Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just put a little 99 cent thermometer I bought from wallmart directly on the basking spot and its reading 110 degrees. I just got a thermostat today and its hooked up to that?!?!?! WTF? what am I doing wrong here? should I just trust the thermostat? no right? its set at 92 degrees only. Come to think about it the box said it would shut off at 100. Im so freekin confused!

You have faith my brother in that 99 cent thermometer from China. Send me some money, and I will heal you! lol

So many variables. Start with the temperature probe.
Alot depends where the probe (thermostat temperature sensor) is located. If located in a cooler location, then yes, the cage can be warmer around the heater.

99 cent thermometers are good for nothing but "near the ballpark" readings, not even in the ballpark. They have a potential large error, especially when reading temps 20 plus deg above room temp. When you consider that suppliers sell thermometers for hundreds of dollars that provide a known accuracy within a temperature range, then you can see that a 99 cent thermometer cannot provide an anywhere near comparable accuracy.

If you are warming an object, spend the 15-25 dollars on a non-contact thermometer - so many suppliers on this sight sell them. If you are measuring air temps, then perhaps a digital thermometer sold at various stores. Although inexpensive digital thermometers still have an error of plus or minus 2% or whatever their label says (for 100 degrees, you can see that plus/minus 2% is quite alot), at least they have compensation built-in to keep the error typically within those limits.

If using CHEs or radiant heat panels, air temp can be deceiving. Air temps can be 75 deg but surface temps below can be well into the 80s. Best to use a non-contact thermometer on the object being heated.

You adjust the thermostat to provide the desired temperature where you want it. You place the thermometer where you want the desired temperature to be.

I wish I could provide more help, but I can't see your setup. If you would like, fire off more questions and include a bit more specific info on your setup.
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Mark

Mark, im using one of those zoo med yellow digital thermometers and a newtek thermostat. cant really afford the helix ones right now seing how i have to change the housing this week for 3 boas. I put the probe directly on the heat pad and the probe set at 90 and it shoots up to like a hundred degrees. I put a little bit of bedding over the heat pad and the probe on top of that and its doin alright. Where r u supposed to put the probe for the thermostat? I just bought some big sweater bins that im gonna put some heat pads under with a thermostat.

For the controller (thermostat, whatever they call it) the probe placement is vital to what you want to see.

If you want the heat pad itself to stay at a certain temp, then adhere (tape) the probe snuggly against the heat pad. Sometimes having an extra heat pad plugged in in useful to put the probe on. I do that alot. Doesn't even have to be the exact same kind of heat pad.

If you want the temperature above the heat pad (like in or on the bedding) to stay a certain temp, then the probe must go there. In that case, expect the heat pad temperature to go very high in if ambient temps are lower.

I think, barring a controller malfunction, that the probe was experiencing cooler temps than the heat pad, maybe due to cooler air over the pad or the probe being loosely lying on the heat pad. Just a guess.

That is one thing that irks me about heat pads - the temp you want them to be at almost needs to vary with the ambient air temp. It is easiest when the ambient air temp stays relatively stable and cooler than the desired basking temp. I wish I had the stable room temp.
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Mark

Thanks mark! I recently purchased a used vision cage with a heat panel attached already.Which im falling in love with. But my other two snakes will be going into sweater boxes with heat pads underneath them. Im starting to realize that the temp guns r best for these. And I dont have one. Im starting to dislike heat pads!

Can't go wrong with a Vision cage and an RHP - great setup. You will continue to be pleased with the results on that one.

And FYI, for undertank heat for my Children's python baby and cornsnake babies, I have been using heat cable. I find it easier to manipulate the heat by how much of the cable is coiled under each box. I sit the boxes right on it. Taped the controller probe right on the heat cable. Gorilla Tape works great. Doesn't leave a sticky residue when removed, yet still very strong.
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Mark

Sweet mark, got any picks of the snakes? Id love to check em out.

One of these days I'll take some pics of the snakes and my rediculously simple setup.

Here is my original RHP cage, and I have since replaced it with a more roomy Vision cage and used the same 40Watt RHP. This is for Childrens pythons. Keeps them nice and toasty while allowing them to easily avoid the heat if needed, all while they are hidden, since the long wavelength of the radiated heat penetrates cardboard hides and substrate.

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Mark

Thats a sweet cage mark!

OK, weather man said its 78 degrees outside today and every electronic bill board, etc. you pass with a temp. reading confirms this within a degree or two plus/minus. You go home and grab that metal tool that has been sitting out in the sun in the 78 degree temperature, and it burns the hell out of you!! If only 78 degrees, why is the metal object so hot?? The temparature is based on ambient air temp, not surface temps. Most folks place the thermo probes to measure ambient air temps to make sure the warm side meets the criteria they are looking to achieve. Yeah, my temp probe is set to where the heat source will keep the warm end of my cages at 85 degrees, but I guarantee you the temp on the heat tape or box in contact with the tape is a heck of alot hotter!! If your goal is to have a 92 degree BASKING spot, then put your probe right on top the area they will bask in/on.