Heating pad problems

[RyanTheNoodleMan]

^^ This 100% OP. Jumpstart is an on/off thermostat with a +/- 2 degree difference in temperature control. So if you set the thermostat to 88, it will cool down to 86 before turning the UTH on and will heat up to 90 before turning off. UTH and on/off thermostat temps are really approximate at best. There will be a difference between what you set the thermostat for and glass temperature due to things like ambient room temp, trapped heat, the fact that it's a pain in the butt to get a UTH to lay completely flat over a probe, etc. The 2 important things are that you aim for anywhere between 88-90 as a hot spot and that the thermostat will prevent the UTH from getting too hot, therefore preventing burns.

Your best bet may be to supplement your hot side with a heat lamp on a dimmer or CHE on a separate thermostat to prevent the temp swings. I use infrared bulbs with dimmers and UTH with my glass setups. All of my UTHs are on Jumpstarts. Both heating methods combined with my ambient room temperature means none of my thermostats need to be set higher than 88 degrees. Most are set between 86-88 to achieve a 90 degree hot spot. You just have to experiment to see what works best in your environment. Hope this helps!

Edited to say that if you have a smaller enclosure (ie, 10 gallon), only supplement with a heat lamp/CHE if you also need to bring up your ambient temps.

Thank you but is that really all I can do? I'd really prefer not to buy even more heating stuff when a heat pad should be enough. Plenty of other people have no problems with this and I don't see a reason why it's so difficult for me specifically to get the right temperature. Is it going to be like this for every cage and heating pad? I'd be fine with getting a new thermostat if that would make it better, I'm honestly tired of this because it's caused so many problems and nobody seems to know of an actual way to fix it.

[Luvyna]

There are some thermostats that allow you to set a maximum temperature fluctuation differential so that it will keep the temperature fluctuation within the degree range you set, which might help in your situation. I have an Inkbird thermostat that does this, but if you choose this brand be warned that it gives off a high pitched buzz that will drive you insane if you have to be in the same room with it.

I have the problem with swinging UTH temperatures as well. I use a Zoomed Reptitherm UTH and a Jumpstart thermostat. I have my thermostat set to 92F but the temp fluctuates between 86-93F. I wouldn't worry about the temperatures as long as they don't get lower than 86 or higher than 94.

[WhompingWillow]

Thank you but is that really all I can do? I'd really prefer not to buy even more heating stuff when a heat pad should be enough. Plenty of other people have no problems with this and I don't see a reason why it's so difficult for me specifically to get the right temperature. Is it going to be like this for every cage and heating pad? I'd be fine with getting a new thermostat if that would make it better, I'm honestly tired of this because it's caused so many problems and nobody seems to know of an actual way to fix it.

Out of curiosity, what are your ambient (air) temps? A hot spot is important, yes, but so is having a temperature gradient from warm side to cool so that your snake can thermoregulate. Depending on how your enclosure and your room temperatures, a heat pad really may not be enough. You want about 80 degrees on the cool end. And how are you measuring your temps? Apologies if I missed you mentioning that earlier.

As others have said, a range of acceptable hot spot temps is fine. 88-90 is ideal, but 87 - 91/92 won't do any harm. You simply aren't going to "fix" or get a constant hot spot temp with an on/off thermostat (ie, Jumpstart).

The most popular proportional thermostats are probably Herpstats (manufactured by Spyder Robotics) and Vivarium Electronics (made by Reptile Basics). These works by maintaining a constant set temperature.

Different cage types are easier to maintain. You can make pretty much anything work, but it takes some experimenting. As an example, a lot of people dislike glass tanks because of the difficulty maintaining heat and humidity. Ball pythons can definitely thrive in glass enclosures, but you may need to work at it more. Other popular options are tubs, either standalone tubs that are modified or tubs in a rack system. PVC cages are also popular (Animal Plastics, Reptile Basics, Herptastic, Boaphile, etc.) and a lot of people use Radiant Heat Panels as the sole heating element for those (from ProProducts or Reptile Basics).

A final note: It sounds like you are a new keeper. We've all been there. I get being frustrated when it seems like things aren't working how they should be. But your original question was asking why your hot spot has temperature swings. Multiple people explained why in this thread. You've gotten a lot of advice on possible ways to address this and also reassurances that a range in hotspot temps is okay as long as not too hot or too cold.

[RyanTheNoodleMan]

Out of curiosity, what are your ambient (air) temps? A hot spot is important, yes, but so is having a temperature gradient from warm side to cool so that your snake can thermoregulate. Depending on how your enclosure and your room temperatures, a heat pad really may not be enough. You want about 80 degrees on the cool end. And how are you measuring your temps? Apologies if I missed you mentioning that earlier.

As others have said, a range of acceptable hot spot temps is fine. 88-90 is ideal, but 87 - 91/92 won't do any harm. You simply aren't going to "fix" or get a constant hot spot temp with an on/off thermostat (ie, Jumpstart).

The most popular proportional thermostats are probably Herpstats (manufactured by Spyder Robotics) and Vivarium Electronics (made by Reptile Basics). These works by maintaining a constant set temperature.

Different cage types are easier to maintain. You can make pretty much anything work, but it takes some experimenting. As an example, a lot of people dislike glass tanks because of the difficulty maintaining heat and humidity. Ball pythons can definitely thrive in glass enclosures, but you may need to work at it more. Other popular options are tubs, either standalone tubs that are modified or tubs in a rack system. PVC cages are also popular (Animal Plastics, Reptile Basics, Herptastic, Boaphile, etc.) and a lot of people use Radiant Heat Panels as the sole heating element for those (from ProProducts or Reptile Basics).

A final note: It sounds like you are a new keeper. We've all been there. I get being frustrated when it seems like things aren't working how they should be. But your original question was asking why your hot spot has temperature swings. Multiple people explained why in this thread. You've gotten a lot of advice on possible ways to address this and also reassurances that a range in hotspot temps is okay as long as not too hot or too cold.

The room has a heater that I turn on frequently at a set temperature to keep the room from getting too cold. I measure the temps in the cage with an etekcity temp gun. I do understand that it's fine for the heating pad to go down to 87, but it isn't fine when it stays cold in the tank and there's nothing I can do to set it to the desired temperature. My snake went on a feeding strike for a month and one week. This is especially bad given he was only 4 months old when I got him. He had gotten very lethargic and wasn't acting like a ball python should. The third heating pad seemed to work better and for a while it heated it up enough that he started feeling better and has eaten twice. Yes, the heating pad sometimes stays at 88-91 which is what I want but say it was a bit colder and my snake wasn't getting enough heat so I wanted to turn it up a bit. I can't. Obviously, the thermostat needs to be set higher when the probe is directly on the heating pad. There have been times when the thermostat was set up to 99 and the tank never heated up more than 87. The probe heats up super quick and the heating pad is turned off before the heat reaches the tank. Yes, I am a new snake owner. I've never owned any type of reptile before. I've read stuff, watched videos, and all that about setting up heating pads and I've done pretty much exactly what I've seen and read but it just doesn't work for me.

[JRLongton]

I do understand that it's fine for the heating pad to go down to 87, but it isn't fine when it stays cold in the tank and there's nothing I can do to set it to the desired temperature.

There have been times when the thermostat was set up to 99 and the tank never heated up more than 87.

As I read earlier in this thread, you are trying to create a hot spot, not heat the whole tank with a UTH, so I'm not sure what to make of these comments.

As has been mentioned before, a UTH is never going to heat the whole tank. UTHs are used to create hot spots only and cannot provide the ambient temps needed. but it seems you understand that since you set up a space heater, which just makes your above statements more confusing.

However, 73 ambient is not enough. Most breeders I know warm the reptile room up to 77 or so. That way the cool side is always at least 77, and a hot spot can be provided with a UTH.

You sound stressed but be assured this community wants to be helpful. I'm afraid that you haven't made the situation clear, pics and exact temperatures would be great. You say it stays "cold in the tank". In the tank or on the hotspot? How cold? 85? 80? 78? 73? That information is important to understand what is going on.

Finally, and even without that information, I'll tell you exactly what the solution is. If we are talking about a TANK and not a tub. This is what you should do:

Get a hold of a ceramic heat emitter (CHE). Junk the UTH all together. Plug the CHE into the thermostat and place the probe appropriately inside the tank. Finally unplug the space heater and put it away.

Sorry but its a little overboard to permanently heat a whole room for just one snake. If you had, I don't know, 10 snakes then yeah, heat the room and use UTHs, but for just one? Nah, waste of electricity. It makes much more sense to just heat the tank directly with a CHE. If you have a tub that is a totally different story.

You want to get a few Accurite thermometers also, as it sounds like you don't have any. Without a thermometer, you really don't know what the ambient temp is. They're cheap on Amazon, I get 'em for $10 or so, and they give humidity as well.

Don't get discouraged. Snake keeping is a great and rewarding hobby, but can be really stressful at first. Hell, my bald spot expanded a whole inch within months of getting my first corn snake!

[RyanTheNoodleMan]

As I read earlier in this thread, you are trying to create a hot spot, not heat the whole tank with a UTH, so I'm not sure what to make of these comments.

As has been mentioned before, a UTH is never going to heat the whole tank. UTHs are used to create hot spots only and cannot provide the ambient temps needed. but it seems you understand that since you set up a space heater, which just makes your above statements more confusing.

However, 73 ambient is not enough. Most breeders I know warm the reptile room up to 77 or so. That way the cool side is always at least 77, and a hot spot can be provided with a UTH.

You sound stressed but be assured this community wants to be helpful. I'm afraid that you haven't made the situation clear, pics and exact temperatures would be great. You say it stays "cold in the tank". In the tank or on the hotspot? How cold? 85? 80? 78? 73? That information is important to understand what is going on.

Finally, and even without that information, I'll tell you exactly what the solution is. If we are talking about a TANK and not a tub. This is what you should do:

Get a hold of a ceramic heat emitter (CHE). Junk the UTH all together. Plug the CHE into the thermostat and place the probe appropriately inside the tank. Finally unplug the space heater and put it away.

Sorry but its a little overboard to permanently heat a whole room for just one snake. If you had, I don't know, 10 snakes then yeah, heat the room and use UTHs, but for just one? Nah, waste of electricity. It makes much more sense to just heat the tank directly with a CHE. If you have a tub that is a totally different story.

You want to get a few Accurite thermometers also, as it sounds like you don't have any. Without a thermometer, you really don't know what the ambient temp is. They're cheap on Amazon, I get 'em for $10 or so, and they give humidity as well.

Don't get discouraged. Snake keeping is a great and rewarding hobby, but can be really stressful at first. Hell, my bald spot expanded a whole inch within months of getting my first corn snake!

sorry for the confusion, when I say tank I mean only a specific part of the tank, the hot spot. And when I said the tank isn't heating up, I meant the hot spot isn't maintaining a high enough temperature. The temp on the hot spot constantly changes which I wouldn't mind if it stayed in a good temperature range but it has gotten really hot and it's also lowered to 85. It doesn't stay at 73 in the room, it just dropped that low but the heater turns on then. Right now it's set at 75.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Seeing that you have had the same problem with 3 UTH I would suspect your thermostat is bad.
Then again we can only go by the information you provide.