Quote Originally Posted by Stacy View Post
Thank you so much for responding! If I am understanding correctly, it is ok for the probe to touch the under tank heating pad? Out of curiosity, what is the reason for placing the probe directly onto the heating pad instead of it being inside the tank to get a reading?
Yes the probe is fine sandwiched between the UTH and the bottom of the tank. You don't want it inside the tank because the snake can move it off the heat, or pee on it.
I feel the current thermometer I have now isn't really that accurate so do you have a suggestion for an in tank thermometer and also for the time being, what do you suggest probe wise?
WalMart has a digital Accurite thermometer/hygrometer that is $12-15 and decently accurate.

Also, how does the herpstat change the output of the UTH pad I have? I guess it is built with the ability to adjust heat output?
Yes that is what a thermostat does. You plug the UTH into the thermostat, when the probe cools off the thermostat sends power to the UTH, and when the probe gets too warm the thermostat shuts off the UTH.

My room's temp is around 73 day and 70 at night. I turn the heat lamp off at night and wasn't sure if that was okay or not. The UTH is always on but the heat lamp I shut off at night. What temp should the "cool side" of my tank be? Also humidity?
I would leave the heat lamp on. You will need to cover the rest of the tank's screen top with something like foil or Glad Press n Seal to keep humidity in. Putting a damp dish rag or washcloth under the foil or plastic wrap also helps with humidity, just remember to re-wet it every day.

Last (so sorry lol), I read somewhere that I need to plug the herpstat into a surge protector and also read people were wrapping things around the cord like aluminum foil or heating tape for some reason? Any suggestion about this or am I okay to leave it as is?
A thermostat is an electrical appliance like any other, and the digital ones, like computers, don't like "dirty" electricity. So yes, using a surge protector with them is a good idea. I don't know what the foil/tape thing you mentioned is.