[Temp-General] Ceramic heat emitters, heating pad, and dimmer switch and thermostat questions

[leiarius]

So Im new to having a snake as a pet.
For my tarahumara boa I have a ceramic heat emitter that is 100 watts and is inside a dome light with a ceramic ballast made by flukers. I also have a under tank heat pad attached to the underside of yhe tank made by zilla. I have a zilla thermostat rated for 1000 watts.
My problems:
Using the thermostat to control both the ceramic heat emitter and the uth causes the uth to get too hot if I place the thermostats temp sensor near the snakes basking spot. But if i put the temp probe on the substrate close to the uth the ceramic heat emitter doesnt get hot enough.
The uth is 13 watts.
So my solution so far is to have the cermaic heat emitter controlled by the dimmer switch on the lamp it's in, but have it plugged directly into my power strip that is gfci and power surge protected. While leaving the thermostat to control the uth. By doing this my basking spot stays at 90f and my uth heats that part of the tanks floor to 92f instead of 110f like it was doing before.
My question:
Does the use of the dimmer switch to control the ceramic heat emitter sound safe?
What should the max temp be for the substrate in the warm end of the tank?
Fyi The uth is attached to the outside of the tank.

My boa still a bit skiddish but regularly eats and regulary basked after feedings. Seemed healthy with the uth being so hot. But he never wanted to touch the substrate on the warm side of the tank. Thankfully he never got burned. My hope is by keeping the sunstrate cooler, ill keep my snake heathier and safer.

[TribalMethods]

Re: Ceramic heat emitters, heating pad, and dimmer switch and thermostat questions

Using the dimmer is fairly safe as long as the room temperature does not increase or decrease much. It is still safer to have each heat source on its own thermostat.

Im not a fan of the zilla thermostats. Not all that reliable. These are a cheap and reliable option:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NZZG3S/ref=mp_s_a_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480670811&sr=8-1-spell&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Hygrofarm

Eventually, ideally, because your thermostat is such a critical part of your setup I'd invest in a high end thermostat. Such as vivarium electronics, Herpstat, helix, etc. I'd buy one that can control two independent temp zones. One for the uth and one for the ceramic heat emitter.

One thing I should mention is that CHE's tend to dry out the air in the tank quite quick. What sort of tank do you have your boa in and what kind of substrate do you use? How many waterbowls does it have and how big? What humidity levels have you been seeing and how do you monitor the humidity?

It is also my opinion that you should have a minimum of 2 hides. One on the hot side and one on the cool side. Ideally one in the middle as well. That way it can feel safe no matter what temp it is looking for.

P. S. I used to live near Eureka. In McKinleyville. Beautiful area. Still have family out there.

[leiarius]

Re: Ceramic heat emitters, heating pad, and dimmer switch and thermostat questions

My boa has three hides,
A hide for the hot side, a hide in the middle if the tank, a hide on the cool side.
Hes in a 29 gallon glass tank, the humidity has been staying at 60% and occasionally goes up to 70%, after i refresh his water bowl. The water bowl is 4 inches in diameter. The humidity gauge is analog.
Im glad you reccomended hydro farm. Ive been thinking about getting some of their thermostats. Its nice to know they have a better reputation.
The room is heated with a small room heater, keeps the room in the low 70s

[leiarius]

Re: Ceramic heat emitters, heating pad, and dimmer switch and thermostat questions

Humboldt is pretty nice, im considering putting down permanent roots.

[TribalMethods]

Re: Ceramic heat emitters, heating pad, and dimmer switch and thermostat questions

My boa has three hides,
A hide for the hot side, a hide in the middle if the tank, a hide on the cool side.
Hes in a 29 gallon glass tank, the humidity has been staying at 60% and occasionally goes up to 70%, after i refresh his water bowl. The water bowl is 4 inches in diameter. The humidity gauge is analog.
Im glad you reccomended hydro farm. Ive been thinking about getting some of their thermostats. Its nice to know they have a better reputation.
The room is heated with a small room heater, keeps the room in the low 70s

Your setup seems to be pretty much perfect besides the thermostat and I'd upgrade to a digital temperature gauge / hygrometer.

This is what I use and I'm very happy with the accuracy & size of it:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00JXOKQVW/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For being a new snake owner you're doing a wonderful job!

Soon enough you will need to upgrade to a larger tank. I'm not sure about your boas subspecies full size. But I'd recommend buying a tank big enough to last its whole life when you do get a new cage.

I'd go with Animal Plastics personally. Best cages for the price.

What sort of bedding/substrate do you use?

[leiarius]

Re: Ceramic heat emitters, heating pad, and dimmer switch and thermostat questions

Thank you TribalMethods for the compliment!
Thanknyou for the link also I need a reliable thermometer, and I figure my snakes will grow fast and ill need to get the adukt sized caged before July.
Im using aspen chips for sunstrate currently.
Thinking of switching to fir bark based substrate, but aspen still works for me.

[TribalMethods]

Re: Ceramic heat emitters, heating pad, and dimmer switch and thermostat questions

Thank you TribalMethods for the compliment!
Thanknyou for the link also I need a reliable thermometer, and I figure my snakes will grow fast and ill need to get the adukt sized caged before July.
Im using aspen chips for sunstrate currently.
Thinking of switching to fir bark based substrate, but aspen still works for me.

I used to be totally anti-paper substrates because it isn't exactly "natural." Now however I use paper towels because they are cheap, won't mold, super easy to change out, absorbent, safer than feeding on wood chips (though you still must watch and pay close attention,) and you can easily spot even tiny bits of feces/urates. If I was to use anything else I'd use cocofiber substrate "EcoEarth." But I hate not being able to feed in-cage.

To keep up the humidity I either spray daily, or remove a few of her climbing sticks/logs and soak them briefly in the shower. The humidity slowly releases from the wood and keeps the tank nice and humid.

[Apocalypse]

Re: Ceramic heat emitters, heating pad, and dimmer switch and thermostat questions

I dont believe impaction is as inevitable as a lot of people seem to think. Boas don't ensure they eat on paper towels in the wild and they've still survived for a few milenia lol