So heres a husbandry question about temperature regulation

[Trey Yeoman]

What makes my ball python like to stay on the cooler side more than the warm side... its not the heating pad being too hot because I got a rheostat for it, and its not the hides because I have two exact same logs on each side... and she sometimes goes into the hot side... but for the last few days she has been on the cool side MUCH more than normal... and I am holding her on my shoulders now and she is active... firm.. healthy... tongue flickering... no mucous or dirty cloaca... so... idk...

[JLC]

They just do what they do. Who knows what goes on in those tiny little brains that makes them choose one spot to lay in over another?

It's good to watch your snake and learn to read them so you can recognize if something is truly off....however, watching and scrutinizing every single move and any faint random sound and every little "choice" they make...will drive you absolutely insane.

[toxicvixen]

Mine has been hanging out on the cool side as well

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[steveboos]

Just getting a temperature control device doesn't mean the temperature is an automatic fix. It takes at least a little playing and programming to get even the simplest thermostat to work.

What kind of thermometers are you using to measure the temperature? Digital ones are preferred, or even better an Infrared Thermometer Gun to get the surface temperatures.

If it seems as if she is almost avoiding the hot side, then double check all your temperatures are good and the thermometers are working correctly. If all that seems kosher, then go ahead and take a breather and just let your Ball Python do what it wants to do. I always double check husbandry first, then if all checks out, just be patient.

[Kadaysa]

My BP's tend to hang out on the cool side more at night time. After they eat, they for sure hunker in on the warm side, and stay there until after they have digested. Now between feedings I notice that they are on the warm side until dusk and then come out and venture around. When I wake up in the morning (5am) and do a quick glance at all the tubs most of the time they are snuggled up against the front of the tub, cool side. At some point during the day they head back to the warm side because they are usually there when I get home.

[mpkeelee]

rheostats are pretty much useless. ur hot spot is prolly too hot for ur snake so she stays on the cool side. u can get good thermostats for about 25 bucks and i highly recommend getting one and leaving the rheostat somewhere to collect dust. i had a zoo med rheostat a long time ago and on the lowest setting my UTH was around 110-120 at all times so i chucked it

u may want to check her belly for burns just in case it was too hot for her