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Somewhat inconsistent UTH temp? Or thermostat issue?

LadyJemima

LadyJemima

Snakes are the new sexy
I purchased a Jump Start thermostat and ZooMed digital thermometer for each of my two UTH pads. The Jump Starts are plugged into a brand new outlet/surge protector. One is working just fine -- it is set to 75 and seems to hover between 73.4 and 75.6 almost constantly. Both the thermometer's probe and the ZooMed thermometer reflect this and are usually within a degree (or tenth of a degree) of each other.

The second one is a bit strange. It is set to 85 but seems to hover between 84.5 and 88.9 quite a bit. Sometimes it is around 85, other times higher or lower. The ZooMed sometimes reads about a degree or two different than the thermostat probe, but I'm more concerned that two probes are picking up a hotter heat than what the thermostat is set to. Any ideas?
 
I never go by the thermostat, only the thermometer. Set the thermostat to whatever it takes. For example my thermostat setting of 92 gives me about 87 on the glass, which is a little warm but won't burn, and 82-84 in the warm hide, which is perfect. Thermostats can bounce around a bit, especially when new. So go for a safe range monitored by the thermometer and don't sweat the minor fluctuations. They won't be felt through the aspen. (I'm not sure how deep your aspen is but I keep mine about 2 - 3 inches deep overall but about 1.5 in. in the warm hide to get that 82-84 temp. I also dig out a spot and don't have any aspen under my water dish -- when a snake passes through it can overflow and that keeps things more dry).

Hope this helps. With time and experience you will learn your own little tricks. In the meantime, Ruby will be so busy exploring her "castle" she'll be fine!
 
that's how a thermostat works. It cuts on and off, but when it cuts off the temp will continue to rise slightly, and then stabilize and eventually the temp will drift down and the thermostat will kick back on, but the heat pad takes a moment to heat up. It's not going to be perfect. It's normal to have some fluctuations up and down. The temps you described for the most part are ok. Corn snakes do well in temps between about 80 and 90. (They come from the Southeastern USA). So you set the temp at a point and monitor the rise and fall and try to get it as close to 85 (middle ground) as you can. But if it goes a bit high or low, no problem.

Also, make sure you are measuring the temps inside the hide box.

If you need to, just turn it down a tad, and try to get it maybe 1 or 2 degrees lower.
 
Karl, when you say "inside the hide" do you mean under the aspen bedding which lies beneath the hide, or actually INSIDE the hide(s)? Because my humid hide (the only hide on the cool side) has a ceramic bottom.
 
the temps inside the Hide (where the snake actually is).

For example:
My Warm side pad actually is 98 degrees right now, if I measure the pad itself. But by the time the heat comes through the glass, the carpet, and finally the hide box, the temp inside the Hide right now is 85 degrees. That's perfect.

My Cool side is room temp right now about 74 degrees. (The pad on the cool side is not even on at the moment. It only comes on if the temps drop below 72.)

You can't go by the temp scale on the thermostat. You have to read the actual temps inside the hides. More than likely you'll have to set the temp on the scale a bit higher to get the reading correct inside the hide.
 
The sensors are under the bottom of the tank. I have them taped directly to the pads.

I measure the temps inside the hides with an infrared temperature thermometer.
 
You need to measure the temp on the cool side inside of a dry hide. I don't know anyone who bases their temperature gradient (the difference in warm and cool sides for the snake to choose from) on a humid hide.

Btw, I also put my thermostat sensors on the outside of the UTH like Karl does. I put my thermometer sensors on the glass under the aspen under the hides. I measure the temp in the hides, and anywhere else I want to check, with an infrared temp gun like Karl does. I don't know how anyone does without one,
 
Heat guns aside, I guess I still don't understand what is making the temperature vary so much. When I got up, the warm side read 84.5. An hour later, it was 88. Another hour later, it was back to 84. What is causing this temperature flux where the sensors are placed? (Currently placed on inside of tank, against bottom, under the aspen. I don't get what variables are making the temps fluctuate. It happens sometimes on the cool side but seemingly more on the warm side.
 
that's normal. It's ok.

A thermostat cuts the heat pad on and off. But the moment the pad is cut off, the temp will still creep up a bit. And then when the thermostat cuts the Pad back on, the temp will still drift down a bit. It takes a few minutes for the pad to heat up or cool down. Your thermostat will not keep it on an exact number unless you're willing to spend about 200 bucks for that "Pulse type" thermostat. Most of the cheapies like you and the rest of us use drift a bit. It's ok. Don't worry about it.
 
Karl, it won't let me give you any more reputation right now, but thanks for that excellent explanation of the thermostat.

I don't read my thermostats (except to glance that they are operating as they should), only my thermometers. Following the thermostats will drive you crazy. If your thermometer is reading too cold or too hot adjust the thermostat up or down a degree at a time.
 
I agree, I finally stumbled on a similar article online about thermostats doing the "cutting on, cutting off" thing in relation to temperature variation, and it finally made me understand what was happening. I seem to have them stabilized now and have also moved the hides directly over the probes.

Dolly, I actually like reading the thermostat probe temp because it gives me comfort that the Zoo Med digital thermometers are working. Quite often the thermostat and the thermometer are within a tenth of a degree of each other. Nice to double-check.
 
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