Impressions on my temperature managing techniques?

[Visperas]

Greetings all, newbie corn owner here, but not the first time with a reptile.

I used to have a bearded dragon in a 55 gallon tank, but that was a whole different undertaking. It was a tall tank with a thick bottom and had a very heavy substrate. I had not only a UTH but a powerful lamp to keep the temperature up to snuff at the time.

So after a few years without reptiles I dug out my unused 20L for a hatchling corn. My apartment has been rather steady around 75 degrees with the AC on in the summer, but I knew that having a temperature differential was ideal for this little critter and extra heating would be absolutely necessary when winter rolls around. My taste for cool temperatures can let my apartment get as low as 63-65 on winter nights.

So while my little Ququ got adjusted to the smells and vibrations of my new apartment in a little plastic container, I took all the time I needed to get the heating set up before ever putting her inside the vivarium. Note that I have been using a digital kitchen thermometer with a metal probe with a temp alarm if I need it.

1) At first I tried placing the UTH against the side of the tank under my cloth cover and left it on for 6 hours. The temp didn't go up a single degree a few inches away from the glass. Scratched that idea.

2) I then adhered the UTH to the bottom and put a towel underneath since my tank sits on a metal stand that supports the whole aquarium on 8 points and the heat could bleed away in any direction. After a day the glass temp had spiked to 95 degrees. Removing the towel from underneath let the temp drop about 5 degrees but it still hovered at 90.

3) I bought a lamp dimmer switch and eventually cranked it to 100% to get the temperature to hover at 84 degrees. Considering that the wattage is so low on my UTH, I think that just the dimmer itself was able to tap enough power to get an ideal temp.

So having inadvertently discovered these other means to achieve higher temperatures, would any of you others use the no-dimmer option for a minor boost in temp or a towel underneath to insulate / push the heat upwards during the winter? Safety is a fair concern but I discovered that fellow pet owners usually have the best tips. Obviously I'm trying to go with DIY fixes since money is scarce.

Thanks friends!

 

[Shaggy]

Overly long answer

Forgive me if you know this already, or if this sounds to techy but just to review. A dimmer switch is a rheostat, which controls voltage flow by adjusting resistance. The more the resistance, the less current that flows, the less the light / heat output by the device. A thermostat is an on/off switch that's activated by a temperature switch. Unless it's an expensive one, it would likely work full-setting on, and then off once pre-set temp is reached. For our pet-keeping purposes, Rheostat heat is more constant at output (UTH), but thermostats (good ones) are more constant at overall temperature maintenance in changing outside environments.
Heat travels by convection (hot air currents in the air), conduction (material conducting heat), and radiation (like a sunny day / heat lamp). The side-heat you tried on a tank does little to warm a tank. Convection inside and outside draws the heat up and away, and snakes don't bask on the wall. Under tank heat uses a little of radiation, and conduction, and then, the heat from the warm tank bottom creates a little convection to heat the rest of the warm-side of the tank.
I would recommend against layering towels above or below your UTH. Both cause temp increases in the heating element. The UTH is built to have heat dissipate in normal use through convection and conduction. Circulation of heat and air is not a bad thing, and should be included in your heat planning. Built-up heat can cause premature failure or maybe a fire hazard.
I'm not sure where you've place the temp probe in your set-up. To get the best use of your heating set-up, get an idea of the 'snakeside' temps by checking temp inside the tank right above the floor, where the snake will be. Keep in mind that substrate thickness and condition will affect this. It seems like a good idea to put a remote temp probe in the heated area (for example the center of the UTH pad, and inside the tank). I've seen a lot of recommendations to fix the probe in place with hot glue or silicone sealant. That way you can easily see and monitor the heat without disturbing the area.
I know everyone has their own ideas, but if I were in your situation, I might be tempted just to watch the temps closely with the dimmer switch installed. During winter, the temp output may drop slightly, but stay within the healthy range. A little season fluctuation would be fine. I think you have all the equipment you need (short of a known reliable temp probe made for the pet ranges of temps).
Best of luck!

 

[Visperas]

Hi Shaggy,

Thanks for the input. I'm fairly tech / DIY craft savvy so I'm aware that the dimmer switch is a rheostat, and I bought it purposefully for the task at hand. My kitchen thermometer has been reliably precise at measuring lower temps since I bought it originally for steeping (tea and matte drinks), although I've used it to measure the temperature gradient between my floor and wall thermometer in the winters. I've discovered up to 6 degrees difference between high up on the wall and on the floor. Talk about a notable difference for someone who likes to do work on the floor with a laptop.

Back to the point though, I leave the thermometer probe dead center on top of the glass above the UTH to get the closest possible temperature reading. When I swap out the paper towels with aspen shavings I don't want little Ququ burrowing down and burning herself on the glass. For the moment the probe is free and unattached on the bottom, but at some point I may empty the tank to epoxy the probe against the glass.

The thought about the towel was actually for the sake of conservation of energy. With a digital thermometer / alarm set to go off if the glass ever gets too hot, I figure I'd use the dimmer switch to drop the wattage as low as possible to avoid loosing all that excess heat from under the tank (especially since my metal tank stand is completely open underneath). In the winters I can foresee my little pad being inadequate for sustaining a normal temperature given how cold my apartment gets. That insulation could provide just enough redirection of energy to keep it adequately near 85 degrees.

Or so that's my best guess...

 

[Shaggy]

OK. It sounds like you've got it handled, and you know your way around. Like I said, no insult by talking down, or up, was intended.
It sounds like we are on similar paths. I am just gearing up my tank and I'm going to start with the UTH on a rheostat. I think the tank is going in the basement at my house, but, since I'm in Virginia, there's little I need to do to adjust the environment. I'll need some winter heat, like you.
When you said kitchen thermometer, I pictured something on the crude side for checking reptile temps.
I would still stay clear of further insulating the UTH, for the reasons of fire hazard and device failure. But, that's just my gut reaction. Can you swing a lamp with a regular bulb for added heat in the winter? Maybe on a timer?
Like I said, I'm comfortable with seasonal temp fluctuations within reason. Snakes are going to know it's winter from the shorter days anyway.
Happy Herping!

 

[AliCat37]

I wouldn't really use a kitchen probe thermometer. You can pick up a good digital thermometer with a probe that you can stick to the bottom of the tank from the garden section at most home improvement stores. The ones that have the inside/outside temperature reading. This way the "outside" temperature reading is the hot spot, and the "inside" temperature reading is the ambient or cool temps.

 

[Visperas]

You mean actually adhering it to the exterior side of the glass on the bottom of the tank?

Hmmm... I never thought of that!

 

[AliCat37]

You mean actually adhering it to the exterior side of the glass on the bottom of the tank?

Hmmm... I never thought of that!

I usually have my temperature probe inside the tank/cage, over the center of the UTH. That way I know exactly what temperature it is where the snake can get to.

 

[Visperas]

Gotcha. I'll definitely make good use of that advice. Thanks!

Btw Shaggy, I pass no judgments at all on any of your comments. There's nothing wrong with overdoing it on information just in case!

 

[Shaggy]

Always willing to talk too much

We're working on versions the same project, it sounds like. Keep us posted on results and I'll try to do likewise.

 

[Visperas]

Well, I found a $20 digital indoor (temp / humid)-outdoor (temp) thermometer with a wired sensor at Radio Shack like AliCat had suggested. When I put it into the tank I also added the bag of Aspen shavings I had awaiting installation, so I nestled the probe into the bedding under the hide on the hot spot. The shavings actually seem act as a fair insulate so the temperature inside the hide leveled out really quickly. I put the monitor on top of the viv's cover so now I can see the humidity just outside the tank as well!

Ququ had her second meal since moving into the big viv and is contently digesting inside her warm hide. She must have coiled up on top of the probe itself because the temp gauge dropped really quickly and has been climbing back up since then.

All goes well!

 

[Visperas]

Wowsa I'm sure glad I had that UTH the last few nights. With a recent cold spell, open windows at night dropped my apartment temp to 65 degrees and my tank registered 73 inside the warm chamber. Ququ must have been glad to be coiled up in the warm hide those last two nights.

I'm going to try putting the towel under the tank again to insulate the heat upwards again and see if that keeps the temp a little more stable at nighttime. I've already gotten my glimpse of the tank at my apartment during winter temps. My setup is surely going to need some tweaking as the seasons change.