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Temperature Gauge

ok cool thanks alan i will try that as well. I'll get my UTH probe to 88-90 and then move it on top of the substrate to check the temps as well.
 
sorry i missed nanci's post. I read 85-90 for youngins. Not true? What range do i want then for right over the UTH? 80-85, which is what i read for adults.
 
Jimmysan00 said:
ok cool thanks alan i will try that as well. I'll get my UTH probe to 88-90 and then move it on top of the substrate to check the temps as well.
Click to expand...

I did the opposite. I put the probe where I wanted the optimum temp, in her warm hide, and adjusted for that temp. I then moved the probe to the UTH so it would monitor the highest temp in the viv.
It was fortunate that when her warm hide was at optimum it was only max 88° over the UTH. 88° isn't that high, my skin temp is about 92.5°F right now and it's never burned my snake.
 
so...

alan said:
I did the opposite. I put the probe where I wanted the optimum temp, in her warm hide, and adjusted for that temp. I then moved the probe to the UTH so it would monitor the highest temp in the viv.
It was fortunate that when her warm hide was at optimum it was only max 88° over the UTH. 88° isn't that high, my skin temp is about 92.5°F right now and it's never burned my snake.
Click to expand...

So what your saying is, 88 degrees over the UTH and under the Aspen Bedding is not to hot to burn my snake, and that nanci was wrong to say 88 is too high? Right now my probe is reading 86.5 over the UTH and under the aspen. And on top of the aspen it read 83.3.
 
Jimmysan00 said:
Right now my probe is reading 86.5 over the UTH and under the aspen. And on top of the aspen it read 83.3.
Click to expand...

That's a good place to start if it is constant. Take your cues from the snake, if it doesn't use a hide or one side of the viv there is a reason. When my snake's warm hide was 85° she didn't go in it very much and never burrowed on that side, now she uses the whole viv and hides at different places. The difference was only a degree or two.
88°F can not burn your snake but it probably won't choose to be there.
 
alan said:
That's a good place to start if it is constant. Take your cues from the snake, if it doesn't use a hide or one side of the viv there is a reason. When my snake's warm hide was 85° she didn't go in it very much and never burrowed on that side, now she uses the whole viv and hides at different places. The difference was only a degree or two.
88°F can not burn your snake but it probably won't choose to be there.
Click to expand...

I dunno about that. Before I got the Rheostat and the Probe Thermometer the temps were very high. The UTH was on all the time, and the snake still avoided the cool side hide, and stayed in the second level of the warmside hide. She also like to be in her sea shell which was in the middle of the tank. She hardly ever burrowed near the UTH, and only burrowed a couple of time on the cool side. But my temps are constant which is good and i will odserve and see how she does. So ideally you want a temp that allow your snake to go into the warm hide and burrow? And if it doesn't go into that warm hide or borrow chances are the temp is too high over there? Just double checking, sorry if i'm asking too many questions, and being a worry wort. I'm a perfectionist, explains a lot, right...lol Thanks again alan for all your hard work and patience with me.
 
Jimmysan00 said:
So ideally you want a temp that allow your snake to go into the warm hide and burrow?
Click to expand...

Ideally you want temperatures that are comfortable to the snake.
The idea of a temp gradient is to allow the snake to choose it's body temp, but they can live with a constant temp. After they eat they need to raise their metabolism a bit for digestion and may seek a higher temp to do that. I guess it still depends on the snake; sometimes Cheerio will eat and hang out in the middle of her viv after eating but sometimes she goes to the warm hide for the day. I haven't figured out why, I just give her the choice.
 
Right on! I have a temp gradient viv set up. UTH is at 88, and on top of the aspen is 85and it's steady. I think this is where i'd like it to be setup so i'll leave it alone for a few days, and see how it goes. Funny thing is now that i have lowered the temps down to where they should be she hiding in her coconut on the cooler side. I dunno if it's a cowinsidense or not, but its just odd that she's go to the cooler side when i lowered the warm side from 100+ down to 85-88. Probably all movement of installing the probe scared her to the opposite side.
 
Sounds like you have a ZooMed rheostat that probably cost $15-20 in a store. The ZooMed rheostats are well known for NOT dialing down low enough for corn snakes, making them basically worthless for a very large price.

If you want to stick with a rheostat, get a lamp dimmer from a hardware store or WalMart for about $10 and it will dial down much lower and work perfectly for corn snakes. Or you can find the thread on this site about building your own $7 rheostat using a wall-switch type lamp dimmer.

Best choice, in my opinion, is to order a ZooMed 500R THERMOstat (NOT rheostat) onling for about $20 plus shipping.
 
Flagg said:
Sounds like you have a ZooMed rheostat that probably cost $15-20 in a store. The ZooMed rheostats are well known for NOT dialing down low enough for corn snakes, making them basically worthless for a very large price.

If you want to stick with a rheostat, get a lamp dimmer from a hardware store or WalMart for about $10 and it will dial down much lower and work perfectly for corn snakes. Or you can find the thread on this site about building your own $7 rheostat using a wall-switch type lamp dimmer.

Best choice, in my opinion, is to order a ZooMed 500R THERMOstat (NOT rheostat) onling for about $20 plus shipping.
Click to expand...


Ok thanks a lot I think I'll try the ZooMed 500R Thermostat.
 
Ive been fighting with a zoomed rheostat for most of a week now, it just doesn't cut it. I built my own but had it in storage, brought it out this afternoon it's been sitting at 86 on the hot side all afternoon!

I will be ordering another thermostat next week, even with the "perfect" rheostat, you will always have to tweak it. The wall outlet voltage varies house to house, day to day. This effects the output of the UTH, on top of room temp fluctuations. Add in the 30-40 degree difference between day and night here, and it's a huge hassle!
 
Yeah i know i'm gonna have to suck it up and get a thermostat, but is my rheostat that i made useless once i get the thermostat? Or can i use it for something else?
 
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