# rub setup



## westy404 (Mar 17, 2011)

hi just after some peoples opinions on my 50 ltr rub setup i have for my 09 normal male royal,and any suggestions anyone has thanks :2thumb:








the setup will have a branch in it soon just waiting for it to arrive.
the only problem im having atm is with my temp its rangeing from about 74 up 84 in the hot side and it can take allday to get to 84 i have a 410mm x 274mm heat mat with a mattstat i have a second thermom coming to measure the cool side,so again any tips would be great(incase you haven't guessed this is my first snake)


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## imitebmike (Jun 22, 2008)

That looks perfect to me xD


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## imitebmike (Jun 22, 2008)

Oh,a nd BTW, if that branch you are gonna get gonna be abit rough in texture? only thing i could think that you'd need is something rough for shedding time


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## westy404 (Mar 17, 2011)

imitebmike said:


> Oh,a nd BTW, if that branch you are gonna get gonna be abit rough in texture? only thing i could think that you'd need is something rough for shedding time


i ordered grapevine branch from what ive seen in the pet shop it should be ok for shedding i would of thought??


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## Spiff (Dec 3, 2010)

looks pretty much identical to both of my royal set ups!

where have you put the probe? have you stuck it to the mat? i keep both of mine around 31-33 degrees and they seem happy with that!


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## Katkatkat (Mar 18, 2010)

westy404 said:


> the only problem im having atm is with my temp its rangeing from about 74 up 84 in the hot side and it can take allday to get to 84 i have a 410mm x 274mm heat mat with a mattstat


Nice little home you've made for him.

I don't work very well in farenheit but personally I'd want it a bit warmer on the hot side. When you say it takes all day to get to 84 I'm a bit confused. Is this because you're turning the mat off at night? If so, you really don't need to do this and having it on constantly may get past the problem of it taking so long to heat up. What temperature do you have the mat stat set at and how much of the bottom of the rub does the mat cover?


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## westy404 (Mar 17, 2011)

Spiff said:


> looks pretty much identical to both of my royal set ups!
> 
> where have you put the probe? have you stuck it to the mat? i keep both of mine around 31-33 degrees and they seem happy with that!


i have the probes for the stat and the thermom inside the rub on the surface of the aspen so i get the ground temp.


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## westy404 (Mar 17, 2011)

Katkatkat said:


> Nice little home you've made for him.
> 
> I don't work very well in farenheit but personally I'd want it a bit warmer on the hot side. When you say it takes all day to get to 84 I'm a bit confused. Is this because you're turning the mat off at night? If so, you really don't need to do this and having it on constantly may get past the problem of it taking so long to heat up. What temperature do you have the mat stat set at and how much of the bottom of the rub does the mat cover?


no i keep the matt on constant but for some reason the temp doesn't stay up keeps varying todays not been to bad i think the lowest its been is 76 atm its on 83 its been more in the 80's today hopefully its just a temp thing coz i've only had it all set up a week so maybe its all still getting used to it??


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## Katkatkat (Mar 18, 2010)

westy404 said:


> no i keep the matt on constant but for some reason the temp doesn't stay up keeps varying todays not been to bad i think the lowest its been is 76 atm its on 83 its been more in the 80's today hopefully its just a temp thing coz i've only had it all set up a week so maybe its all still getting used to it??


Mat stats work by turning the heat off when it reaches a set temperature and then on again when it drops a certain amount so you will always get some vartiation but if it was me I'd still want it to get warmer than 83 (I think I keep mine around 88 - 90 on the hot spot). How hot is the room you keep it in, could you use a little heater to keep the ambient temperature a bit more stable and then it might keep the heat more stable. Alternately if you could get a pulse or dimmer stat they have less variation in the temperature they maintain.

I would have expected temperatures to have settled within a day of being turned on, definitely after a week!


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## westy404 (Mar 17, 2011)

Katkatkat said:


> Mat stats work by turning the heat off when it reaches a set temperature and then on again when it drops a certain amount so you will always get some vartiation but if it was me I'd still want it to get warmer than 83 (I think I keep mine around 88 - 90 on the hot spot). How hot is the room you keep it in, could you use a little heater to keep the ambient temperature a bit more stable and then it might keep the heat more stable. Alternately if you could get a pulse or dimmer stat they have less variation in the temperature they maintain.
> 
> I would have expected temperatures to have settled within a day of being turned on, definitely after a week!


ive got the stat set on about 90 but from what ive read they are inaccurate to a few degrees,but obv not that much,what kind of heater and how should i fix it to the rub obv with being made of plastic?


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## Spiff (Dec 3, 2010)

I have my mat under the rub and the probe taped to the mat. I then have a digital thermometer in the hide measuring the actual temp in the rub. I then set my thermostat to when im happy the temp on the digital thermometer. When i had the probe in the rub i couldnt get the temps right for some reason!


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## Katkatkat (Mar 18, 2010)

westy404 said:


> ive got the stat set on about 90 but from what ive read they are inaccurate to a few degrees,but obv not that much,what kind of heater and how should i fix it to the rub obv with being made of plastic?


As you say, when stats are inaccurate its usually just by a couple of degrees which would suggest the mat just isn't managing to get that hot. Does the thermostat have a light that goes on when the heat is on? Is that light ever off (suggesting it has reached temperature and the mat has turned off)?

I should have been clearer what I meant about the heater, I was meaning you could try using something like a little oil filled radiator or blow heater to increase the general temperature of the room you keep it in. This might have the effect of increasing the general temperature of the room and helping increase the amount of work the mat needed to do to get up to temperature.


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## westy404 (Mar 17, 2011)

Spiff said:


> I have my mat under the rub and the probe taped to the mat. I then have a digital thermometer in the hide measuring the actual temp in the rub. I then set my thermostat to when im happy the temp on the digital thermometer. When i had the probe in the rub i couldnt get the temps right for some reason!


i did have the probe taped to the matt originally but it didnt seem to warm the rub up enuf but this was before i had the thermom i'll try it again see if that helps


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## westy404 (Mar 17, 2011)

Katkatkat said:


> As you say, when stats are inaccurate its usually just by a couple of degrees which would suggest the mat just isn't managing to get that hot. Does the thermostat have a light that goes on when the heat is on? Is that light ever off (suggesting it has reached temperature and the mat has turned off)?
> 
> I should have been clearer what I meant about the heater, I was meaning you could try using something like a little oil filled radiator or blow heater to increase the general temperature of the room you keep it in. This might have the effect of increasing the general temperature of the room and helping increase the amount of work the mat needed to do to get up to temperature.


i have him in the front room as its the warmest room in the house ive built a shelf for him to go on so he doesn't have the kids and the dog constantly at the rub just mine and my wifes head now and then when we leave or enter the room,and he is quite close to the rad but my house temp is normally about 20-22 degrees c so if i do put the heating on even if only in the front room it feels like were in an oven so its abit of a catch 22 with heating wise,yea the stat has a light to indicate when its hot enough,i'll try putting the probe on the matt see if that helps.


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## Spiff (Dec 3, 2010)

id try it that way for a day and see how you go. I have my stat turned up to 34 and it stays around 31-33 on the digital thermometer


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## westy404 (Mar 17, 2011)

just checked and my stat is on max the lights out but its only sayins 84.5????bit more than a few degrees starting to think the stat might be abit shite?


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## westy404 (Mar 17, 2011)

westy404 said:


> just checked and my stat is on max the lights out but its only sayins 84.5????bit more than a few degrees starting to think the stat might be abit shite?


ignore that put the thermom probe in his hide and the temps just shot up to 90+ so hopefully alls ok now will keep you all posted and thanks for all the advice guys really appriciate it:2thumb:


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## Spiff (Dec 3, 2010)

id check your mat first, put your digital thermometer on the mat for a while and see what the mat is reading. it could be that the mat is knackered? 

also try plugging the mat straight into the plug point (without the rub on it) without plugging it into the stat and see if it does get hotter than when it is plugged into the stat that could mean the stat is knackered. 

I know this may sound dull but have you tried truning the dial all the way around as when it is new the line is right at the lowest setting so you need to turn the dial as far as it goes to the max? ( this fooled me!)


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## Katkatkat (Mar 18, 2010)

westy404 said:


> ignore that put the thermom probe in his hide and the temps just shot up to 90+ so hopefully alls ok now will keep you all posted and thanks for all the advice guys really appriciate it:2thumb:


Sounds like you might have sorted it. Hope it remains this way and that your problems have been solved. Enjoy your snake!


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## Spiff (Dec 3, 2010)

Katkatkat said:


> Sounds like you might have sorted it. Hope it remains this way and that your problems have been solved. Enjoy your snake!


Agreed and your future snakes ( as ithey are addictive)


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## westy404 (Mar 17, 2011)

Spiff said:


> Agreed and your future snakes ( as ithey are addictive)


yep already have a second lined up should hopefully be getting her within the next fortnight a female fire:mf_dribble:


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