thermometer and moss

[Lep-Gecko]

hey folks

i just bought a thermometer (tadaaa) and i was wondering where to put the probe :main_huh:

then i bought moss to give my geck0 a moist hide. i was wondering if i should put it in a hide on the warm or the cold side of the terrarium

thanks :main_thumbsup:

 

[thekooliest]

I put mine under something so it is forced against the ground (otherwise mine pops up and measures air temperature...useless).
I put it in the warm so it more humid, but then you need to wet the moss inside it more often. I am pretty sure there are mixed opinions on this topic.

 

[LizMarie]

The probe should be put on the warm side. Like thekooliest said you have to pin it under something or have it taped down if not it'll move all over the place.

 

[Lep-Gecko]

ok i have 2 layers of paper towl on the floor. would it be ok if i out it in between them ?

 

[thekooliest]

If it is hard against the floor, which I don't think it will be.
But, you can have the first layer, than tape the probe down, and then the second layer.

 

[Lep-Gecko]

holy shit i just had it on for about 30 to 45 minutes and it showed 120.5 F !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i immediately turned off the UTH !!!!! the probe apparently is hard against the floor but holy cow how can i regulate the heat to 90 ?????

of course thats not giving me a good impression of UTH's


EDIT: i gotta say that i have the UTH on 24 hours. should i turn it off at night maybe ?

 

[thekooliest]

Maybe...I suggest getting a rheostat, I have one and it controls those temps great!

 

[LizMarie]

you will NEED a thermostat or a dimmer (the one used for a lamp), thats the only way you will be able to regulate the UTH. UTHs get VERY HOT VERY FAST! that in turn can stress your gecko.

 

[Lep-Gecko]

can u somehow build something like that yourself or is there any way to take it from anything you have in your house ?

just trying to get around buying one because i recently have spent too much money on the geck

 

[thekooliest]

There may be a way. Not a way that I know of. There probably is. But probably hard...

 

[Lep-Gecko]

l0l probably. so if i get a dimmer for example. does the UTH use less electricity then than normal ? i mean its limited by the dimmer or rheostat, right ?

 

[thekooliest]

Ya. I think a dimmer works by turning up or down the watts something puts out. Say your UTH is putting out 15 watts (I have no clue what it puts out). You can turn it from 15 watts down to (lets say...) 8 watts, and off. When it is putting out 15 watts it gets up to 100 degrees, when it puts out 8 watts it gets down to 80 degrees. Than you regulate the temperature with that.

 

[noromew]

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19168
If u go there theres instructions on how to make 1

 

[Lep-Gecko]

awesome thaaaanks