heating pad ?'s

[rding]

ok, i have a couple of things we may need some help with. we have put a human heating pad under the aquarium. his temp stays at about 91 with the thermometer/hygrometer about 4 inches from the bottom of the tank....humidity 41-43. when we put his light on, the humidity bottoms....should the thermometer be closer to the bottom of the tank??? can we do away with the reptile light???? the light zaps the humidty to 24-26, and we have cloudy eyes and are ready for some shiny skin...last time, i had to put him in the tub and help him finish shedding, took about 30 minutes, didn't want to upset him. i just want everything right for him..........Thanks for helping!!! oh, and does the aquarium also need to be raised some from the heating pad??

[Demonic_Rage]

As I have heard from several on here the aquarium should be raised about an inch up off the heat pad. And for the Hydro meter I would say drop it down about and inch from the bottom and see if that helps. If not try covering half his lid up with a damp towel of paper towels. Hope this helps.

[rding]

thanks.......do you think i can loose the light??

[Smynx]

You should allow some room for the air to circulate under the tank. We use little rubber pads called "bumpers" that are supposed to be for stereos, VCRs and computer equipment. You just stick them to the bottom of the tank.

Yes, the thermometer should be closer to the bottom of the tank. In fact, I my probes sitting right on the substrate. If you're using an analog thermometer as opposed to digital, your readings could be inaccurate. The $15 indoor/outdoor Accurite thermometer/hygrometer has been recommended here many times, and that's what we use at our house. I was shocked at the difference in the readings.

If you can maintain proper temps (80 cool side/90 warm side) without the overhead light, pitch it.

Hope that helps!

[Demonic_Rage]

Is it your only source of lighting on him? If so I would say that it would be safer to leave the light there. Because they need day and night cycles and it helps to poo as well.

[Wizill]

lose the light... but watch the floor temps. when the floor temp is 98 (best checked with a temp gun or with the probe stuck directly on the floor), that IS the basking spot. a lot of people don't realize what the hot floor AND ambient temp can do to your snake, obviously... overheat it. that's why i say with go with one heating source or the other.

[Soul_Of_Fire]

Hey rding you wanna put the therm close to the ground as possible cause thats what you want to measure is the air down where the snake is if possible. You don't need and overhead light as BP's are night animals and so sleep during the day. And the tank is a good enough distance from the tank.
Andrew

[rding]

The $15 indoor/outdoor Accurite thermometer/hygrometer has been recommended here many times, and that's what we use at our house. I was shocked at the difference in the readings.

this is what we have..it was better than the $10 stick on thing from the pet store........thanks for the info.
we are going to make some more adjustments......

a lot of people don't realize what the hot floor AND ambient temp can do to your snake, obviously...

i have noticed he keeps going under the paper towels....we laid the thermometer on the bottom to see the difference.........Thanks to all of you for helping......you are the best!!!

[Wizill]

there should be a ban on those stick thermometers. i used some for a while, bought a digital one and realized my snakes were cooking.

[rding]

yes, not very accurate...BIG waste of money....i have been really happy for the past two weeks with the wal-mart special everyone has recommended. i wouldn't know how to do this without ya'll!!!!