Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[reeve105a]

I've finished making a snake rack for six tubs and I've stuck the sensor to the heat mat using black insulation tape. Is this the best position or should I place it in one of the tubs?
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[jakeus]

If i was you, id place it inside one of the tubs so you can control the temperature that the actual temperature the snakes are recieving...

Jake

[Stuart]

I do the same and tape it to the mat..if its not getting hot enough you can turn it up a fraction to compensate for the heat travelling through the base of the tub and paper towel or whatever you use...That way no need to make holes for the probe and the snake cannot dislodge it from the area of the tub your trying to heat,if it did you could have one hot snake..
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[SnakeGuy]

Yeah i would do what stuart says, i'm changing mine tomorrow after my snakes moving the probe twice on me now so going to put it outside, i think it will be safer that way.
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0.1.0 Corn snake
0.0.1 Albino Horned Frog
0.0.1 Lasiodora Difficilis
0.0.1 Brachypelma Smithi

[reeve105a]

Thank you all for your advice. I like the idea of not having the sensor in the tub as it makes it easier to remove the tubs from the rack.
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[serpent]

I wouldnt use insulating tape because after a short while when the heatmats heat up the tape will come off, it may take a short while BUT it will come off.

I use an extremely sticky tinfoil type tape used in heating/ducting. I get it from B&Q for £4.99, because it is made especially for heating it will not come unstuck or move no matter what the heat. It can also be used to stick the heatmats down as well as any wires and thermostat probes.

Something I have found after making and using several racks of different sizes is that ALL heatmats of all designs and makes is that they ALL will have different temperatures even when linked to the same thermostat.

I would suggest that you link up all the mats to a thermostat (but do not tape anything down yet) and turn them on for a few hours and then check the temps on all the levels and then move the heatmats around so that the hottest are on the bottom level and the coolest are at the top, I would put the thermostat probe on the middle level taped to a heatmat NOT inside one of the tubs so as to get a good average temperature.
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I laugh at them because they are all the same.

[DeanThorpe]

lol
theres plenty of different ways of doing things but how having the stat inside one of the tubs where you actually want to control the temp can be wrong is beyond me...

if all is equal [all same distance from mat, same percentage covered etc as in a rack ,wherever you put it.. with caliberation it will work.
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[serpent]

Where the thermostat sensor is makes no difference whatsoever.

What is important is that the sensor is stable and does not move.

Therefore, to have to sensor taped to the mat outside of the tub makes a lot more sense that drilling a hole in a tub and taping it to the inside where it can be disturbed or moved by the enclosed reptile.

After building and setting up more racks than I would like to think of and after keeping hundreds of reptiles of various species in racking systems and having tried both ways, taping the stat sensor to the outside works more efficiently and is also safer for the reptiles.
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People laugh at me because I am different
I laugh at them because they are all the same.