help with temps

I got my first snake yesterday from a reptile show in Taylor MI. nice place and very nice ppl. the guy i got it from was more then helpful. the only problem i have now is My temps. I have a Heat Wave UTH with a repti temp 500r thermostat. my sterilite is a 40qt model 1986. 26 1/8"L x 18 1/4"W x 6 3/8"H my digital thermometer is about 3" from the bottom. my thermostat probe is sitting on top of an area that my UTH is. i have newspaper in the bottom of the cage. i have the UTH taped to the sterilite. i have reflective mat under the cage and the feet to raise the cage up are about 1/2 inch from the mat. my temps read 78 to 81 on the warm side and 75 on the cooler side. i have the thermostat almost all the way up. i can turn it up a little more but will it burn the snake when it goes on the warm side?. my humidity is at 55%

Does your digital thermometer have a probe and if so, where is it positioned? It should be right on the cage floor, usually in the warm hide, with the digital unit itself on the cool side. Also what are the temperatures of the room the snake's cage is in? And how far up off of the heat mat is the cage? It doesn't have to be too far up...just enough to let a bit of air flow in between the mat and the tub. I have my tubs only about a centimeter or two off of the heat tape myself.

no it does not have a probe on it, it sits about 3" from the bottom of the cage. the UTH is directly on the cage and the cage is about 1/2 to 3/8 off of the mat. room temp is from 75 to 79 degrees

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Originally Posted by Stings

I got my first snake yesterday from a reptile show in Taylor MI. nice place and very nice ppl. the guy i got it from was more then helpful. the only problem i have now is My temps. I have a Heat Wave UTH with a repti temp 500r thermostat. my sterilite is a 40qt model 1986. 26 1/8"L x 18 1/4"W x 6 3/8"H my digital thermometer is about 3" from the bottom. my thermostat probe is sitting on top of an area that my UTH is. i have newspaper in the bottom of the cage. i have the UTH taped to the sterilite. i have reflective mat under the cage and the feet to raise the cage up are about 1/2 inch from the mat. my temps read 78 to 81 on the warm side and 75 on the cooler side. i have the thermostat almost all the way up. i can turn it up a little more but will it burn the snake when it goes on the warm side?. my humidity is at 55%

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1.) Is your BP a baby/hatchling? A 40qt might be a bit large for him/her. Make sure to put a hide in both the cool side and warm side of the cage and maybe some balled up newspaper so it's a little more cluttered in the cage.

2.) The temp on the thermostat may have to be higher than the desired temp inside the cage. Keep tweeking the thermostat temp until you get the desired side on the warm side (92-94) More holes in the cool side will allow for room air to circulate into the tub to get the desired temp gradient.

3.) From what I've read/heard, your snake will not cook itself. If you turn up your thermostat to get the desired temps, your snake will use the warm and the cool spots to thermoregulate properly. Just make sure there are multiple secure spots in your cage in different temps so that he can move from warm to cool independently.

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Originally Posted by Stings

no it does not have a probe on it, it sits about 3" from the bottom of the cage. the UTH is directly on the cage and the cage is about 1/2 to 3/8 off of the mat. room temp is from 75 to 79 degrees

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You gotta get the temp readings from the warm spot itself to know exactly what the snake is getting. I'd suggest getting a digital thermometer with probe(like an Acurite from walmart for 10-15 dollars), or an infrared temp gun or something to take temp readings from the cage floor, cuz last I checked snakes don't hover 3 inches off of the cage floor. :P

She is 7 months old. i have a large stainless steel dog dish for water on the cool side and 2 ceramic bowls for hinds on each end, she wont go near them. the cage is pretty full but she can move around. she sits in the back of the cage behind them. she was on the cool side all day yesterday but now she is on the warm side. the thermostat is all the way up now and im at 78 room temp and 83 on the warm side.

OK now i know it don't fly so i moved the thermometer down to the bottom and moved everything down. its lookign better. 78 cool side and 90 on the warm side. its still leveling out so ill keep an eye on it.

Those are much more acceptable temps.

Yep, that looks much better. Glad it's working out now. :) Let us know what the temps stabalize at. As long as it doesn't go over 94 you should have no problems.