First UTH

[JoshuaTrana]

So I am using a UTH with a Rheostat for the first time and it humid hide I am getting a low 80's read and the air temp is the same and thats around what the rheostat is labeled. But when i put my thermometers probe between the papertowels and thehumid hide it reads 101. I was doing that to see what is like when they lay on it. should i be worried? I am using a digital thermometer with a probe and a rheostat with a probe and temps set on it. I have it t\urned to high 80s and probe for it underneath the paper towels

 

[acpart]

If you're using something that has a probe, I assume it's a thermostat rather than a rheostat. It's hard to figure out exactly what you mean about what probe you're putting where. The basic idea is, that wherever the gecko is going to be, when you put a thermometer probe on the floor of the cage, the temperature is in the low 90's. Some of these UTH's do have hot spots, so I would recommend working with the thermostat, the placement of the hides and the temperature with probe to get a floor temperature in the low 90's.

Aliza

 

[JoshuaTrana]

It has a dial to adjust it, it is not digital and it has a prob to make sure it doesnt get to hot. IT said rheostat, its like a basic thermostat

 

[Dog Shrink]

Bottom line is if it has a probe thermometer attached to it, the point aliza is making is you need to have the probe of the thermometer on the floor of the tank at the hottest spot. If that's under his hide then that is where the probe should be. On the floor not an inch above on the wall, but directly on the floor right over the uth. That is where you're going to get the most accurate reading, even off by just a few inches you'll get a much different reading. Use your hand to feel where the mat is on the floor and place the thermometer right at the warmest spot you can feel. If you have it there, and it is reading 101 then your tank floor is too hot. The area should be no higher than 98 imo and optimum would be around 93. You may need to turn your reho down.

Hope this helps

 

[JoshuaTrana]

Thanks but I meant its a rheostat with a probe that keeps it from getting to hot but it doesnt tell you the temp so i bought a digital thermometer too so i can check the temp and i put it between the humid hide and the floor and it said 101 so i am adjusting trying to get right. The probe for the rheostat is way to big to stay under there though.

 

[Dog Shrink]

That could be a little inconvenient for a while until you figure it all out. Def. keep the thermostat probe in the hottest spot you can find, you'll just have to trail and error. Make sure there is a nice cool place/hide he can go in the meanwhile if it gets too warm for him.

 

[JoshuaTrana]

Yeah it appears like the air on the hotside is around 85 the ground is right around 91 and the humid hide is around 83. THe cool side is 79.

 

[acpart]

Here's the problem with this rheostat probe: a true rheostat just controls the amount of power that goes to the heater. So if you put a rheostat at 100% (i.e. all the way on) it will let 100% of the electrical power into the heater. If you put it down to 50%, it will let only 50% of the power to the heater. That's how the light dimmers work. Once you have a probe on the rheostat, it seems as if you're now using a device that will vary how much power the heater is getting based on what reading it's getting from the probe (if I understand you correctly). That means that if the probe is too big to keep in the right place, and you put it somewhere that the UTH isn't heating, the "rheostat" will think it's too cold and will send more power to the heater (so the "rheostat" is really a thermostat, which regulates how much power goes to the heater based on the info it's getting from the probe and the setting on its dial). If I'm understanding you wrong, sorry for misleading you. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if the device depends on the info from the probe, then the probe has to be in the right place.

Aliza

 

[JoshuaTrana]

Yeah I have it directly on the glass underneath the paper towels i have figured out it puts more power out til it hits the temp the dial is set on then it keeps the power level right there to try to keep it even. I think it should have been labeled a thermostat instead of a rheostat.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Well you can pick up a reliable thermostat for about $30 and prob do away with this whole issue... http://www.reptiledirect.com/search.aspx?find=thermostat Like aliza said a rheo adjusts the amount of power to fluctuat heat output where as I believe a thermostat will put out the full power regularly but sill shut on and off as the demands calls for.

 

[JoshuaTrana]

OKay yeah I have the R-Zilla 500 hundred that is listed there