Odin checking out his new home.

[MrBeeBow]

Most important question: Are you regulating your UTH and lamp with a thermostat?

that was something we were not told to do, but is something i will be doing.

[Craiga 01453]

Thank you!, well i have a lot of tattoos so good chance this wont be the only snake in my house.

Ha! I hear ya!! If I spend money on another snake or another tattoo before I buy a ring I'll probably be a single man again!
Soooooo.... no new ink or snakes for me for a little while...

[Craiga 01453]

that was something we were not told to do, but is something i will be doing.

Ok, At the very least, unplug the UTH. You're risking serious burns or even death to your snake leaving it unregulated. And monitor your lamp closely to avoid dangerous heat spikes.

Unfortunately, pet store employees are about the worst people you can learn from. Obviously there are exceptions, but the majority are clueless. A thermostat is the most important thing you can buy for your snake.

[MrBeeBow]

Ok, At the very least, unplug the UTH. You're risking serious burns or even death to your snake leaving it unregulated. And monitor your lamp closely to avoid dangerous heat spikes.

Unfortunately, pet store employees are about the worst people you can learn from. Obviously there are exceptions, but the majority are clueless. A thermostat is the most important thing you can buy for your snake.

we bought from a very well known reptile store, im thinking cause of the uth's low power they didn't think it would get too hot, we use the uth for the cool side right now.

[MrBeeBow]

Ok, At the very least, unplug the UTH. You're risking serious burns or even death to your snake leaving it unregulated. And monitor your lamp closely to avoid dangerous heat spikes.

Unfortunately, pet store employees are about the worst people you can learn from. Obviously there are exceptions, but the majority are clueless. A thermostat is the most important thing you can buy for your snake.

oh and yes the lamp is on a dimmer, the 60w bulb was too much without it.

[Craiga 01453]

we bought from a very well known reptile store, im thinking cause of the uth's low power they didn't think it would get too hot, we use the uth for the cool side right now.

I've never heard of a "low power" UTH not needing to be regulated.
The UTH is there strictly to provide a hot spot. It isn't there for ambient temps. So you want to have it regulated to keep a steady temp of around 90-92. Heat mats can spike to as high as 120, which could be fatal if your snake is above it. You also want to measure the temp of the glass where the UTH is located. Not the ambient temp above it, not the substrate above it, but the actual hottest spot there is. Snakes can, and will, burrow and dig themselves down to the actual surface, so it's important to get the measurement from there so that the animal can not burn itself.

It's also important to have the lamp regulated. Lamps just pump heat, without regulation, the lamp keeps pumping heat, and the enclosure temp can spike and be dangerous to the animal.

....sorry, just saw that your lamp was on a dimmer. Your ambient temps will be fine then. Unplug the UTH and get yourself a thermostat. The snake will be perfectly fine without the UTH for a while.

[MrBeeBow]

I've never heard of a "low power" UTH not needing to be regulated.
The UTH is there strictly to provide a hot spot. It isn't there for ambient temps. So you want to have it regulated to keep a steady temp of around 90-92. Heat mats can spike to as high as 120, which could be fatal if your snake is above it. You also want to measure the temp of the glass where the UTH is located. Not the ambient temp above it, not the substrate above it, but the actual hottest spot there is. Snakes can, and will, burrow and dig themselves down to the actual surface, so it's important to get the measurement from there so that the animal can not burn itself.

It's also important to have the lamp regulated. Lamps just pump heat, without regulation, the lamp keeps pumping heat, and the enclosure temp can spike and be dangerous to the animal.

....sorry, just saw that your lamp was on a dimmer. Your ambient temps will be fine then. Unplug the UTH and get yourself a thermostat. The snake will be perfectly fine without the UTH for a while.

so should i think about using two lamps to regulate the ambient temps? cause my house does not stay above 70.

[MrBeeBow]

also how should i go about attaching the probe to a mat thats already stuck to the tank?

[Craiga 01453]

so should i think about using two lamps to regulate the ambient temps? cause my house does not stay above 70.

You shouldn't need to I don't think. You may just need to adjust your dimmer.

If the UTH is affecting the ambient temps then it's way too hot and definitely dangerous to the animal. It really should only affect the temps immediately above it and in the hide/are above it.
So you may need to do a little trial and error and get the ambient right, but regardless of the UTH situation, your lamp should be dialed in to get you the right ambient temps. Once it's dialed in, you can leave it even after you get the UTH set up with a tstat.

You're on your way. I promise it gets much simpler once your setup is right and everything is dialed in. Then it's just maintenance. At that point, just make sure the equipment is running properly and you're good to go.

[Craiga 01453]

also how should i go about attaching the probe to a mat thats already stuck to the tank?

You can peel it back a little bit, very carefully, then slide the probe in and stick it back on.