Heat mat for snake

[livinggeek]

Today I purchased a small heat mat for my new kenyan sand boa. Her substrate is about 2" of ground english walnut shells. I put the heat mat on one side of the cage and put a thermometer right above it under the substrate and its reading around 113 F. I'm worried this may be too warm for her. Any suggestions for what I should do?

[jjhill001]

Unplug the heat pad. Get a thermostat, I recommend the analog ones from big apple herp as they are simple stupid easy to use. Put that in the cage right above the heat pad and set it to 83. There on out you'll be golden. What kind of thermometer are you using.

[Scubadiver59]

One of my favorites is the Jump Start MTPRTC Digital Controller Thermostat, but my overall choice is the Spyder Robotics Herpstat series. The Herpstats are a little pricey, but they are great thermostats.

[ThunderThor]

What is the highest surface temp a snake should be exposed to? I have a heating pad regulated by a rheostat and monitored by a second thermometer to make sure it is accurate. My corn has his set to 88 degrees right now and my hognose is warmer at 90.

Also wondering about the heat lamp? My one tank is a low, wide tank so the distance between the log hide and the lamp is only like 8 inches. The top of the log read 100 while the substrate read 85 before I adjusted down. Should I rearrange the hides, keep the temp lower, or is the top of the log being 100 safe for the snake?

[DLLNP]

Unplug the heat pad. Get a thermostat, I recommend the analog ones from big apple herp as they are simple stupid easy to use. Put that in the cage right above the heat pad and set it to 83. There on out you'll be golden. What kind of thermometer are you using.

One of my favorites is the Jump Start MTPRTC Digital Controller Thermostat, but my overall choice is the Spyder Robotics Herpstat series. The Herpstats are a little pricey, but they are great thermostats.

If the OP posted this on a FB group.. people would have jumped down his throat and simultaneity not provide any useful feedback.

Great Answers Guys :) This is why forums are still the best place to go for help!

[chairman]

What is the highest surface temp a snake should be exposed to? I have a heating pad regulated by a rheostat and monitored by a second thermometer to make sure it is accurate. My corn has his set to 88 degrees right now and my hognose is warmer at 90.

Also wondering about the heat lamp? My one tank is a low, wide tank so the distance between the log hide and the lamp is only like 8 inches. The top of the log read 100 while the substrate read 85 before I adjusted down. Should I rearrange the hides, keep the temp lower, or is the top of the log being 100 safe for the snake?

If you use an infrared thermometer and take surface temperatures of various objects on the ground outside on a sunny day then you will easily find temperatures of 130-150 F. Just using your hand, anything that feels warm to the touch is probably 90+F (people's hands are usually in the mid-high 80s F).

With that in mind, 100F is a safe surface temperature for many species of snake. The best indicator is how much time your snake spends in the hot and cold sides of the cage. If a normally active species of snake is huddled in the coldest portion of the cage all the time then the 100F spot, while safe, is making the overall environment too warm and needs to be dropped down.

I'd aim for a surface area in the low 90s and adjust from there.

[scales.jp]

While my Timor python is in his quarantine tub his only heat source is an under tank heat panel. It's set so it's at 95F at the substrate surface which is just two sheets of newspaper, but found he prefers to get under the paper and create a warm little tent. At first I was worried it would get too hot under there (heat panel surface is 105F), but he loves it. Sometimes he comes out and stays at the cool end all night which can drop to 70F. At least for my snake, a wide variety of temperatures seems not only tolerable, but also enjoyable.

[scales.jp]

Also, your hot spot will probably vary quite widely depending on the ambient temperature of the room. For example, when my room is at 70°F (at night) the thermostat allows the heat panel to warm up to 105°F, but when the room is at 82°F the thermostat kicks in sooner and the heat panel doesn't go over 95°F. Drove me mad initially trying to set up the "perfect" temperature until I realised it doesn't really matter!:)

[scales.jp]

... when my room is at 70°F (at night) the thermostat allows the heat panel to warm up to 105°F, but when the room is at 82°F the thermostat kicks in sooner and the heat panel doesn't go over 95°F.

Just to be clear, those are the temperatures directly on the surface of the heat panel which is placed about 10mm below the tub, not the temps inside the tub!