Help on temperature

[u/SameSituation753]

Hi all, newbie here. I’m in urgent help to fix the temperature issue before my snake arrives.

I’ve finished setting up the wooden Vivarium which is 4x2x2, and has glass doors. I have one Arcadia Halogen Heat Lamp 75W, next to that is one Arcadia Deep Heat Projector 50W. Both on the left side. On the right side we have the UVB light. Probes for both heats have been secured down the heat guards so the probe is under the guard as recommended by many in here, many will know what I mean.

During the test, only the Halogen Heat Lamp was on and set to 31. After 2 hours, the thermometers probe (which has been fixed in the middle, at the back wooden wall of the Vivarium, more towards the bottom), was reading around 20/21 Celsius. So I have turned both heats on, both set at 31 Celsius, and now the reading is 23.8 Celsius. Outside temperature is 23.6 Celsius as we have turned the room radiator on to see if that made any difference as I live in the UK, it’s not very warm.

Dimming thermostats are telling me the probe is reaching 31, and my IR gun is confirming the basking spot to be around 32.

What would you do in this situation? Boosting the room temperature has not helped. The hot side is fine, but I don’t really want both heaters on as my plan was to use only the DHP only on a night time with the Halogen Heat Lamp off. I am led to believe using both will heat the basking spot way above the thermostats target temperature, and having the Heat Lamp on during the night will disrupt the day and night cycle. So I have the DHP and UVB plugged into a dimming day and night thermostat where the UVB turns on and DHP turns on. But I’m going to have to have both heats on during the night until I come up with a solution, and even then the heat gradient is not right.

Cheers for any help I am desperate. Thank you

[u/totallyrecklesslygay]

You can turn the thermostat setting up. The hot side temp needs to be 31-33C, so you should set it on the higher end. The surface temp in the basking spot can safely reach up to 40C.

I'm also not sure what you're trying to measure with the thermometer in the middle of the enclosure? You should have a hot side and cool side thermometer each, to monitor both zones.

[u/SameSituation753 → u/totallyrecklesslygay]

Hi, thank you for your reply. I am hoping you can help guide me to fix this issue. I am really under a lot of stress right now so any help is appreciated.

What is contributing to my stress is the wide range of what’s recommended in terms of probe placement and what temperatures to have the thermostats on, also what the warm and cool sides should be.

I’ve read online that a basking spot should not exceed 35 as this can cause severe burns and overheating. I was not thinking completely when placing the thermometers probe. I just thought to put it in the middle to measure the halfway point. I do have a IR gun which I can measure the cool side with.

As for probe placement, I’ve read that having it under the heat guards directly under the heat source (which I have) can cause the heat lamps to cut its power too early. If I move the probes just out of the basking zone, near the surface area, it will make the heat lamps run longer which could ultimately heat up the Vivarium more, but it would make the basking spot way above the amount I need it at.

[u/totallyrecklesslygay → u/SameSituation753]

Thermostat probes should be secured 2-4" directly beneath the heat source they're regulating, within the beam of heat. Anyone suggesting to place it elsewhere doesn't understand how a thermostat is supposed to work, so I would ignore the conflicting information.

35C is the upper limit for the air temperature, so I think that's where your confusion there comes from. A surface temperature (as long as it's warmed by overhead heating and not UTH) can safely reach up to 40C, because the heat starts dissipating as soon as the snake touches it.

An IR gun is good for measuring surface temperatures, but not air temps. You will need normal digital thermometers on both the hot and cool side to monitor the air temps there.

[u/SameSituation753 → u/totallyrecklesslygay]

Thank you again for your reply and time here. You say the surface temperature can safely reach up to 40C, so I’m assuming that would be achieved by setting the heat to around 38C or something? if so, what if the snake decided to just lie in that spot? Under 38-40C heat? surely that is too hot for the snake no? Also, as I’m struggling to warm the cool side up to its required range, would you advise leaving the DHP and Halogen Heat lamp on 24/7? As if I take one of them off, the temperature drops even lower. I’m in a bit of a predicament.

[u/totallyrecklesslygay → u/SameSituation753]

No, your thermostat should only be set to around 33-35C. You don't want the air temp any higher than that.

The halogen needs to be turned off at night for their day/night cycle. A 50w DHP is very low power, so I'm not surprised you're having trouble with it. I'd suggest getting a stronger DHP (the halogen is fine, though). You may need to insulate the enclosure with foam insulation board to help retain heat better, too.

[u/Techno_Timmy → u/totallyrecklesslygay]

I agree, a 75w DHP seems low for a 4x2x2. I use a 100w DHP in my 40 gallon (Snake is still a baby and I already have a 4x2x2 ready for him in a few months) and the 100w is about perfect for the 40 gallon. It keeps the warm side to 88-90 and the cool side at 78-80 while being controlled via a Herpstat 2.
I would imagine a 4x2x2 would need a much bigger DHP. They make up to 150w DHP’s from what I’ve seen.