advice on temp please

[stephen wood]

hello again
i'm still tryin to get my set up right so i can soon have a B Smithi, i've just got a digital thermometer with a probe sensor as i did have a dial one and i read that they wern't very good. So here's the question when i have the probe next to the glass where the heat mat is the temp reads 80' F and two inches away from the glass it reads 70' F is this ok? i understand that the mats don't heat the air but i'm concerned that this won't be warm enough unless the spider is hugging the back glass

[matthew spooner]

hi stephen, u need an air temp so putting it near the heat source wont give an accurate reading, check the middle of the tank and see what it says, i keep my brachys without heat mats at all, they are just in a room with central heating on. the T will move around the tank depending on how warm/cool it wants to be. try the smithi in the tank as it is and see how it responds to the set up. if you are concerned aboutt he temps, my advice to you would be to get a thermostat then you can be confident that the temp will be constant and correct

[stephen wood]

thanks for that, i've moved the thermometer to the middle of the tank and it's now reading about 65' F, the temp at the back by the heat mat was mid 80's so from the back to the middle it drops 20'.

[matthew spooner]

thats not surprising as the glass absorbs some of the heat, i would look at maybe rising that slightly. what sort of temp is the room the tank is in?

[stephen wood]

the tank is currently in the dining room and the temp in there is roughly 55'. whould a higher wattage heat pad be better? I'm currently using a 10W one.

[matthew spooner]

if you get bigger, i would recommend using a thermostat, that way u dont run the risk of temp being too high, try the T in it and see what sort of reaction u get

[Mrs Linda Street]

the tank is currently in the dining room and the temp in there is roughly 55'. whould a higher wattage heat pad be better? I'm currently using a 10W one.

Hi Stephen, I would'nt want to eat my dinner at 55F never mind the T, lol a warmer room at say 70F, and a small heat mat on the outside back, or side, is more than adequate, the T can move to or from the heat source as it wishes. We aim for 22-25c, but a small drop overnight is acceptable, but try it and see.

[stephen wood]

thanks for the advice, i eat in my dinnigh room regular but i work out side so i'm used to it cold i guess my Smithi is turning up on tuesday so i'll see how it goes for a bit i guess. thanks again