newbie defacto snake owner tank too cool!

[jlatenight]

Wow, a ton of awesome help here. Thanks to all! I'm definitely going to start looking into PVC enclosures for her. In the mean time, I'm going to get a thermostat for the UTH, a thermometer/hydrometer w/ probe, and I now know where to arrange them. I'm still stuck on one thing: I need more heat, so I'm thinking the 8x6" 8Watt UTH isn't cutting it, right? Since it's not on a thermostat, It's maxed all the time and not even close to hot enough. My 22gal tank is ~10" wide, so should I upgrade to the 8x12" 16watt UTH? Although it's bigger, does the doubling of the wattage mean it gets hotter? If I can get the smaller UTH off the bottom without breaking it, should I use it somewhere else in the tank, like the back or something? If I can get this temperature thing figured out, I think I'll be all set for now!

[tttaylorrr]

I'm still stuck on one thing: I need more heat, so I'm thinking the 8x6" 8Watt UTH isn't cutting it, right? Since it's not on a thermostat, It's maxed all the time and not even close to hot enough. My 22gal tank is ~10" wide, so should I upgrade to the 8x12" 16watt UTH? Although it's bigger, does the doubling of the wattage mean it gets hotter? If I can get the smaller UTH off the bottom without breaking it, should I use it somewhere else in the tank, like the back or something? If I can get this temperature thing figured out, I think I'll be all set for now!

the UTH should cover 1/3 of the bottom of the enclosure. does it cover that? if not, it's too small. a higher wattage heating element will get hotter than a lower wattage, yes.

if you have one of those adhesive-backed UTHs, the instructions state to not remove them once placed as you can damage the internals very easily. i'd advise against trying to remove it completely and then reusing. i'd recommend Ultratherm UTHs and use aluminum tape to adhere it to the enclosure.

remember: UTHs do not heat the air, only the surface they touch.

how are you measuring the ambient (air) temps in the enclosure?

[jlatenight]

ok, this is kind of embarrassing, but I checked again with the heat gun and I think the problem was I was shooting through the glass when I measured the UTH area. It's like 122F square in the center of where the mat is, and 70F where she is now, pretty much the middle of the tank. So that would explain why she never goes over to the hot side!! So I'll stick with the UTH I have, and get the thermostat for it and set it to like 90, and that should be all set. Ambient temp says 72F and the thermometer is an analog one, and it's near the top in the middle of the back wall. How can I get the Ambient temp up? I have a 100W heat bulb going all the time resting on the screen on the left side.

[tttaylorrr]

Ambient temp says 72F and the thermometer is an analog one, and it's near the top in the middle of the back wall. How can I get the Ambient temp up? I have a 100W heat bulb going all the time resting on the screen on the left side.

an analog thermometer is essentially useless in terms of accuracy; get a digital one like this for $8 at wally world. you're probably getting a false reading. get a good thermometer/hygrometer so you can accurately measure before you start thinking the temps are too low.

also, the thermometer should be closer to the enclosure floor, as you should be measuring closer to where the snake spends its time.

[MissterDog]

Since you're in the market for thermostats, we all highly recommend Herpstats by Spyder Robotics. Top notch quality, great longevity and accuracy and a bunch of safety features! Worth every penny we promise! In the case you discover you will need a secondary heat source to help with ambient temps, the Herpstat 2 model would be a great choice!

https://www.spyderrobotics.com/index...=index&cPath=1

If they are abit outside your current price range you can always start with Jumpstart until you can save up for a Herpstat

https://www.amazon.com/MTPRTC-Contro...ct_top?ie=UTF8

[jlatenight]

I have a thermostat and a digital thermo/hygro w/ probe on the way! I just moved the analog one near the bottom for now. So say it stays at like ~70 ambient. What would you do next to bump it up?

[tttaylorrr]

What would you do next to bump it up?

mini space heater? if you have one handy.

[jlatenight]

I do, and I just put it in there to bump it up a little. I really don't like the idea of running a space heater all the time though. What about another light fixture for the right side with a CHE in it, along with the lamp on the left? That would have to be safer & cheaper than running a space heater, right?

[Craiga 01453]

I don't think you need to run 2 heating elements. Just one that's hot enough. Either a CHE or 100 watt bulb should work.

[tttaylorrr]

I do, and I just put it in there to bump it up a little. I really don't like the idea of running a space heater all the time though. What about another light fixture for the right side with a CHE in it, along with the lamp on the left? That would have to be safer & cheaper than running a space heater, right?

of course! it will have to be regulated as well, tho. TBH, if the room has a steady temperature, you can get away with using a rheostat/lamp dimmer instead of a thermostat. they're cheaper but also cannot read the surround temps, hence why they should only be used in a room with a stable temp. a thermostat will always be the best, safest and most preferred option, but a rheostat can work if you know what you're doing. when i ran a CHE with my 20gal glass enclosure, i used rheostats like this one.

EDIT: i agree with craigafrechette in that i don't think you need to jump to getting two fixtures just yet. IMO one 100W bulb should be MUCH more than enough to heat the entire enclosure, which is why i think you're not getting accurate readings for temp. once you have the proper equipment (which you said were on their way) and get everything dialed in and accurately measured, THEN we'll figure out if you need more heat.