Lamps, UTHs, Thermostats and other questions...

[truthsdeceit]

What thermostat do you use with the Zoo Med pads?
My concern with getting the lamp that just sits on top of the tank is that I have to uncover more of the top of the tank, which means humidity and insulation gets sacrificed a bit.

I'm bad and don't use a thermostat. I do have temp probs and things stay in the right range all the time. However, the zoomed pads tend to make the glass uncomfortably hot, and my snakes burrow. So I tape down a couple of layers of cardstock (currently using the covers off old phonebooks) to insulate them from the pad.

No burns, right temps, and fairly cheap.

I have one heat lamp right now, which I've been struggling with for the last few days (it's new). I just replaced a night bulb with a CHE and have covered most of the lid with foil with just a hole for the che and a strip for air, this along with a big bowl of water over the heat pad, another on the cool side, and twice daily misting keeps my humidity in the high 50's, higher after misting.

I actually hang my lamp by it's cord from the shelf above my tank. My shelving unit is made of wire so I just threaded it through. But it's so close to the tank lid, within 1/2 inch, it might as well be sitting on top of it. The only reason I hang it is so that i can remove the sliding lid without moving the lamp.