UTH Thermometer probe location...

[Ripsaw642]

Here is the Situation: 2 Cages (1 10 gallon glass, 1 sterilite 21x12x12inch bin) i king size heat pad (24x 12") 1 hydrofarm thermostat. I have a hot spot on the heat pad which gets to ~125f, so i taped the hydrofarm probe to this spot(on the heat pad). I have the t-stat set to 101f, and the thermometer probes right at bottom of aspen next to glass/plastic, not quite touching. I am currently getting a maximum of 89.5 in glass 10 gallon, 88.3 in bin. Does this sound ok, or should i be more worried about temp INSIDE warm side hide, directly on top of substrate? Those temps are currently 79, and 77.5 respectively (measures with ir gun). I guess what I'm asking is, should I crank up the t-stat a couple more degrees, and set the thermometer probes inside the warm side hides, trying to achieve a temperature of ~85? Or will this approach lead to the bottom getting too hot, where they both DO burrow, becoming too hot for them and causing burns? :uhoh:
I can post pics if it helps.....

 

[Ripsaw642]

Pictures

Some pics of setup and hydrofarm t-stat

 

[Nanci]

Your probes are in the correct place. It's not recommended to run two vivs off the same thermostat unless they are identical, but yours seem to be staying within a reasonable range. I am wondering why there is such a difference between what you have the sat set at and what the temps read. Typically, the readings would be a lot closer together, except in the case of a rack where you don't have the stat probe right on the heat source. I might nudge it up one degree a day until you get to 83/85 or 84/86.

 

[Ripsaw642]

Here is the Situation: 2 Cages (1 10 gallon glass, 1 sterilite 21x12x12inch bin) i king size heat pad (24x 12") 1 hydrofarm thermostat. I have a hot spot on the heat pad which gets to ~125f, so i taped the hydrofarm probe to this spot(on the heat pad).

This. The hot spot is ~15-20f hotter than rest of heat pad. Thats why i taped the probe right to this spot(it's only about 1-2 square inches). Should i ignore this spot, tape the t-stat probe to a more average 105-110f spot? Making sure that the hide is not directly over top of the hot spot?
UPDATE: I set t-stat down to 96f last night, thermometer probe temps are now 87.4 and 87.8. Surface temps with ir gun inside hide : 80, and 76.5 Should i take some substrate out? I'm about to put Scarlett into a 20gal glass aquarium, i just got a screen lid for it. This should help, theoretically. So i suppose i'll be messing around with temps all over again. Any pointers? I'm also thinking of ordering a 2ft piece of heat tape, it's cheaper than getting an equivalent size "reptile" pad at the pet store, even after shipping....confused.....:spinner:

 

[So Pirate55]

I was running about a 10*F difference between the glass and surface of substrate in the hide. I thinned out the substrate in the her hide area to about an inch and now it's a 3-4 degree difference. I set the thermostat to 85 and now the glass goes anywhere from 83.5 to 86. The surface of the substrate in the hide ranges from 80.5 to 83.5. Try thinning out the substrate a little and see if that helps.

BTW, how do you like the hydrofarm so far? I bought one just to give it a test run and it seems pretty accurate.

 

[Nanci]

I would not remove substrate. The snake can burrow down to the hottest part if it wants to. The temp on top of the substrate doesn't matter at all. I think it sounds pretty good the way it is.

The thing with DIY heat tape is you run more of a risk of fire due to faulty wiring.