Some BP questions:

[froggsong]

Ok, if you read the other post, you already know that I got a BP yesterday, and now I have a couple of questions to pose.

I am currently using a heat lamp (getting an UTH asap), can I place a large regular rock beneath the light for the BP to bask on? I have several that are an appropriate size, and it would be around a foot or so (possibly a little more) from the light, so I don't think it would get too hot. The snake seems very curious and is not staying in the hide much. Should I place a hide under the light instead? I understand that they need a hide on either side (warm and cool) so that they can thermoregulate and feel secure at the same time, is this correct? If I need to place a hide under the heat source (until I get an UTH), can I incorporate the rock for it to bask on into the top of the hide? Can I buy a "people" heating pad with a thermostat built in for the UTH? If you say not, WHY? (I stress that because I don't see why it wouldn't be safe/appropriate, if it isn't I want to know why exactly. I have read alot about people using them, and alot about people saying "NO WAY!", so I want to know why, if it is a no-no.) And of course, as I am new to snakes, anything else that you think is relevant.

Thanks!

[Athen]

well as i mentioned in another post your BP being curious and roaming around his tank is natural at this point its a new place it is somewhat stressed right now and like anything that is trapped in a box in a new unusual place it naturally is going to look for a way to get out give it a couple of weeks to get settled in before handling it and really disturbing it more that what is necessary and when you see it begin to start spend large amounts of time just chillin in its hide that is when it is comfortable at which point you can start feeding and handling in small amounts BP's are a nocturnal animal so during the day there wont be much activity going on when it is finally settled in but as soon as it begins to get dark out mine generally come out and play around in their tank they love to come out of their tank and hang around on the couch and stuff with us when we are watching T.V. as far as the hides i do believe that they say a humid hide and a warm hide which would also translate out to a warm and cool hide. for my BP's i use UTH and a over head heat lamp the UTH goes in the middle and i use one of the infra red heat lamps which stays on all the time so they have 3 levels of varying temperature as far as the people heating pad i myself have thought of using one i cannot rly see any reason as far as it being bad for your reptiles why they would say it is... but then the electrician side of my brain kicks in and i know that the people heating pads werent designed for constant perpetual use and when used inappropriately in such a manner ( inappropriate meaning for something other than it was designed for ) have a notorious reputation for shorting out and starting fires as well as the fact that they arent intended to be in a close proximity of moisture such as would be associated with a BP tank through misting / fogging which also could cause a short and result in a fire i really do not know all the ins and outs as to why alot of people say no i just have my knowledge in the field of electricity as to why IMO it isnt a good idea and why i choose not to do it since i know the possible implications i choose to take the safer route =)

[froggsong]

Yeah I posted this a few days ago, and the snake only explored the tank the first night he went into it, now he is just chillin' in the hide all the time. When he does come out is right when it starts to get dark outside, and then he generally slithers around for a little bit, finds a good spot and chills for a bit and then goes back into the hide.

I think I am going to end up going with the UTH anyway, because all of the people heating pads are too long for a proper temperature gradient. The one I ended up buying has a stupid 2 hr shut off, so I have to turn the damn thing back on every two hours... ::growl:: I have it hooked up to a rheostat, and I have to keep it on the "warm" setting on the pad or else it gets too hot, so I just want to go with something that would be easier to keep the temps steady (I know having it fluctuate like that is not a good thing.)

The heater really isn't coming into contact with moisture at all though... it is UNDER the tank... I don't mist under the tank... ::wink::

My hubby picked up a flukers clamp lamp (the smallest one), and I think i am going to take it back in favor of a shop light that is exactly the same except silver on the inside, bigger, and cheaper (which is the biggest attraction, lol). I am also going to take the heating pad back because it is just very inconvenient. I think I am going to find out where I can get heat tape and how much it costs, actually.

Since you are al electrician, you should figure out how to wire a probe/sensor to a line voltage thermostat and then tell me how to do it, lol... That way I don't have to spend so much for a freaking herpstat.

LMAO, I just realized I am way too poor to have this many pets...

[Athen]

LOL the probe sensor to a thermostat actually happens to be in my field im not a standard electrician who works on lighting and distribution my specialized field actually centers on alarm and warning systems, indicating and sensing systems, navigation systems, and audio systems, to name a few is the effect you are looking for to turn something on and off? in which case you would simply need a thermo electric probe which is simply a probe with 2 dissimialr metals and when they heat up and cool they expand and contract at different rates rubbing together creating an electrical current generally very low typically in the milivolt range but can go as high as 1-5 volts DC you would then hook this sensor probe to a relay that trips open at a set voltage all this would have to be matched up by knowing how much voltage the probe puts out at what temperature then getting a relay that will open at that voltage so that when the temp at the probe reaches your relay it will open stopping the flow of electricity to your heating device then when the temp goes back to your desired level the relay will sense the "safe" voltage and close again returning the path of voltage to your heating device so put simply you would need the relay between your probe and the power supply to your heating device ill have to draw up a diagram to fully be able to explain it in an understandable way now for one that will adjust temperature it is mostly the same except you would need a probe that changes resistance as opposed to voltage so that as the temperature increases so does the resistance put out by the probe higher resistance across the power supply to your heating device would result in lower amounts of current getting to the device which would then in turn reduce the intensity at which it emits heat =) did i do alright?

[froggsong]

I was actually thinking about one that regulates the amount of electricity to the heater, rather than heating to a certain point and then turning it off until it gets so cool and then turning it back on. I want it to maintain the heat. I have seen line voltage thermostats that would potentially work, but they have a sensor INSIDE them. So they measure the ambient air temp rather than a spot temp like I need for the UTH.

Here is one I thought would work (if it had a probe): DuctStat Plug Inline Voltage Thermostat

any ideas on this type?

[Athen]

other than having one of those "built" into your habitat by using some GS and making some sort of a rock or something like that and leaving room for the air temp hole to sample the air i really dont see a feasible way of doing it i can think of some ghetto rigged methods that would probably work but most likely would defeat the purpose of building your own in the first place cause it probably wouldnt be any cheaper the rigged method i came up with comes from the "get it fixed" attitude they sometimes throw at us lol

[LadyParvati]

Now re the people heating pads--even people can get burned on those; that's why nowadays they come with a 2-hour cut-off so someone doesn't fall asleep and get burned. Even so, my dh has gotten burned within the 2-hour time frame. Also, if any water got on the heating pad, even though it's supposed to be well-sealed, if it had a hole anywhere, it could short out, and if the snake was in contact with the heating pad when it shorted out, you could have fried snake.

We found a Cobra Heat Mat online that wasn't too expensive. They are rigged to heat to 100 deg F & not over We got a smaller one (30-40 gal) for a warm spot in our 55-gal tank and have a ceramic heat lamp for a corner basking area. My husband used silicon sealer to attach it to the bottom of the tank so the snake cannot come into direct contact with the mat, reducing the chance of him getting burned. We'll see how it works . . . Fortunately, my dh is a really good amateur electrician (physicists have to be, I guess, to keep their equipment running & to build new equipment).

Athen--what do the numbers mean? I'm really curious about the difference between 0.0.1 and 1.0.0 and 0.1.0!

Sandy

[Athen]

as far as the numbers what they are for is the amount of animals you have by sex 1.0.0 means one male 0.1.0 means one female and 0.0.1 means one unknown sex. change the number for the amount you have for the specified sex and animal. my curiosity is slated in the area of when you say DH what is that? lol. now as for the people heat pad i do see the opportunity for the snake to get burnt but it is slightly reduced since the pad is outside of the tank and insulated by the substrate using my Navy taught ORM procedures this makes that risk negligable. the auto turn off feature is a good feature reduces the risk of shorting out due to over use but since you are using it on a tank 24-7 this feature im sure would quickly wear and adds an additional opportunity for failure i set this risk as possible as far as moisture even though you arent misting under the tank moisture is a tricky substance and gets into places you least intend and expect it to this coupled with the method of use and constant use highly increases the opportunity for failures in the waterproofing i set this risk to high possibility lol simply put id rather go the safe route reptile heat pads arent that expensive and much safer =)

[froggsong]

It was actually a heating pad that is used for moist heat. I did end up taking it back, because I just couldn't keep the temps regulated because it was shutting of every two hours. I bought the larger clamp lamp, and came home to plug it in because I didn't have a heat source on it while I was at the store (took the heat lamp and the heating pad back) and then went to the pet store to buy the UTH, and they were out. I had to come home so I could print out the price from petsmart from their website so I could get petco to price match, and the temps were PERFECT with the new lamp I bought (for considerable CHEAPER! It was even cheaper than the smallest one from the pet store, and has a ceramic socket). The temps in the hide, on the cool side, and on the basking rock (just a plain rock under the heat lamp to trap in some extra heat for basking) were all perfect and have stayed steady. I bought a red plant heat light for nighttime, and I use it with the dimmer switch I had bought for the heating pad so it doesn't get too hot (it's a 250 watt bulb) and it worked perfectly. It also produces less visible light than the other red bulbs I am using. I came out cheaper with taking everything back and buy the new lamp and bulb than I was to begin with, much less if I had gone ahead and bought the UTH (which I really don't feel I need. I know they need belly heat, but the temp probe is under a VERY thin layer of the substrate right under where the snake spend the most time, and it is a perfect temp).

As for the reptile heat pads not being expensive, I think they are. the smallest one, rated for a FIVE gallon, is 20 dollars. The size I need for my tank is 40 dollars. THAT is expensive. In fact, it is more than I paid for my snake!

[Athen]

wow your pet stores are expensive! here is a link to the store i buy my stuff from there is actually a location here where i live and they are signifigantly cheaper Heat Pads, Heat Panels, Heat Cable & Rocks i would recommend that you buy your stuff from their website it may take a little bit for shipping but they are good on prices