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Need Heating Supply Advice

RedRaydin

RedRaydin

Jason DeFreitas
Hey guys, until today I've used heating lights above my tank. I have the ones that you buy that are actually under a hood. One night, one day. Anywayz I keep the day light on in the afternoon and turn the night lamp on at about 9 to simulate night. I live in Virginia so I don't need much light or heat in order to keep my snakes warm. The weather here is perfect for keeping snakes. I never have used anything but lamps. However, I'm switching the tanks today. Raydin is ready to move up to a 20 gallon, so I wanna get it prepared. I'm buying a new log hide, some climbing structures, and a rock hide. Also going to buy some artificial ivy since he loved the ones I had in the ten gallon. But I have been thinking about setting up the under tank heaters. I know your not suppossed to use heat rocks and I steer clear from there. I'm just curious how to set up the under tank heaters. Does it come with tape to tape the wires beneath the cage? Should I buy anything else to help apply it on the tank? Also how much of the 20 gallon would I cover with it? A quarter? Half? I use newspaper for bedding, is that going to cause any problems? If the snake gets under the bedding can he burn himself on the undertank heaters?

Also if anyone could recommend good ones to buy that would be great. Also what are the fire hazard risks involved with these things? Are they better off than lamps? I have cats that may be able to get to the cord and such and I don't want that to cause any problems, although they have been good with the lamps so far. Just let me know how I could go about this if you could. Also while the humidity is steady here, I've never used a humidity or temp gage. I've never had shedding problems with raydin, and never had eating probs. But just to be safe since he will be in a bigger tank should I purchase those as well? If so again, what kinds?

If anyone could post a pic of their under tank heaters after application I would appreciate it so I could get an idea how to go about setting it up. Thanks in advance for the help... hope I get some replys.
 
I use a UTH for my snake and it was very simple to set up. It just sticks to the underside of your tank and mine came with little stick on 'feet' to put on each corner of the tank to keep it up off the surface allowing airflow to the heating pad. I'm sorry as I don't know the brand of it, it was a snake tank package deal when I got my snake. I don't know the wattage of mine either, but it covers not quite half of the tank bottom, just over a third maybe?

I do recommend getting both a digital thermometer and a rheostat or something similar to control the temps as my UTH gets way too hot without it. I currently use paper towels to line my tank and have had no issues with it and my UTH. The digital thermometer I have just sits in the tank on the paper towels and also displays the humidity. Just hope the snake doesn't poo on it :grin01: The nice thing about using paper towels or newspaper is you can add or remove layers to help with the temp. Keep in mind, some snakes find their way under the layers where it could be too hot. Even if your snake has never discovered the new frontier under there before, they eventually will.

As far as cats go, I have several and the only problem I ever had was they kept stepping on the powerbar I have the UTH/Rheostat plugged into and turning it off. I fixed that problem by taping the switch on. If your cats are chewers, definately try to tuck the cords behind something so they can't get them, but I'm guessing if they left the cords to your lights alone, they won't bother it.

Keep in mind, I'm still a noob :crazy02: Hope that helps some!

-Janel
 
Thanks Leandre. Also, that device you are talking about that controls the temps. It will automatically turn down the heater if it realizes its too hot? I think I know what your talking about. Is it that thing that looks like a power strip? I know they sell those at petco and I can ask about them. Do you have an idea of how much they cost on average if so. If thats not it, what exactly am I looking for... rheostat? Just say that and someone will know what I'm talking about?
 
Leandrae said:
The digital thermometer I have just sits in the tank on the paper towels and also displays the humidity. Just hope the snake doesn't poo on it :grin01:
Click to expand...
I had that happen. The digital humidity readout just read "High". :rolleyes:

I'm actually against sticking the UTH to the tank. What if you decide to move it? Seems like a messy pain. Plus it makes temperature control a little difficult. Here's what I do. It's expensive, but it works.

1. Elevate the tank. Use little rubber feet, or just set it on top of two pieces of wood or something. Get the tank about an inch off the table.

2. Slide the UTH under the tank. Just lay it on the table under the tank. You might want to hold it down with something so your cats don't move it.

3. Get a thermostat. Not a cheapo one either. A $100 one. If you can't afford a thermostat, get a rheostat (lamp dimmer switch). Hook the UTH up to the thermostat or rheostat. A thermostat will come with a temperature-sensing probe. Stick the probe to the inside bottom glass of the aquarium with Elmer's glue. Locate the thermostat probe above the UTH.

4. Get a digital thermometer. Get the kind with a probe. Stick the thermometer probe next to the thermostat probe.

5. Set the thermostat to 85 degrees. Adjust as necessary. The air gap between the tank and the UTH will give the thermostat a little lag time to raise the temperature after it drops. This will prevent your temperature from swinging up and down wildly. Make sure the thermostat reads the same temp as the thermometer. (if using a rheostat, just adjust the temp so the thermometer reads 85 degrees, but be aware that you're going to have to adjust the rheostat as the room temperature changes)

6. Place substrate over the temperature probes. That means laying newspaper directly over them.

7. Take a nap.

8. Make sure the temps are holding and you're good to go.

The thermostat will make sure the temperature of the glass on the bottom of the tank is an even 85 degrees. Your snake will not get burned if it burrows. You may have to adjust the height of the tank above the UTH. If the UTH just can't get all the way up to 85 degrees, lower the tank until it does.
 
I wouldn't completely trust an automatic shut-off device from Petco (the power strip thingy). If you are controling the temperature with a thermostat or rheostat there shouldn't be a need for one.

Again, a rheostat won't save your neck. It just allows you to cut back on the heat.

A thermostat will always keep the temperature right.
 
What I have is called a Rheostat and it looks more like an extention cord with a dimmer dial on it. It was in the neighborhood of $20 I think? I got mine from Petsmart. Basically with that, you do have to monkey around with it for a day or so to get the temp just right. The dial basically goes from cooler to warmer, so you'll have to experiment with it to get the right temp. Also, count the layers of newspaper you're using so that next time you change it out, you get the same amount in as more or less paper will cause lower or higher temps requiring you to readjust the rheostat. Here's a link to a picture of a rheostat:
Rheostat Pic

Petco had something that cost quite a bit more, but looked like it may have been more precise? It seemed to have its own probe to tell the thing what the temp is. I think with that one, you actually set what temp you want and it keeps it there. I opted not to go with that one, because I had no idea how to run the corded probe inside the tank while keeping a secure lid on it. Here's a link to a picture of the thing:
Zoomed Reptitemp?

And finally, here is a link to the digital thermometer I use also =)
Fluker's Thermo-Hygrometer
 
K I'm looking for cheap solution. I got 150 bucks I can spend today on all this. I just need the basic decent thermometer and humidity gauges, the under tank heater, and hopefully an easy automatic way to monitor temps
 
Thanks again leandre, I'm going to take a look at the stuff and just play it by ear and try to get the best possible solution for the temps. Hoepfully one I don't have to monitor like a hawk.
 
Headed to the store now

Headed to the pet store now to pick up my viv, under tank heater, rheostat, new hides, and thermometer (dig). Wish me luck. I will let the temps get set and set up the new viv, then take pics either tonight or tommorrow of the setup and post back in this thread so you guys can check it out and tell me how i did and all. I'll try and get some shots of my bud raydin even though he's in blue and looking very dull. I'll keep you guys posted.
 
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