Really warm ball python at PetSmart??

[Zef]

So I have a corn snake. I plan on getting a ball python soon also. Well I went to petsmart just to get an idea of what it feels like to hold a ball python. Well when the woman handed me the snake it was really warm. I thought snakes were supposed to be a little on the cool side because they are cold blooded. My snake isn't as warm as this snake was. I keep the warm side of his tank around 82 in the summer and around 85-86 in the winter. On the cool side it's about 75-78 year round. I also spray the tank with water a few times a day (more when he's about to shed). The tanks at my petsmart are very small, in the ball python tank there were two together. It was obvious they had very high humidity because of how steamy the glass was. I know pythons are supposed to have higher humidity. But are they supposed to be this hot? It really surprised me when she handed me the snake because it felt warmer than I was. Who is doing it right? Am I taking care of my snake wrong? Should my snake be warmer than he is? What about petsmart? Are they taking care of the snakes right?

[marvelfreak]

It would depend if it had been laying on a UTH or was basking under a heat lamp. Most the time mine are just a tad cooler than my hand, but if the are laying right above their heat pad they are warmer.

[StudentoReptile]

The tanks they have at Petsmart are very small (most are between 2 and 5 gallons) so one can imagine it is hard to get a good temp gradient in them. I used to work there.

However, I can say that while they were on the warm side, we never had many issues with the baby BPs. Always shed good, always ate good, etc.