I brought the thermostat, now what? - Page 2

Kiljosh · 02-10-12, 02:21 PM

Mykee man are you sure?

My ball never burrows, but I think you are correct except for one situation.

Owners like me who use a thermostat and pad/wire as well as overhead lighting.

Skipping the "overhead lighting dries air" debate...I have my probe set on the hotside, buried half in/half out of the substrate. It's under the lamp but kind of shaded by some fake ivy.

But still if you think about it, the lights will heat the top of my substrate up. The mat/wire the bottom. My probe is touching the bottom of the tank so if that gets above 90 the stat shuts off. If the lighting up top heats the surface to 90, the stat shuts off.

So putting the probe all the way on top of the substrate would matter and heat the very bottom layer of substrate/glass too hot, I agree. But half burying it seems like a good solution to me and has been working consistently for me through summer and on into winter.

I have read glass surface temps using infared immediately after removing the substrate from the glass to clean the cage and it has never been above 95. But again, my ball never burrows, I actually have old socks of mine in his hide's as a comfy floor. He can't move the socks enough to burrow into the substrate.

Not trying to be cheeky man, just pointing out not everything is cut and dry. What do you think?

mattchibi · 02-10-12, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiljosh

Mykee man are you sure?

My ball never burrows, but I think you are correct except for one situation.

Owners like me who use a thermostat and pad/wire as well as overhead lighting.

Skipping the "overhead lighting dries air" debate...I have my probe set on the hotside, buried half in/half out of the substrate. It's under the lamp but kind of shaded by some fake ivy.

But still if you think about it, the lights will heat the top of my substrate up. The mat/wire the bottom. My probe is touching the bottom of the tank so if that gets above 90 the stat shuts off. If the lighting up top heats the surface to 90, the stat shuts off.

So putting the probe all the way on top of the substrate would matter and heat the very bottom layer of substrate/glass too hot, I agree. But half burying it seems like a good solution to me and has been working consistently for me through summer and on into winter.

I have read glass surface temps using infared immediately after removing the substrate from the glass to clean the cage and it has never been above 95. But again, my ball never burrows, I actually have old socks of mine in his hide's as a comfy floor. He can't move the socks enough to burrow into the substrate.

Not trying to be cheeky man, just pointing out not everything is cut and dry. What do you think?

It might be working for you ~for now~, but the fact that you dont have your probe secure is a big problem. If the probe slips out or your ball python moves it around somehow, it would throw off the thermostat possibly causing an overheat. I have my thermometer (not thermostat) probe HOT glued to the bottom of the glass tank to measure the UTH temps, and it still got loose once.

From the way it sounds, you're putting the socks there because you're worried hes going to burrow down and get burnt. Why not just adjust your thermostat probe to on the OUTSIDE of your tank, between the heat pad and the glass? That way the thermostat will be able to tell you exactly how hot it gets under your "comfy sock floor". And if you want to measure the heat coming from the light as well, you can get a few probe thermometers, and stick one probe right on top of the glass and heat pad under the hot side (to double check temps of the heat pad), one probe on ground level on the hot side to measure ambient warm side temps, and one probe on ground level on the cool side to measure ambient cool side temps. Plus, depending on the fiber content in the sock, you have no idea how fast or slow it heats up. For all you know, the socks might also be acting as an insulator and preventing the heat from passing through.

If you need specific help, you can always feel free to PM me. I would rather take some time out of my day to help you get properly set up, rather than see a post about a burn in the future.

Kiljosh · 02-10-12, 03:37 PM

I have my probe on a suction cup attached to the side, substrate comes halfway up it.

The socks though, I put them in there to get Stubb's used to my scent, maybe avoiding bites. I dunno if it's worked but he hasn't bit me yet, only reason they are really in there.

I have a thermometer measuring hot and cold side under the lights, as well as two digitals each measuring temperature in the hides. Hot side hide gets to 92 sometimes, so I think the socks do act as an insulator and keep heat in. Cold side hide is at 79-81 consistently. Ambient(under light temps) are 87 on warm side, 78 on cool side.

Hows this sound?

**Aaron_S** · 02-10-12, 09:45 PM

So you have a bunch of wires in your tank? Snakes do move and have no problem moving probes around sometime. Wrapping tails around wires and the like.

I personally see my snakes displace their substrate and end up on the bottom of their tubs. I just stick my probe on the heat tape and it allows the temperatures to regulate that way. I just use a single temp gun to read what the temperatures are in each tub and on each side.

mykee · 02-11-12, 01:39 AM

Overhead light sources are also dangerous in that ball pythons will climb the corners of a tank, and if that heat source is on, that snake could very easily burn itself (they're really that dumb) on the overhead.

Kyle; the only way to be sure that your ball python is not in danger of a burn is the place the probe (if you must stick it in the tub) attached to the bottom of the tub, under the substrate. If your ball python wants additional heat, he'll dig for it and you're free of the burn issue.

Lankyrob · 02-11-12, 07:50 AM

My snakes all have heat bulbls, all their probes are set on top of the substrate and under the bulb, yes the snake do sometimes move them but we sit in fornt of the tanks ffor getting on for 18hours a day and move the probes back - what we do to help not only with the probe but with the humidity, is place a smaller waterbowl over the probe wire to keep it in place (obviously not ontop of the actual probe - this is exposed to the air to record the proper temps).

**millertime89** · 02-11-12, 08:14 AM

I'll reevaluate the setup when I get home this afternoon and see what I can come up with and will post back later.

Kiljosh · 02-11-12, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

So you have a bunch of wires in your tank? Snakes do move and have no problem moving probes around sometime. Wrapping tails around wires and the like.

I personally see my snakes displace their substrate and end up on the bottom of their tubs. I just stick my probe on the heat tape and it allows the temperatures to regulate that way. I just use a single temp gun to read what the temperatures are in each tub and on each side.

I will not lie I've had him reorganize things when he has a particularly active night.

But I really only have 4 cords in my tank. The thermostat probe, the 2 digital termo probes, and the "outside temp" probe for the single unit measuring ambient temps on hot/cold sides as well as humidity. They are run down the corners or under the substrate. The ones dropping down into the hides run the corners and are covered up by fake leaves and secured with a suction cup where they enter the tank and where they rest in the hide.

I could see Stubb's burning himself if he was able to get to the lights but their location on the lid and his length currently make that task impossible. However, when he grows another foot we could have problems.