Help please.

Hi everyone. I've just got my first BP. He (I say he but Ive no idea) is around 5 months old. Bought him from a local reptile centre and he's a normal.
He's been absolutely great. Docile and friendly and eats with no problems.
Just one thing I wnated to check.
He's in a 3ft vivarium with sliding glass doors. The hot end is around 30 degrees and the cool end is 25. I've put matching hides at each end.
He explored everywhere on day one - but since then I have never seen him in the hot end. He lives exclusively in the cooler end either in the hide or half in and half out. As I say he sems fine in every way.
My question is why does he stay at the cooler end? I have a new thermostat connected to the ceramic heater and a digital thermometer at each end so I'm pretty sure the temps are accurate. Even after eating he retreated to the hide at the cooler end.
Something to worry about or just his own preference? Any help would be much appreciated.

Do you have a heat gun to spot check actual floor temps? The hot side may be too hot for him.

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Originally Posted by Snakemom85

Do you have a heat gun to spot check actual floor temps? The hot side may be too hot for him.

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This ^
That said some do prefer the midrange and/or cooler end and will maybe use the warm hide less and for aiding digestion after a feed ..


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I don't have a heat gun. I have made sure that the sensors for both the thermostat and the digital thermometer are on the surface of the aspen right next to the hot hide.

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Originally Posted by Sonic

I don't have a heat gun. I have made sure that the sensors for both the thermostat and the digital thermometer are on the surface of the aspen right next to the hot hide.

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I would find a different place for the thermostat probe. Usually with an RHP or CHE you let it hang down one wall under the appliance, and adjust it up or down accordingly to get the desired hot spot. With it on the floor the snake can move it, pee on it, bury it under the aspen, etc. and then your heat source will run too hot.

Also 30*C is 86*F which isn't really all that warm for a ball python.

I'm really confused now!
i put the sensors on the surface as I thought I would get the temp where the snake actually is.
I agree he could mess with them if he wanted but as I said, he never goes anywhere near that end.
You say that maybe the hot end is too hot - but also that 30 degrees isn't that hot for a BP.....

There was speculation that your hot side may be too warm if you weren't using a heat gun or digital thermometer with probe to measure surface temps. It looks like you're fine on that score, though you may want to buy a heat gun or IR/point thermometer just because sometimes they are in accurate. If the hot spot is truly 30*C then that's not too hot for your snake.

Your baby may just like the other hide better for some reason.

I think that might be the case as I can't think of anything else.
He seems happy though so it's all good I guess.
Thanks for taking the time to give me your advice.

Remember also that BPs are more active in the dark, so maybe he uses the other end more after you're asleep. :snake: Snakes are notoriously "sneaky". ;)

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Originally Posted by Sonic

I'm really confused now!
i put the sensors on the surface as I thought I would get the temp where the snake actually is.
I agree he could mess with them if he wanted but as I said, he never goes anywhere near that end.
You say that maybe the hot end is too hot - but also that 30 degrees isn't that hot for a BP.....

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Are you heating with a uth,rhp,or over head heat bulb of some type? If using a uth it is very important to measure the inside bottom glass/plastic temp. and not the substrate temp. because snakes will push aside the substrate and will lay on the bottom. An example to see is in my gallery. If the bottom is higher than the 30 C it could be reason your snake stays away. So that is the area that could be too hot. So when anyone uses a uth it is important to also have a infrared dot temp gun since that is the best way to quickly measure the inside bottom temp. You can use the gun to measure through out the enclosure, check the warm end and the cool end. You can use them to measure the temps of f/t feeders when warming them up. They really come in handy.