Is my BP neurotic or just too hot?

Our ball python has switched to the cool side out of the blue. She has always stayed tucked in her hide that are on the warm side over the UTH. We had to throw away her cardboard shoe box hide because she got it filthy and she hasn't stayed in any of the new hides since.

We do live in Florida and it is very hot here but she's in the A/C all day. The cool side shows a temp of about 76-78 degrees all the time and the warm side is about 98 most of the day. The mulch above the UTH isn't that warm but the temp reading under the mulch is about 98 degrees.

She spend all day on the cool side right up against her water dish and feels cool to the touch. We've tried moving her back into the warm side and switching hides (we've been through 3 so far) and she still goes back to the coolest spot in the tank.

Is this okay/normal? Should we be doing something differently?

(Link to Photo of her tank is attached)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53986762@N04/5878790171/

I'm going to say 98 is too hot, 92 is better.

We have the heater on a reostat and it's on the lowest setting possible. The 98 degrees or so that the thermometer is reading is under the mulch touching the piece of faux leather that we have laid under the mulch. The top of the mulch where she is (or would be laying) is probably closer to 92.

What can i do to lower the temp on the UTH?

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Originally Posted by gatorball

What can i do to lower the temp on the UTH?

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You need an actual thermostat. Rheostats don't account for changing air/ambient temps, which can allow your warm side to get too hot.

Would it be best to just turn off the UTH until we can get a thermostat? She's sleeping on the cool side anyway.

??

How much substrate is over the UTH? It's pretty drastic how much heat is lost through even an inch of substrate (about 5 degrees or so in my enclosures). I'm sure your substrate surface temps are in the low 90's, but there's no way to know for sure..Temp guns are definitely your friend in situations like these...what's the cage temp with the UTH off?
EDIT- you could always raise your tank up a bit more from the UTH which would cool it down too..

She will thermo-regulate on her own, I wouldn't move her around. Just get your temps down to 89-90 on the warm end and provide appropriate hides.

We've turned the heater off temporarily. The temp of the mulch over the UTH is much lower. I think there might have been an issue with sunlight coming into the room in the morning and heating the tank. Her warm side was facing the window.

We're going to give her some time to figure things out and then feed her and see if she'll go back into her hide.

Thanks for the info...everyone.

Be very careful of sunlight it can amp up the temps in a glass tank (greenhouse) very very quickly. I would not take away the primary heat source. You cannot thermo regulate for your snake. If you can add a small air space to the uth. Or try a adding a sheet of glass (sanded edge) just over the uth under the substrate to absorb some of the heat.

The question I have is what are the ambient AIR temps in the enclosure? Ambient temps are often ignored in favour of surface temps of hot and cool sides. But ambient air temps are just as important, the long lung runs beside the heart liver and most of the large arteries and veins in the snake hot air in the lung(s) will warm the blood and the core temp with it. The snake can lay on a cool surface for ages but if the air temp is hot the animal cannot cool off.

The temp in the tank is at 76 degrees but that is with the UTH being off over night. I'm going to try laying the glass over the UTH area and covering it back up with mulch. I'm fairly certain that the sun coming in and the UTH heat is making it too hot in her hide.

Her old hide was lightweight cardboard and probably didn't get as hot inside as the plastic bowl we are using now.