Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am awaiting my AnimalPlastics rack in the mail and I already have a herpstat thermostat waiting to control my temps. Since the thermostat only has one sensor, where do I put it to the most accurate temp. This rack is for Balls.

A. taped inbetween the the heat rope and the tub?
B. taped to the bottom of one of the tubs (inside or outside?)
C. Just taped against the back wall of the rack (inside)?

The most logical answer to me would be inside on of the tubs since the floor temp of the inside of the tub will be what the snake is laying on.

What do you guys do?
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1.1 100% het albino W. Hognose
0.1 66% het albino "red" W. Hognose
1.0 Pastel Ball Python
1.0 Common Snapping Turtle
1.1 Bearded Dragon

Place it on the heat tape. Get a temp gun and figure out what temp the thermostat needs to be set at to get the correct temp inside the tub. I usually need to set the thermostat 4-5 degrees warmer in my racks. Hope that helps.

I think inside the tank over the heat tape...but I could be wrong. What I want to know, is where in the rack do you put that single probe? LOL (ie top shelf, middle shelf, bottom?) Course this would mean the top would always be a bit warmer than the bottom....makes me wonder if it's worth the extra $150 to get the 4 probe thermostat...

I always place my probes in the middle or one below middle. This has given me the most consistency top to bottom.

For the original question the most accurate way is going to be to place the probe on the inside of a box over the heat tape. But this really only works well if you have an empty box. Otherwise the animal just ends up tangled in the cord, then if you tape the whole thing down you risk the snake getting under the tape and having to deal with that nightmare. If you don't have an open spot I would suggest taping the probe to the bottom of a box right above the heat tape. You still may have to bump the temperature setting up a degree or two but this will keep it very accurate.

George

try the 2nd or 3rd tub up from the bottom. Put the probe directly on the heat tape/rope. if youre using newspaper for substrate i have my thermostat set to about 96-97 degrees and the inside is about 90-91degrees.

Good Luck.
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Dave

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