Heat source in tank isnt good?

So I set up my ball python tank and I just got him yesterday and I see that he has only been right up against the wall of the tank where I have a heat pad. I'm not an expert but I think this means that the air temp in the cage it's too cold. I have a 100w bulb over the tank about 13" above the substrate but I don't think its doing anything besides sucking the humidity out of the air. Is the heat pad good enough? Can he do alright by just being beside the pad when he is cold? I do have a newteck thermostat attached to the tank in case you were concerned about that.

Are you measuring your temperatures in any way? That's the only way to tell if it is too cold. Pics of your setup will also help.

I have a an exo terra thermometer at the top of the tank, a newteck thermostat that turns everything off when it reaches a certain temperature (currently set to turn off at 85 F) and I have an infrared non-contact temperature gun that I use to measure exact spots of the tank

Is the thermometer digital or analog? Either way, it won't do you any good to measure the temps at the top of the tank. You want to measure the temperature where the snake is actually at (ground). The dial thermometers aren't very accurate so a digital style thermometer with a probe will be much better for you to get an idea.

Reading a care sheet will do you a lot of good.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...s%29-Caresheet

Something else to get you on the right track. Very easy to follow

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-With-Pictures!

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/show...hp?i=50357&c=3

Picture of my setup. I'm new to this site so I'm doing the best I can, haha

Well, first things first, that heating pad is meant to go underneath of the tank. not on the side. Which heat source do you have hooked up to the thermostat?

I have it taped to the glass where the bigger heat pad is. The instructions that came with the pad said it was ok to put it on the side. It wont heat through the substrate when its on the bottom anyway

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/show...hp?i=50358&c=3

Just to be clear, you only have the one heat pad right?

I don't think it's going to do you any good on the glass. If it were, I don't think the snake would be up against the glass like that. If it doesn't heat through the substrate, you can use less substrate. That looks like a pretty thick layer, I don't think anything would heat through it.

That looks like a 55 gallon to me. I would consider downsizing to a 20 gallon long or something around that size. A 55 gallon is pretty tall to have to heat up and the snake isn't going to use that vertical space. But to answer your original question, no, that heat pad alone is not going to be good enough for that cage, especially if it's on the side like that.

One thing you'll definitely want to do no matter what is get that tape out of the enclosure. Your snake WILL at some point find a way to peel it off and get it stuck to itsself.