Where to place the thermostat probe

[KMG]

You should have a water bowl heavy enough that it doesn't get tipped I personally like Rickey's idea. It's very creative, although I can't see myself being so outgoing, LOL!

I have my probes on the inside - I don't find anything "wrong" about putting it on the outside, I just didn't hear about doing it that way until after I had mine all set up! But then I do think that the temperature could be a little off, since that is not where the snakes are. I also don't know how heat transfers through glass, so maybe it wouldn't even matgter.

I personally use painter's tape for the probes in both my snake's vives. I initially thought the substrate would maybe get under the tape and cause it to come unstuck, but so far it hasn't and I've been using the tape for a couple of months. To be fair my ball python doesn't dig too far under the substrate because there is a hide directly overtop it where he just hangs out, but my corn has not knocked hers off at all.
I also don't place the water bowls near the probes, just in case something were to happen when I was gone (thermostat malfunction) and the snakes needed a cool place to go, the water bowl is on the other side.


EDIT: After reading about a poster's snake who "floods the vive with urine", I would agree that where you place the probe will depend on the snake! That's a bit concerning though... I've never had a snake defecate so much at once that it didn't get soaked into the substrate...

I agree that the placement can depend on the snake but still say outside is best. I have probes mounted inside cages. They are for rhp and there is no other way. One issue with large snakes is their water bowl. My almost 6 ft blood is way to big to offer a tub to soak so to give her more space I use a smaller water bowl because there is no reason to offer a big one that she still can't soak in. She could easily flip anything you placed in there. The truth is probably most snakes could flip their water if they really wanted.

A issue you have is the tape. I realize that painters tape is more safe than most but what about this. A snake leads with its face and explores with its nose. What if your snakes did root around and lift the tape a bit and get it lifted. It has the potential to cover their face, eyes, mouth, or nose. This could be enough to kill them by suffocation. Just because you found a different method late doesn't mean you should not apply it.

Have you ever seem how hard it is for a dog to remove a piece of tape from their snout? They have legs with paws and its still difficult. What can a snake do? Freak out, spin around, and get more tangled.