New hatchie and Click clack temps

[iamwilso]

Hi I've set up a click clack for my spotted python hatchie but am now unsure of the temps I'm running Temps are at 32c hot end inside the hide and 24c for the cool end. I had it running for a little over a week now and has been steady which i thought would be fine but I was told from the breeder they prefer to run the hot end @ 35-36c so i bumped the thermostat up a bit but nothing 32 is it wont get any warmer been checking it all day. She does seem pretty happy and have noticed she does move from the warm hide to the cool hide and so forth. I might just be paranoid but only want what's best for my hatchie. Few other details its a 7ltr systema and a 25watt exo terra heat mat covered by a floor tile I don't have a tile under the heat mat, the heat mat covers 1/3 of the click clack floor. Also how long should it be before I feed her only picked her up yesterday last feed was last Friday should I try feed her or give her a little time to settle??? Here's a pic of her
Thanks wilso



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[chase77]

I possibly have a sibling of your spotted and I have it set up similar to you. My hot end is about 32-33 and the spotted is powering along. That being said you should be able to get more heat out of that mat. How are you checking it? with a gun or probe thermometer? Is the click-clack sitting on top of mat? Is there a draught that could be dissapating heat?

I just re read and I dont have the tile on top of the mat, I just have the click clack sitting on top of the mat. I reckon you are losing your heat to the tile. happy to be corrected by others but I think you dont need that tile.

As for feeding give it a few days and wait a couple of weeks before handling

 

[Zeusy]

i also have my click clack directly on the heat mat. As long as you have a reliable thermostat, you shouldn't have an issue with it staying on and overheating. The tile will act as a heatsink and alot of heat will be lost from the exposed areas.

Before i get flamed, i just dont understand how a heatmat can get too hot. Only if the thermostat fails somehow but then i would imagine a heatcord would get really hot too and it both would heat any tile above them to the same temp. I think tiles would only be used on heatcords so as the heat rises up through the tiles, it dissipates evenly through the tiles to get a surface which is uniformly warm.

 

[Baturb]

Your set up sounds fine, I have a spotted also and he was in a similar set up, he was feeding every 5-7days and is powering on and growing nicely, let it settle for another day or 2 then offer it some food

 

[Shay-Nik]

You got yourself a nice little hatchie and the description you described sounds fine, just keep that heat constant till it's a certain age, I don't keep Spotted Pythons but it's definitely on the want list. Good luck.

 

[andynic07]

i also have my click clack directly on the heat mat. As long as you have a reliable thermostat, you shouldn't have an issue with it staying on and overheating. The tile will act as a heatsink and alot of heat will be lost from the exposed areas.

Before i get flamed, i just dont understand how a heatmat can get too hot. Only if the thermostat fails somehow but then i would imagine a heatcord would get really hot too and it both would heat any tile above them to the same temp. I think tiles would only be used on heatcords so as the heat rises up through the tiles, it dissipates evenly through the tiles to get a surface which is uniformly warm.

The reason for the tile is more so to keep an even temperature because it has thermal mass. What that means is when the heat source turns off it will quickly drop temperature and then kick back in whereas if it has the tile it will cool slower so the variance in temperature is slower. It also acts as a barrier of non-flammable material between the heat mat and plastic click clack.

The difference between heat cords and heat mats is that if a heat cord has an internal fault it will usually just stop working. The best thing that you can do is install which ever heat source you choose correctly and have sufficient air flow around it to prevent overheating of the device causing a malfunction. The overheating effect is what will cause the heat mat to get an internal fault and possibly catch fire. Most of the materials that you will be dealing with will have a auto ignition point of 170 degrees celsius or higher which means it will not catch fire without a spark until it gets to these temperatures which you may think it will not get to so should not catch fire but these materials once heated to a decent temperature will start to smoulder away with the addition of a spark that can be produced from a heat mat with an internal fault.

You can have the most reliable brand thermostat that you think there is and it can still fail leaving power onto the heating source so in my opinion it is best to have the smallest heat source that you can to get to the desired temperature in the coldest period it will be used. This is why I like heat lamps , I buy the cheap spot light globes (2 for $5) and have various sizes. I will have a different(larger) wattage globe in my enclosure during winter and a smaller wattage globe during summer. As proof about the thermostats I bought two second hand thermostats from a guy on this site and both of them when being tested came on and stayed on and these were microclimate B1 thermostats.

 

[ronhalling]

I have 2 spotties which are now app 7 months old, they are both in seperate 7 lt systema click clacks and both are directly on the 1 14w heat mat with the JET-200 thermstat probe directly attached to the heat mat between the 2 click clacks, i have a digital probe thermometer in each click clack on the floor at the hot end, the JET-200 is set to 36 deg C and the thermometers in each click clack reads 32 deg C constantly, i have checked the temps on the floor of each with a good quality IR thermometer and it read 32 deg C so there is a 4 deg variation between the thermostat and the thermometers, my little 1s love it at 32 deg and are thriving so i don't think you have anything to worry about, just keep doing what you have been doing and all should be fine .......................................Ron

 

[iamwilso]

Thanks for the replies, I'll keep doing what I'm doing. She does seem happy and is starting to explore around. I did feed her tonight and was taken straight away with no problems.
Thanks wilso


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[Shay-Nik]

Thats good to hear

 

[Jacknife]

The reason for the tile is more so to keep an even temperature because it has thermal mass. What that means is when the heat source turns off it will quickly drop temperature and then kick back in whereas if it has the tile it will cool slower so the variance in temperature is slower. It also acts as a barrier of non-flammable material between the heat mat and plastic click clack.
.

With a hatchie in that kind of set up the OP should really be running heat 24/7 so the need for something to hold thermal mass is a non point.

 

[yellowbeard]

I would be running the hot end between 31-32 max 24hrs a day, with a hide on the hot end and one at the cool end with the water