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Herpetology

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hi guys, I’ve rexently bought 2 bredli and 4 enclosures (2 for bredli, 2 for coastal and albino)

I also have a habistat 300w temp thermostat

The problem I have is there’s 2 different branded heat cords, one by amelia or something 50w and a reptile branded (urs I think it was) 50w

2 of each brand across the 4 enclosures

I’m looking at the thermostat thread and saw @dragonlover1 pic of her setup run on a thermostat and would like to have the same idea.

Should these cords theoretically heat up at the same time? If not, should I put the thermostat in the enclosure with faster heating or the slower heating? I’m worried that if one reaches 32, the others won’t and vice versa, one will reach 32, the others will be 35-36 or higher!

Thanks for any help
 
My son has a 5 bay Tiliqua tower run off 1 Istat through a power board. Do you have all 4 enclosures in 1 stack or 2 X 2 or simply all 4 on the same level ? If in 1 stack put the probe in level 3 as this will be hotter than the 2 lower ones.And put the Bredli in the top 2 .
All 4 cords should produce the same heat as they are all 50w. Actually since you are using cords and not heat lamps the temps should be similar so it doesn't matter which is which. Above advice was for heat lamps because heat rises and the higher the tank the hotter they get.
 
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50W is 50W. If the lengths are the same then if the cords operate as per specs there will be no difference. Most likely if there is a difference it will be negligible (assuming they are the same length). It's easy enough to test them for yourself.

If they are radically different, don't use them on the same thermostat. If they are slightly different, use the hotter ones on the lower enclosures as dragonlover1 suggests. If they're the same, hooray :)
 
50W is 50W. If the lengths are the same then if the cords operate as per specs there will be no difference. Most likely if there is a difference it will be negligible (assuming they are the same length). It's easy enough to test them for yourself.

If they are radically different, don't use them on the same thermostat. If they are slightly different, use the hotter ones on the lower enclosures as dragonlover1 suggests. If they're the same, hooray :)
My son has a 5 bay Tiliqua tower run off 1 Istat through a power board. Do you have all 4 enclosures in 1 stack or 2 X 2 or simply all 4 on the same level ? If in 1 stack put the probe in level 3 as this will be hotter than the 2 lower ones.And put the Bredli in the top 2 .
All 4 cords should produce the same heat as they are all 50w. Actually since you are using cords and not heat lamps the temps should be similar so it doesn't matter which is which. Above advice was for heat lamps because heat rises and the higher the tank the hotter they get.
Thanks for the tips, I guess it’s common sense to put the hotter ones at bottom.

I know nothing about wattages and voltages, so would this powerboard do? I’ve also added the habistat info.

Thanks again

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That powerboard at 2400W is rated much higher than the thermostat (300W) which is more than the 200W of cord you're talking about using. All good.
 
So after a test of an hour the top enclosure got to 33.9 and the bottom enclosure was 33.6 (assuming I didn’t aim at exact same spot )
:)
 
I got this thermostat,but unsure of where to put probe as I thought these were for overhead air heating like bulbs.

I’m not too sure of the pattern of heat cord used, though I’d be safe to assume it’s an up down pattern from left to right.

My question is, do I run the cord through back wall with probe UNDER paper? Or over the paper? In the middle where it gets the warmest ? Or the back corner where they like to use the most?

Thanks lots :)
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Atm I just have it on bursts of an hour every 3 hours
 
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Probe should be put near basking spot so you don't overheat.
Heat cables are ideally routered into the timber in a zig zag pattern, up and down in a small repetitive pattern and then covered with tiles and then glued into place
 
Probe should be put near basking spot so you don't overheat.
Heat cables are ideally routered into the timber in a zig zag pattern, up and down in a small repetitive pattern and then covered with tiles and then glued into place
The heat cord is under what looks like a big tile with some plastic rubber stuff keeping it in place and butchers paper.

I’m worried if I put thermostat probe on top of paper, he will move it around.
 
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the probe is usually attached to the wall near the basking spot with a cable clip or similar. Don't use tape!
I would never use tape, can I get a close reading if I put probe under the paper but over the basking spot which is bang smack in the middle in the square?. (He has a heat room divider from the cool end)

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You don't want the sensor to touch the tile, you need an air temp so hang it on the wall near the basking spot
Sorry for keep quoting you, but I’m very confused >_< wouldn’t i need the air temp if I was using a bulb like a CHE, as a cord would heat the surface right above it and not the air? Therefore needing the surface temp and not the air temp? (Hence the need for a temp gun?)

I’m not really sure what wall to use because the middle is the hottest >.<

Again very sorry I feel like I’m over complicated it
 
Yeah maybe but I think the sensor would melt if laying on the tile as it's only soft plastic and as you said he would move it if laying loose.
The only heat cable I use is in my incubator and it does heat the air, otherwise the eggs wouldn't hatch.
 
Yeah maybe but I think the sensor would melt if laying on the tile as it's only soft plastic and as you said he would move it if laying loose.
The only heat cable I use is in my incubator and it does heat the air, otherwise the eggs wouldn't hatch.
I forgot to say that it’s not a tile, but a layer of wood on top with water protection stuff around the outside to prevent water getting in, not sure if this changes anything but I guess wouldn’t get hot like a tile

I’m worried the air temp will be a lot lower than middle of heating spot, as snakes will be on it , and eggs can’t really move so you don’t have to worry about them coming into contact with heat cord ?
 
Hmmm wood? I don't know how warm that would get? As I said I don't use heat cable in my enclosures, some of my pythons have a heat mat under the glass but every one of my reptiles has heat lamps on timers.So I can't give you any more ideas other than to wait for someone who uses tubs to give you a better idea of how/where to mount the sensor.
 
I forgot to say that it’s not a tile, but a layer of wood on top with water protection stuff around the outside to prevent water getting in, not sure if this changes anything but I guess wouldn’t get hot like a tile

I’m worried the air temp will be a lot lower than middle of heating spot, as snakes will be on it , and eggs can’t really move so you don’t have to worry about them coming into contact with heat cord ?
I don't know what sort of heat cord you're using, but from my experience it would be be extremely challenging to burn a snake with heat cord. I can easily grab the heat cord I use after it's been on for hours without a worry of getting burnt.

Honestly you're over thinking this all a bit much. Easiest solution for you is to put it underneath the tile, and then adjust the thermostats cut off temperature so that it cuts out at the optimal temperature you'd like on top of the tile. Example, if you want the top of the tile to reach 32 degrees then set the thermostat to cut off at 40 degrees. It all just comes down to experimentation to find the cut off point you'll need.

Personally though I don't even use a thermostat to control my heat cord. I just have it set on a timer to turn it on and off. How I have it set up underneath my tiles the cord produces about a 35 degree hot spot across the tile. My snakes can then just simply shuffle on and off of that as required. This way it's nice, simple and cheap to use.

Also for your question about what would might do, it gets hot, really hot. Go outside on a hot summers day and measure the temperature of a log and then a large stone/piece of concrete in full sunlight. Chances are the log will be a lot hotter than the stone/concrete (I've seen a 20 degree difference between the two before). Only downside of wood is that it doesn't seem to hold the heat as long as stone/concrete/tiles do.

Hopefully this is helpful for you,

Cheers, Cameron
 
Personally though I don't even use a thermostat to control my heat cord. I just have it set on a timer to turn it on and off. How I have it set up underneath my tiles the cord produces about a 35 degree hot spot across the tile. My snakes can then just simply shuffle on and off of that as required. This way it's nice, simple and cheap to use.
+1. This is all I do.
 
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