Temperature help: New tub rack set up

[CALM Pythons]

Ok so I just got a 4 tub rack system from CSerpents. It came with 3” flexwatt preinstalled and recessed towards the back of each shelf. I’m using a VE-200 to control it with the probe right on the flexwatt.

Initially, I set everything up and put the thermometer probes on the floor of the tubs right over where the flexwatt is located. At the time, I did not add any substrate, hides or water dish and definitely no snakes yet. I want to ensure stable temps first.

With the flexwatt being recessed and the tubs having a very slight lip on the bottom, there is what i estimate to be a 1/8-3/16 inch gap between the flexwatt and the bottom of the tub. I had to eventually set the VE-200 to 103 F in order to get the temperature probe from the thermometer to read between 90-91 and hold steady. I left it like that for 24 hours and constantly checked to ensure the temps were staying steady.

Once that was confirmed, I took one of the tubs (the 3rd one down from the top) and added a little reptile prime (thin layer, like 1/4 inch), hide box and water dish. Again, the thermometer probe is suction cupped to the floor of the tub directly over the flexwatt. In that one tub, and that tub only, after sitting overnight, the thermometer is reading 87.1 degrees. All of the other tubs, which are still empty except for thermometer probes, are reading between 90.1 - 91 degrees. Checking with a temp gun is coming up with similar readings (maybe 0.1-0.3 degree difference from thermometer probe reading). I have been relying more on the thermometer reading because the tubs are translucent, so when I slide the tub out a bit to shoot it with the gun, is it reading the temp from the floor of the tub or passing through to the shelf, or a combination?

Ambient temps are good (78-79) and humidity is 60-64%. It’s just the floor hot spot temps that are throwing me for a loop.

My my theory is that the temps are actually good and that maybe some small pieces of reptile prime are getting between the thermometer probe and floor of the tub which is absorbing some of the heat and throwing the reading off a little bit. I just want to be sure.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Cant give much advice about racks themselves..:: However the Lasers doesn't shoot threw objects clear or not. Once they hit a surface thats the temp you get.
The only thing I can think of from before i used RHP's and had Belly Heat is that anything i put into the enclosures above the heating source absorbed some of the heat or made the heat a few degrees less because once the Electric current is set by the Tstat anything added that would make the heat source have to work harder to maintain that temp or absorb some of the heat takes away from it some. (Does that make sense?) I wonder if all the tubs substrate were set up the same if you would then get that 87 reading in all of them? If so then you could narrow it down to this cause... I bet thats whats going on. Clear the substrate all the way around the Heat Tape area for 12-24 hrs and see if that changes the tubs temp back to match the others... Im thinking it will.


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