Heatpad doesnt feel warm? new snake owner.. need help please

hello, im using a heatpad to heat my tub for my baby ball python but when i touch the heatpad it doesnt really feel that warm. i have the thermostat to turn off at 88 degrees and i have a dial thermomter but i dont think it works as its always on 70/80 degress so im ordering a digital one

please any advice?
new snake owenr

Wait on the digital thermometer first, but you may need to turn up the thermostat. Do you have the probe on the heat pad or inside the enclosure? I would recommend keeping it directly on the heat pad, but it that case you may need to turn the t'stat up to 95 or so in order to heat the inside of the enclosure to 88.

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Originally Posted by SRMD94

hello, im using a heatpad to heat my tub for my baby ball python but when i touch the heatpad it doesnt really feel that warm. i have the thermostat to turn off at 88 degrees and i have a dial thermomter but i dont think it works as its always on 70/80 degress so im ordering a digital one

please any advice?
new snake owenr

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Do you have a THERMOMETER?

A heat pad does not feel warm to the touch and for good reason, if your heat pad is set to achieve 88/92 degrees is is 10+ to 6+ degrees lower than YOUR own body temp hence why it does not feel warm.

You need a RELIABLE thermometer until than you will only be guessing.

Since our body temps are around 98 degrees, its not going to feel warm to you. You need a reliable thermometer, and I'd suggest getting a temp gun.

You may need to increase your thermostat setting. My thermostat reads 100 to reach 91* hot spot.

And like everyone else said, I would pick up a digital thermometer.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

A heat pad does not feel warm to the touch and for good reason, if your heat pad is set to achieve 88/92 degrees is is 10+ to 6+ degrees lower than YOUR own body temp hence why it does not feel warm.

You need a RELIABLE thermometer until than you will only be guessing.

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Originally Posted by heathers*bps

Since our body temps are around 98 degrees, its not going to feel warm to you. You need a reliable thermometer, and I'd suggest getting a temp gun.

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True our body temperature is 98.6*, but extremity temperatures in the hands and feet are much lower and can vary quite a bit. This is the reason why we can't use our hands to determine temperature, not because our body temperature is high or close to the heat pads temperature.

But the advice still stands. Make sure your probes are in the right place. Your thermoSTAT probe should be on the outside of the enclosure directly on the heat mat. The thermomMETER probe should be in the enclosure, under the substrate directly over the heat mat. This will give you a reading of the hottest point the snake can reach.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

True our body temperature is 98.6*, but extremity temperatures in the hands and feet are much lower and can vary quite a bit. This is the reason why we can't use our hands to determine temperature, not because our body temperature is high or close to the heat pads temperature.

But the advice still stands. Make sure your probes are in the right place. Your thermoSTAT probe should be on the outside of the enclosure directly on the heat mat. The thermomMETER probe should be in the enclosure, under the substrate directly over the heat mat. This will give you a reading of the hottest point the snake can reach.

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Thanks for all your replies im going to be a digital thermomter/hygrometer ASAP!

My advice--remove the snake, unplug the thermostat, and plug the heater directly into the wall. Keep your hand over it, and see if it heats up properly. It's far from impossible that you have a faulty heat pad, so check that first.
If it does warm up, plug it back into the thermostat, and put the snake back. Get an indoor/outdoor thermometer with a remote probe, and place the probe over the heat pad, to get an accurate reading of the cage floor temperature there. (Don't use tape!)
If it says it's 90 over the heat pad, don't worry. :)