my red-tail boa

i've got my rtb in a wooden vivarium with a heat bulb and heat mat.i've put the heat mat inside the viv on the floor covered with a layer of aspen bedding.my concern is that the heat mat seems quite hot so i'm a little worried regarding safety.anyone tell me if i'm doing anything wrong here? cheers

Do you have a temp gun? Or a thermostat? If you have a temp gun then just take a reading and as long as it's not over 95 you shouldn't worry. I own 15 RTB's and all of them have heat mats of some sort on their tubs or boaphiles, and they do feel pretty hot, but the readings always say somewhere between 85 and 95 depending on day or night.

i would suggest getting a thermostat.. its the only way to really keep the temperature right if your heat pad is getting too hot

First off you need to put the heat mat outside the cage. The snake can't tell if it is too hot and will get burned. You also need a thermostat. Heres a good one.
http://www.reptilebasics.com/Ranco-E...d-p-16172.html
you should also get a digital thermometer such as an accurite. You can find one at wal mart for 12-14$. we really need to know the temps and humidity before we can give much more suggestions.

thanks for your tips.the reason i have put the heat mats inside is because i have wooden vivariums.the instructions say they 'must go inside wooden vivs as little heat would find it's way into the cage on the outside which would thermally block causing a risk of overheating'.so should i still put them on the outside as i'm really confused over this issue?
cheers

Well your probably right. Not much heat will reach the inside of the cage since it is wood. The best thing to do is get that thermostat so you can make sure the temps are fine. Otherwise you could get a new cage. Plastic rubbermaid or sterillite tubs make great cages. Search tubs and youll find a bunch of stuff.