Heating advice

[OTorresUSMC]

Just wanted to pick everyones brain and see if my set up is ok or if i need some adjusting. My tank is set up with a UTH on the hotside, attached to a rheostat, with the hide over top of the UTH I have a thermometer probe mounted to the inside of that hide so it hangs just above the substrate which is aspen. I have a thermometer in the middle of the tank to measure ambient air and then another hide on the cool side with a probe inside that hide just laying on the substrate. On average the hot hide measures at 90 the ambient is 84 during the day with a little dip at night but the temp in the cool hide is showing maxed out at 78. The tank also has a 75watt red light heat bulb. My concern is that cool hide is too low the problem i have is when i cover more of the lid to keep some heat in the hotspot temp can jump to 92 or more and my rheostat is already turned down to the lowest possible setting. Looking for options to bump the cool hide temp a few degrees without over cooking the hot hide. Any and all advice welcome.

[BMorrison]

Do you have a picture of this setup? Sounds like maybe you have the thermostat probe in the enclosure instead of on the heat source?


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[PitOnTheProwl]

You need to monitor the temperature of the hottest thing your animal can touch.... That would be the glass UNDER the substrate.

[BMorrison]

Pits famous diagram. Dead on.


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[OTorresUSMC]

Do you have a picture of this setup? Sounds like maybe you have the thermostat probe in the enclosure instead of on the heat source?

Correct its in the hide sitting just above the substrate reason for that is i put down a layer of a reptile carpet in the hide so that she cant burrow down and touch the hot glass. The probe however is literally just above the substrate like not even a half inch. When i had the probe directly on the glass it was reading 111 but the substrate was no where near that because of the layers.

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[PitOnTheProwl]

So if its 111 degrees then your heat source is too hot. You cannot prevent a burn if you don't properly regulate.

[OTorresUSMC]

111 is if i lay the thermometer probe directly on the glass and cover it with the substrate. The actual surface my snake is touching and resting on is 90. That repticarpet is obviously absorbing and dispersing a lot of the heat. Im ok with my hot side my problem is when i try and warm the cool side the hotside temp climbs also and i cant really lower it because my rheostat is already bottomed out.

[OTorresUSMC]

How do i add a pic??

[PitOnTheProwl]

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-Post-Pictures

This is what you may have to deal with if you don't get your heat source corrected.
I'm not a prick because I want to be on this subject.
I am a prick because I have had to take snakes in and fix or put them down because people think they know more than they really do about heating.

[Eric Alan]

111 is if i lay the thermometer probe directly on the glass and cover it with the substrate. The actual surface my snake is touching and resting on is 90. That repticarpet is obviously absorbing and dispersing a lot of the heat. Im ok with my hot side my problem is when i try and warm the cool side the hotside temp climbs also and i cant really lower it because my rheostat is already bottomed out.

There are countless burn stories that start just like this. They can, and eventually will, find a way to end up under the substrate and lay directly on the glass. My recommendation is to ditch the carpet and instead use only a thin layer of cypress or coconut husk bedding. This will ensure the continued safety of your BP even when you're not around to make sure it's above the carpet where you left it.

EDIT: The cool side temp needs to be looked at separately from the hot spot temp. The purpose of the heat pad is to provide localized belly heat. It is not to raise the temp of the entire enclosure.