Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just transfered the baby BP to a 10g tank, the problem is that I can`t get the hot spot higher then 85%F. I`ve got One repi therm small, one repi therm mini, and one 7X4in 7watt under the tank on one side, and the therm-hydro meter above the hot spot.

I have a little lamp that I initially used to take pictures of his tank with, only now its beginning to become a heat source. With the lamp,the hot spot will get to about 85%, and without will drop to 73% during the day. His screen cover has about 1in opening on both ends, the rest in closed in with cling wrap, taped down with foil tape to keep humidity in.

I haven`t a problem at all with his humidity, it stays at a nice 55% and will spike to the low 60`s now and then. Its just the temp I`m having an actual problem with. His bedding on the hot side is only 1in, and the pads do feel hot to the touch, but its as if it just barely not giving out enough heat.

Any suggestions? Should I just switch his substrate to paper towels to allow more heat in?

Is the room temp below 85°F?

I'm not familiar with the heat products you mentioned.

What are the room temps? and what is the current substrate? Decorations? and lighting for the tank?

Also is this a screen topped glass aquaria?

BTW to make the degree sign hold the alt key and type 0176.
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Jeremy Payne
JB Reptile

1.0 Snow "Kahl"
0.2 Triple Het Moonglow "Kahl"
0.1 Orange Tail Hypo Het Leopard
1.0 Ghost
0.1 DH Ghost
1.1 "Kahl" Albino
1.0.2 Hypomelenistic
1.3 Pastel Hypo
0.1 Anerthrystic
0.0.2 Normal

0.1.2 Morelia Viridis

The room tempature is around 68F. That`s what we keep our thermostat on. I`m using Aspen bedding, and as far as for decorations, just his hideys, some wooden logs, and his water dish. Yes, it is a screen top, the reason for the cling wrap and tape.
I`m using the 'Repi Therm Zoo med' heating pads, and one Flukers heating pad.
And no lighting source, other then the lamp. I`d rather not have an actual lighting source, seeing as he dosen`t need one, but without the lamp the temp drops to low for my comfort.

You're fighting a heck of a battle.

* The aspen in the hot spot acts as an insulator instead of a heat transfer.

* The aquarium glass offers no thermal protection (insulation) between the cage temperature & the room temperature, and the room temp is quite a bit cooler than the desired cage temp.

* The cling wrap can't stop heat from rising out of the tank.

SteveinIL makes a good point, but you have to take into consideration, both the tank's surface AND ambient temps. Even if you were to get the hot spot surface temp to 90°F you most likely won't have an efficient cage ambient temp with the room temps being so low. While the snake's belly may be at 90°F, the top of the snake will still be quite cooler.

There are several options to make that setup work better. Been there, done that. The easiest would be to use a red or black night heat bulb instead of a typical lightbulb. OR, a ceramic heat emitter. I suggest using cheap on/off thermostat with it, or at least a dimmer switch, so you can control temps. A thermostat or dimmer switch takes the guesswork out of what size heat bulb (60-watt, 100-watt, etc...) you need by allowing you to get one that's got plenty of heating power.

Another option is to put the snake's tank in a room that you can use a space heater in to raise the room's ambient temps.

I don't want to make "the longest post of the year" here at the beginning of the new year, but I'd like to offer other suggestions in an effort to try to cover all the bases and get your BP's setup where it should be, as quick as possible.

* You can put a piece of ceramic tile or rock/slate over the heating pad area in place of the aspen for a more efficient basking spot. However, as mentioned earlier, it's not going to do much for the tank's ambient temps.

* For about 10 bucks you can get a 4ft x 8ft sheet of blue or pink insulation board that's 1/2" - 3/4" thick and use it to cover the top, sides & bottom of the tank. This will help a lot. When using the insulation foam board on the bottom of tanks using under tank heating pads, it's important to allow a small gap between foam board & heating pads for air flow.

* Don't forget to monitor the ambient temps on the tank's cool side, too.

* When using night heat bulbs or ceramic heat emitters, closely monitor humidity levels.

Best wishes!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com

>>* The aspen in the hot spot acts as an insulator instead of a heat transfer.
>>

That is so true. Works fine when the ambient temp is higher, but not when low like 68 deg.

I think you should put in about 4 inches of substrate, cover 3 sides with foam insulation, and use a ceramic heat emitter. Easiest way to handle it.

BPs are equatorial snakes that sit in burrows during the day and emerge at dusk or evening. They probably are one snake that does well at a temp of 82-88 deg constantly. They do not use a wide range of temps compared to temperate snakes.

Keeping the tank at a close range of temps is likely best, and the easiest way is with thick substrate to lessen the distance from heater to the floor. 8 inches from heater to floor is better than 12 inches, or however tall 10 gals are. The insulation on the sides lessens heat loss through the glass. Use a temp controller of course. Cover as much of the top around the reflector dome as needed.

Simple one-heater solution.
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Mark

What are you using to measure the temp? Getting a temp gun is a good investment if you don't have one so you can get an accurate ground temp. thermometers in glass tanks can be fairly inaccurate.before I got mine I thought the temp in leopard gecko 10 gal was fine but as soon as I got the gun I saw that ground temp was 90-105 depending on what part of the heat pad I was scanning. We use the green fake turf or whatever but were shocked to see the temp diff from in tank thermometer and the temp gun.