Mexican Black Kingsnake Quesiton

[mogadishu]

Hey so my MBK spends most of her time on the cooler side of her enclosure for some reason. Do snakes hibernate and that is why she needs to be a little colder or something. And when I go in to pick her up she is very calm, which sounds ok, but it is also kind of weird to me because she usually moves around a lot when I pick her up but recently she has been very calm. Sorry I am a new snake owner and I am still trying to learn more.

[craigafrechette]

What are your temps?
How are you measuring your temps?
How are you heating the enclosure?

In my experience, Kings tend to stick to their cool side except when digesting a meal.

And if your King is mellowing out and letting you pick her up easily, that's probably a good thing.

How old is the snake?
What does she weigh?
What size prey are you feeding? How often?

[mogadishu]

Originally Posted by craigafrechette

What are your temps?
How are you measuring your temps?
How are you heating the enclosure?

In my experience, Kings tend to stick to their cool side except when digesting a meal.

And if your King is mellowing out and letting you pick her up easily, that's probably a good thing.

How old is the snake?
What does she weigh?
What size prey are you feeding? How often?

Warm side in the 80's and cool side in the 70s.
I am using a thermometer (one of those temp/humidity thingys)
Heating with a heating pad.
She is probably around several months old.
Not sure about the weight, but she does not look too fat or too thin for a 12-inch snake.
Feeding 1 pinky mouse a week.

[phenyx]

Is your heating pad connected to a thermostat? It needs to be connected to a thermostat.

[Andy_G]

Most snakes will be on the cooler end most of the time and will only use the hot spot for digestion, but if the hot spot is too hot, they will avoid it entirely. How are you measuring temps and are you using a thermostat? For heat pads, you need a temp gun to measure the actual surface temp.

[mogadishu]

Originally Posted by phenyx

Is your heating pad connected to a thermostat? It needs to be connected to a thermostat.

I do not have a thermostat. Will have to look into that. Any recommendations?

[mogadishu]

Originally Posted by Andy_G

Most snakes will be on the cooler end most of the time and will only use the hot spot for digestion, but if the hot spot is too hot, they will avoid it entirely. How are you measuring temps and are you using a thermostat? For heat pads, you need a temp gun to measure the actual surface temp.

So are the little probes not effective at measuring actual surface temp?

[Andy_G]

Originally Posted by mogadishu

So are the little probes not effective at measuring actual surface temp?

There can be errors and they are less accurate than a temp gun. Considering you don't have a thermostat hooked up to the heat I am guessing the hot spot is too hot.

[mogadishu]

Originally Posted by Andy_G

There can be errors and they are less accurate than a temp gun. Considering you don't have a thermostat hooked up to the heat I am guessing the hot spot is too hot.

That makes sense. I'll have to check one out. Thank you!