cage, snakes kept too cool might be uncomfortable, but snakes kept too hot can die. I personally think it's best to err on the side of caution. As long as they have temps close to the 90 degree range sometime during the day they should be fine.

Also, don't guess at the temps. Those stick on dial thermometers are next to worthless and those color changing strips that change colors like a mood ring are even worse. I think anyone who has a snake or even a reptile of any kind should have a temp gun like one of these - http://www.reptilebasics.com/pe-2 I have several laying around my snake room and use them every day. frankly I think they're just as important as the heating devices themselves.

[Hammer2576]

Thank you guys. I don't have a temp gun but I have an actual digital thermometer/hydrometer with two probes.

[KMG]

A uth is not going to heat the air in the tank. If your ambient temps are low a heat lamp might be needed.

Probes for thermometers and hygrometers are best a couple inches from the cage floor. Measuring as close to snake level as possible let's you know what your snake is feeling.

[Hammer2576]

Yeah that's what I thought. So the probe shouldn't be sitting right on the glass then right??

[Meletee]

A uth is not going to heat the air in the tank. If your ambient temps are low a heat lamp might be needed.

Probes for thermometers and hygrometers are best a couple inches from the cage floor. Measuring as close to snake level as possible let's you know what your snake is feeling.

Really? I was told multiple times to place it directly on the glass above the uth, but then I use a thin layer of substrate.