Heating mat, subsrate problem?

Hi all

I have had my ball just a few days, I have set his cage up but the problem I have is that although I have about 2/3 cm of subsrate my snake just seems to push it out the way and lays on the heat mat, I am worried he is going to get burnt or at least to hot, the temp is 90 on the hot side and around 80 on the other but who knows what temp it is under him. how can I tell if it is to hot under him?

Thanks
Andrew

I can guarantee that your heat mat is WAY too hot, my small zoo med mat for a 10-20 gallon tank was reading over 130* on the glass above the mat before I got a dimmer and a temp gun. You should probably invest in both, dimmer $10.00 at home depot, temp gun also at Home Depot but they are on sale at tempguns.com for $35.00....you NEED these things if not a thermostat...which costs a lot more than those...

Hi

I have a thermostat, and a thermometer which is laying on the substrate on the hot side, it reads 90 but I still worry it is even hotter under the snake because he is directly on the mat because he moves everything. would I be able to tell from looking at or feeling my snake? how can I stop him from doing so?

Where is the thermostat probe? It should be taped to the heat mat to ensure that it doesn't get too hot. And the heat mat should be under the tank if it isn't already.

+1 slitherinsisters, that thermpstat probe should be taped onto the pad directly...not above the substrate.

At the moment I just have the probe on top of the substrate to be honest, but it does not seem to get the viv up to temp any other way, the viv is made of wood and it would not warm the inside at all if it was under it, feeling a bit stupid here, starting to think the mat is not performing as it should, I hope I am making sense with this.

That's because tanks are harder to keep warm. It takes them a bit more to stay at 90 than a plastic tub would. Since it can't keep your tank warm enough unless your probe is on top of the substrate that means that your heat mat is likely to be much hotter than your snake should be laying on. You'll probably need to add a heat lamp, or a higher watt bulb if you already have a heat lamp going.

And don't feel stupid. Balls are definitely not an easy creature to keep! Eventually you will be giving people advice ;)

What type of themometer are you using to take the temperature?

I have a tank as well, and yeah, it can be a bit tough sometimes.

I have a thermostat(dial based control, not digital) with the probe above the substrate on the warm side. I have two heat mats(one is a smaller one) and I have them both plugged in to the thermostat. The warm side also has a heat lamp above it. The combination of the larger mat and heat lamp keep the warmer side warm.

I have two thermometers(digital) with the probes under her hides. I adjust the thermostat from time to time to make sure the temperatures stay good(92 warm, 84 cool currently).

It gets the job done. Plus I have a temp gun to double check spots where she's laying.

It is tough to get temps tough with a nice layer of substrate, but I've found if you use a couple different things mixed, it compacts nicely and makes it very difficult to burrow. A layer of bark, followed by coco coir to fill in the gaps then topped off with some aspen bedding works well, and it just compacts...you do have to make sure though and check under the hides regularly to make sure they aren't burrowing. I have to have my thermostat at like 103 to make sure the heat can penetrate my roughly 1.5-2 inches substrate. Hope this helps
PS- the thermostat probe needs to be on the mat between the mat and the enclosure, you just need to play with the temps to get the inside to be 90