• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

More temperature questions from the noobie

T

TnT Dad

New member
Hi all. Thanks to those of you answering my earlier question about the location of the temperature probe in my new corns favorite hiding spot.
My next question: Is it common with using a UTH pad that the temp would fluctuate from 94 degrees last night down to 83 degrees this morning? We have a whole house fan to cool off at night, so naturally our house temp goes down 10 degrees. I just thought the heating pad would regulate a bit better and keep things consistent. Guess not? Our baby corn has burrowed herself down into the substrate in the back of this hiding place. Should I be worried about her getting too close to the UTH pad when the temp is reading mid-90s?!

Thanks
 
The UTH will not adjust to your house temperature. That's why you need a thermostat. A UTH without at least a rheostat will definitely not be suitable to your snake. They heat much more than needed.
Even the rheostat, although preventing your snake to get burnt, will not be enough to keep a constant temperature if your entire house's temperature fluctuates so much.
 
This is what I use for my snake. It's not quite a thermostat, but it prevents the UTH from getting to hot and causing burns to my snake. I would definitely recommend a thermostat first, but if for some reason you aren't able to get one, then absolutely get a lamp dimmer from your local hardware store.
 
I totally agree with jpccusa above- you need a thermostat! They aren't that expensive (starting at around $20-$30 bucks). Especially with the changing of the seasons coming up....
 
I've been having some issues with my under tank heading pad (this is a new snake and new setup).

I put the under tank pad on one side and plugged it in w/ no thermostat, assuming (poorly) it would generate enough heat but not too much. Two days in, I was checking the cage and happened to touch the glass on the bottom of the tank above the heater and it almost burned my hand. Too hot to touch, I felt horrible that I had subjected my baby to that.

So, I moved it to the side of the tank instead, but found out it barely generates enough heat that way - definitely not enough to make a difference. I definitely didn't want to put it back underneath, so I put a lamp near that side of the tank (one that generates quite a bit of heat). After finding the optimum location, that side of the aquarium often sits around 86 during the day and the opposite side sits around 75. Putting my hand into the tank, I can feel a distinct difference in temp between the two sides.

The problem really occurs at night, for two reasons. One, I turn off the lamp and am therefore no longer getting ambient heat... and second, I like a very cold house. 75 F is too warm to me, so I keep my thermostat set on around 68 F. This cool temperature has a pretty dramatic affect on the glass tank, and the temperature tends to often drop down to 70 during the night.

I've never seen my snake sitting in his water dish (or drinking from it for that matter), but he is also still very young (3 months) and he hasn't shed yet.
 
kpsammy said:
I totally agree with jpccusa above- you need a thermostat! They aren't that expensive (starting at around $20-$30 bucks). Especially with the changing of the seasons coming up....
Click to expand...

I noticed people on this website recommend against the inexpensive ones (like the Zoo-Med Rept Temp 500R). For what I could see, Ranco is one of the least expensive amongst the recommended ones.
 
TripleDuck said:
I put the under tank pad on one side and plugged it in w/ no thermostat, assuming (poorly) it would generate enough heat but not too much. Two days in, I was checking the cage and happened to touch the glass on the bottom of the tank above the heater and it almost burned my hand. Too hot to touch, I felt horrible that I had subjected my baby to that.
Click to expand...

Don't you have a probe digital thermometer for your vivarium yet? :eatsmiley
The lamp will not work, and you already mentioned why. Unfortunately, you have to invest on a better way to control and monitor the temperature of your UTH.
I got my thermometer at Lowes for $8. It measures inside and outside temperature (translation: cold side and warm side, respectively) and also records the max and min temps of both (important to monitor your setup in the coldest hours of the night AND during extremely hot days)
 
jpccusa said:
I noticed people on this website recommend against the inexpensive ones (like the Zoo-Med Rept Temp 500R). For what I could see, Ranco is one of the least expensive amongst the recommended ones.
Click to expand...

I have a Big Apple BAH 1000SC thermostat that has features of a much more expensive design but has proven to be reliable so far and I got it for $35. Anyone have any input on this design? I haven't found anything bad so far....
 
jpccusa said:
Don't you have a probe digital thermometer for your vivarium yet? :eatsmiley
Click to expand...

To be honest, I don't really see the problem with the strip therms. People say they only measure ambient temp at the level they're located. Well, both of mine are located on the inside of the aquarium, sideways, right at the level of the substrate. I don't see how a probe therm could do any better job than that.

The lamp will not work, and you already mentioned why. Unfortunately, you have to invest on a better way to control and monitor the temperature of your UTH.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what the best solution is for control. As I mentioned, if I put the heater under the tank, it gets too hot. If it put it on the side, it gets "just right", but does very little to affect the internal temp. Even if I got a thermostat for the pad and put the pad underneath, I don't see how it could keep the pad itself from getting too hot. After all, if the temp is low enough, the thermostat will cause the pad to stay on long enough to improve the temp on that side of the tank - which I believe will make the pad too hot and could burn the snake.

I got my thermometer at Lowes for $8. It measures inside and outside temperature (translation: cold side and warm side, respectively) and also records the max and min temps of both (important to monitor your setup in the coldest hours of the night AND during extremely hot days)
Click to expand...

Would you mind providing a link so I can see exactly what you're talking about? Gracias!
 
TripleDuck said:
I'm not sure what the best solution is for control. As I mentioned, if I put the heater under the tank, it gets too hot. If it put it on the side, it gets "just right", but does very little to affect the internal temp. Even if I got a thermostat for the pad and put the pad underneath, I don't see how it could keep the pad itself from getting too hot. After all, if the temp is low enough, the thermostat will cause the pad to stay on long enough to improve the temp on that side of the tank - which I believe will make the pad too hot and could burn the snake.
Click to expand...

You could try using a rheostat in conjunction with the thermostat... This way, it would never get too hot, and the only "side effect" would be the thermostat keeping it on for longer in order to achieve the desired temperature.
A lamp dimer could be used as rheostat... You can build your own (DIY section), or buy it ready. This is what I have http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=70717-000000539-TT300NLH-WH&lpage=none

Would you mind providing a link so I can see exactly what you're talking about? Gracias!
Click to expand...

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=79632-53921-00886GTSB&lpage=none
 
TripleDuck said:
To be honest, I don't really see the problem with the strip therms. People say they only measure ambient temp at the level they're located. Well, both of mine are located on the inside of the aquarium, sideways, right at the level of the substrate. I don't see how a probe therm could do any better job than that.
Click to expand...

But is that the place where your corn goes to digest?

Probably not, which is why a digital thermometer with sensor probe is the most practical (it senses the temperature at the point of the probe). The probe is then placed on top of the middle of the heat mat, under the substrate, under the warm hide, this way it will tell you how hot, the hottest place your corn can get to is.

TripleDuck said:
Even if I got a thermostat for the pad and put the pad underneath, I don't see how it could keep the pad itself from getting too hot.
Click to expand...

A thermostat also has a sensor probe, that is also placed on top of the middle of heat mat/pad and when the desired temperature is attained, it turns the mat/pad off. That's how it stops the pad getting too hot.

Hope that helps explain why a digital thermometer is recommended and how a thermostat works. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top