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212 Posts
Been worrying quite alot about the heat mat set-up for my 3 month old Rat Snake ( my first rep ) so decided I would speak to a few reptile shop owners and do some reasearch myself.
I have a digital thermometer positioned on the back wall of the faunariums hot end with the sensor about 5mm from the paper towel substrate. I was setting my temps / stat by this thermometer untill I read a comprehensive care sheet from a large reptile shop.
The care sheet explained that the heat mat generates heat via infra-red which is good at heating solid objects ( such as the base of the faunarium ) but not so good at heating air temperature ( only heating by approx 4 degrees )
So I had my thermometer / stat set to around 85-87 degrees and bearing the above in mind decided to test the actual temp of the base of the faunarium since this is where the snake will make contact.
I got a thermometer probe that is designed to measure surface temps and was shocked to see that the base of my faunarium was over 94 degrees !
I have since adjusted my settings and the base of my faunarium at the hot end ranges between 80- 85 degrees, and the thermometer ( still in the same place reads between 77-80.
Is this a commom mistake made by newbies measuring air temp close to the substrate without realising the higher surface temps caused by the way the heat mat works ?
I have a digital thermometer positioned on the back wall of the faunariums hot end with the sensor about 5mm from the paper towel substrate. I was setting my temps / stat by this thermometer untill I read a comprehensive care sheet from a large reptile shop.
The care sheet explained that the heat mat generates heat via infra-red which is good at heating solid objects ( such as the base of the faunarium ) but not so good at heating air temperature ( only heating by approx 4 degrees )
So I had my thermometer / stat set to around 85-87 degrees and bearing the above in mind decided to test the actual temp of the base of the faunarium since this is where the snake will make contact.
I got a thermometer probe that is designed to measure surface temps and was shocked to see that the base of my faunarium was over 94 degrees !
I have since adjusted my settings and the base of my faunarium at the hot end ranges between 80- 85 degrees, and the thermometer ( still in the same place reads between 77-80.
Is this a commom mistake made by newbies measuring air temp close to the substrate without realising the higher surface temps caused by the way the heat mat works ?