I have to heat my flexwatt to 100 to get the tub's substrate to 90. Is that normal?

[spaceturtle]

I've never thought to temp check the underside of my tubs to be honest. My rack has a recessed grove for the flexwatt so my tub never actually touches the heat tape.

Getting a UTH for the cool side will help a great deal with your temps as long as your room temps are constant and don't vary much; otherwise tweaking with the dimmer will drive you crazy.

Like mentioned above, belly's of bps are not very sensitive to pain so its very likely that a snake will burn its belly even when provided with a cooler option..

Good luck tweaking your set up. If I can manage with ambients of 68 you'll figure something out

Yeah I have a good apartment central air / heat thermostat so my temps are very steady. I'm considering just getting a human heating pad that has different heat settings and seeing how that works. And then if needed, I'll get a dimmer or 2nd thermostat for it.

Thanks for clarifying about the underside of your tub. I'll stop looking at those temps completely and just focus on what touches my snake.

[Spaniard]

Yeah I have a good apartment central air / heat thermostat so my temps are very steady. I'm considering just getting a human heating pad that has different heat settings and seeing how that works. And then if needed, I'll get a dimmer or 2nd thermostat for it.

Thanks for clarifying about the underside of your tub. I'll stop looking at those temps completely and just focus on what touches my snake.

I wouldn't recommend using a human heat pad, they're not designed to be left running 24/7. I would only use it as a temporary fix for a day or two. Rich at reptilebasics.com could help you out with pre-wired flexwatt at no additional cost. He will even help you decide what size you would need given your current heating elements.

Edit: If not a regular UTH on a dimmer is safer and will probably run you $25 total if you wire the dimmer yourself.

[spaceturtle]

I wouldn't recommend using a human heat pad, they're not designed to be left running 24/7. I would only use it as a temporary fix for a day or two. Rich at reptilebasics.com could help you out with pre-wired flexwatt at no additional cost. He will even help you decide what size you would need given your current heating elements.

That's what I use currently for the warm side. I guess I can do the same with the other side, I just don't want to throw down another $80 for a thermostat. I guess flexwatt + rheostat or dimmer would work fine. I also might try a zoomed UTH since those aren't such a snake cooking risk.

[Spaniard]

As long as you use your Ranco for the warm side your cool side should be more than fine with the dimmer + flexwatt or ZooMed UTH.

[spaceturtle]

I went to amazon and bought 2 UTH and 1 rheostat. Cost me $67 shipped. I got the extra UTH just in case something ever fails, or if maybe I decide to scrap the flexwatt over safety reasons.