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different temperature question regarding glass vs substrate

M

Mrsnackpack

New member
hello again everyone!
well we just bought our first corn today and have him set up inside and everything... we ran into a little problem though- after we had the uth on and running, we checked temperatures with our zoomed digital thermometer.. the one with one black probe, and when i check the temperature directly on the glass, its 85.5, but when i cover it up with the soil/bark and stuff it goes up beyond 90. the glass does not seem at all too hot.. but should we be concerned?
 
Don't quote me on this, but I believe the substrate acts as a insulator, keeping the heat inside.

If you're using a thermostat or rheostat then you should make sure the probe is directly above the UTH, beneath the substrate...

Personally, I'm using a rheostat with a digital thermometer. I keep it right at the bottom, above one sheet of paper towel, and put the aspen over top of it.
 
Yup. Snakes LOVE to burrow underneath the substrate, so this is the place to take the temperature reading (with the substrate in place).
 
wow i wish this information was in a Caresheet or FAQ because i did not know that. I always thought you were suppose to read the temps on top of the substrate since that's where the snake moves on. I will have to go buy a digital with a probe and put in on the glass under the substrate, and i'll use the paper towel tip as well. thanks guys
 
Jimmysan00 said:
wow i wish this information was in a Caresheet or FAQ because i did not know that. I always thought you were suppose to read the temps on top of the substrate since that's where the snake moves on. I will have to go buy a digital with a probe and put in on the glass under the substrate, and i'll use the paper towel tip as well. thanks guys
Click to expand...
No, you always take the reading from underneath loose substrate; as Mrsnackpack found, the temperature is hotter underneath it. I'm sure good caresheets and FAQs on this site would mention burrowing... along with climbing, it's certainly one of their favourite things to do!
 
Jimmysan00 said:
wow i wish this information was in a Caresheet or FAQ because i did not know that. I always thought you were suppose to read the temps on top of the substrate since that's where the snake moves on. I will have to go buy a digital with a probe and put in on the glass under the substrate, and i'll use the paper towel tip as well. thanks guys
Click to expand...

Well, if you read all the replies to your other threads, you would have known about where to measure the temperature and what with ;)

See link :)

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72435
 
I have a rheostat and a digital probe thermometer now, but my issue is i can't get it at a steady temp. If i change the dial it will be a steady 88.0-88.5 and then i check on it 5 minutes later and it jumps up to 89.0-89.7. Is this normal? How long does it take to stabalize? Should i change the dial a little and then wait 15 minutes and change it accordingly. Currently it's at 91.7, and i dunno now high it will be 5 minutes from now. Tips or advice would be great, thanks.
 
Mrsnackpack said:
just a side quesstion... tin foil can be placed loosely on top of the uth right?
Click to expand...
Why do you need the tin foil?
Jimmysan00 said:
Should i change the dial a little and then wait 15 minutes and change it accordingly. Currently it's at 91.7, and i dunno now high it will be 5 minutes from now. Tips or advice would be great, thanks.
Click to expand...

I would turn it down, let it cool, and start again. When you adjust it turn it up in small increments and wait to see how high it goes each time. I'm not sure how fast it will heat up but you should be able to watch it a for a few of the adjustments to get a feel for it.
Your digital thermometer probably has a memory feature for max temp achieved if you need to go somewhere, then you can see how high it gets.
 
it doesn't have that feature, and i've been waiting 15 minutes between checks, and sometimes i'll have it at 88 and then lower the dial and it will be 90 10 mins later. It makes no sense i think i'll try to get it to 88 and then stop so if it jumps it will still be topped out at 90.
 
Jimmysan00 said:
sometimes i'll have it at 88 and then lower the dial and it will be 90 10 mins later. It makes no sense.
Click to expand...

Is there something else plugged in to the same circuit in the room (or elsewhere)that might be turning on and off? Maybe something is intermittently limiting the available power and then allowing full power, throwing off your adjustment.
If it doesn't stabilize where you want you may have to get a thermostat instead of the rheostat.
 
it is currently plugged into a power strip but i will try plugging it into the direct wall socket. I waited 20 minutes and it finally stabilized, but it was 92.0 so i'll take it down on the dimmer and check back every 20 minutes. Thanks for all your help alan.
 
After the heat mat shuts off, it still continues to get a little hotter for a few minutes- or I should say, it heats the surface it's attached to for a few minutes.
 
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