probe placement?

[SGB_74]

a while back i ordered a reptile thermostat heres a pic to be exact. and i also monitor the temp and humidity with this digital thermo/hygrometer


thermostat


thermo hygrometer

well my question is where is a good placement for the probe itself...i keep my ball in a 10 gallon tank being as though she isnt that big...and the tank fits her just right..

so i seem to be getting different temps throughout the day (91 at the most and 84 at the lowest and that was the hot side)...and with the thermostat regulating the temp. i keep getting my heat lamp turned on and off with 5 min intervals and its quite annoying..so im assuming i dont have the probe in its correct placement to be receiving enough heat from my UTH and heat lamp.

the probe is placed on the back glass panel horizontally.

[juddb]

As far as tanks go, i would suggest getting a smaller bulb and setting it up over the warm side, Tweak it until you get between 90 and 93, and the cooler side should stay at around 80. But just so you know its not a good idea to have a heat mat and a light on the same tstat. Also i would invest in a better tstat, put it this way, you get what you pay for.

[SGB_74]

well regarding thermostats what would you prefer..i hear people use ones specifically designed for reptiles and on the other hand there's people that use ones which are sold at hardware stores soooo are there any opinions out there and another thing..i need humidity! seriously..i mean i've seen the thread regarding the glass tank setup but i was told not to use the foil (might overheat snake and what not) and another reason is the foil and tape restrict airflow other than the small section you have cut out for the lamp...so i really need some assistance here.

[Kagez28]

yea those ones are not safe at all.. they tend to stick and leave the heating element on even if the temp is at the set point. also they are not very accurate. i would recommend a ranco or a johnson control. they are quality and will not fail on you. for a little more $ you can get a helix or a herpstat which is what the pros use.

check out reptilebasic.com Rich is a great guy and fix you up with what you need.

[Kagez28]

as for covering the top of the tank, you should get enough air with the section open for the lamp. plus most people open up the tank once a day to change water, so there's some air flow right there. as for over heating a snake, never heard of that. glass will not trap heat in that well and with a quality thermostat there shouldn't be a problem. covering the tank, will help with temps and humidity alot.

[SGB_74]

yea those ones are not safe at all.. they tend to stick and leave the heating element on even if the temp is at the set point. also they are not very accurate. i would recommend a ranco or a johnson control. they are quality and will not fail on you. for a little more $ you can get a helix or a herpstat which is what the pros use.

check out reptilebasic.com Rich is a great guy and fix you up with what you need.

thanks a lot for the info...lol i've been sitting here refreshing the page to see if anyone had something to say...**on my way to that website** much appreciated

[juddb]

well regarding thermostats what would you prefer..i hear people use ones specifically designed for reptiles and on the other hand there's people that use ones which are sold at hardware stores soooo are there any opinions out there and another thing..i need humidity! seriously..i mean i've seen the thread regarding the glass tank setup but i was told not to use the foil (might overheat snake and what not) and another reason is the foil and tape restrict airflow other than the small section you have cut out for the lamp...so i really need some assistance here.

Instead of foil try duct taping saran wrap to the top... Also after doing some research you decide what tstat to go with. Ranco and johnson controls are reliable and cheaper, but if you want total control you can go with herpstat or helix, but like i said you decide. But those little esu tstats are garbage. Good luck

[Chuck]

I have to agree the Johnson and rancho controls are designed for large commercial purposes. Heater and refrigerator. So the research and development that goes into them is huge. Some businesses have BIG BIG money tied up in there refrigeration units so the Controls are very important to them. How much Research and development goes into that little plastic on/off thermostats. I would say none, if any very little. Many of them are 500 watts and 1000 watts thermostats. When they fail they fail in the on position because the contacts that switch the power on/off weld themselves shut which puts all that power right to the UTH. Honestly I would spend the money if you can and buy a Herpstat. I have 5 of them and have had them for a good number of years now they are the best money I have spent. Helix is another one but I have heard that they are having quality control problems in there newer unit. After that big long rant here is what I would suggest for probe placement. First off I would pick one or the other for heating. A heat lamp or a UTH both is asking for a cooked kid . If they are hooked together and the thermostat failed it might heat the tank to the point that the animal couldn't thermo regulate. I would go with a UHT if it were me, they tend to do better when humidity is a factor. Heat lamps really dry out a tank quick. Put the probe directly under the hot spot or in the middle of the UTH Set the thermostat to the hot spot temp. Insure the cool side stays above the mid 70's at night. Your little girl will take care of the rest. Hope this helps


Chuck