ok i have finally had it..

[eric]

ok i have finally had it... could you guys tell me what i am doing wrong or if i am just being picky....i have been having some temps verses tubs issues...the very back of the tubs have been getting much hotter than i would like.(102-104)now when i say very back we're talking the inside groove on the bottom of the tubs..and the rest of the warm side is in the 90-92 degrees range..which is fine but the groove thing bothers me..we have tried different tubs but unfortunately they all have that groove..i am measuring the temps with a temp. gun so there is no error there..has anyone had this problem with heat cable? i have tried pulling the tubs as far forward as possible still the same thing just not as drastic...we also tried rolling up paper towels and placing it into the groove this worked ok but roaming crickets and mealies that were caught under the paper towel were fried crispy...i am so fed up with this crap i just want to raise my geckos and not have to worry if there going to be fried or freezed because of my inexperience..i just don't know what to do!!:main_no:

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Eric, I'm so sorry you are having these issues. I use heat cable in all of my racks, but I have Iris tubs and they do not have any groove around the bottom. Is the temperature that high just over the heat cable? It wouldn't matter if it was heat cable or heat tape... as a matter of fact, heat tape is much wider than cable so there would be a larger area of higher temps in the tub's groove. In all honesty, although it is not optimal, I don't think 102-104 degrees down in the groove would be enough to burn your geckos.

I am curious too... what are the temperature variations everyone else is seeing between the flat bottom of the tubs and the grooves who use Sterlite or Rubbermaid tubs?

 

[Nigel4less]

Do you have a Thermostat?

 

[eric]

yes i have a herpstat and its set for 91 degrees.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

What Eric is trying to describe, is that some Sterlite and Rubbermaid tubs have a deep groove indentation around the edge of the bottom. This makes the groove sit directly on the heat source, while the actual bottom of the tub sits over the top but does not have contact with the heat. This makes the inside of the groove hotter than the bottom of the tub. In order for him to get the bottom/back of the tub at the desired temperature, the inside of the groove gets too hot.

 

[Sunrise Reptile]

One idea that comes to mind that may work for you is to fill in the gap, maybe with silicone. I'm not sure how this would handle the heat though. The other thought I had is some type of "false bottom" in the tub. This would cover the groove. You should be able to fix it to the bottom of the tub with an adhesive of some sort. You may need to make air holes in the "false bottom" for heat exchange.

The other option is to fork lift what you have and switch over to iris tubs like what Marcia uses. But I'm sure you will find a solution that works for you without giving up the hobby. Good luck!

 

[eric]

boy marcia you nailed it thank you for drawing that you are the best..and yes i think i will upgrade to iris tubs thanks guys so much its greatly appreciated..