Ok the first question is what is your room temps? What is the UTH you have they come in different sizes but also different wattages for a given size.
Try placing the thermometer probe inside the hot side hide. The temps inside the hide will likely be different. I am guessing that this is a small snake? They small ones don't need as much high temps as the larger so 88-90 is fine for little ones. (they will actually raise the hide temps while digesting a degree or two)
Ambient temps cannot be ignored. But there is a bit of an order to things deal with the hot side then the cool side and then humidity and after all that is stable and correct look to the ambient temps. Often once the cool side and hot side are correct it is not much if anything to get the ambient air temps correct. Sometime just a touch of insulating material will solve ambient temp problems.
Be careful of paper towels, damp rodents can stick to them and the snake can eat the towel with it, little snakes have little chance of digesting a sheet of paper towel and cannot pass it either. My vet says she has done two surgeries on snakes having eaten paper towels since she set up shop. Rare but the chance is still there. Newspaper would be safer.
07-10-2011, 12:46 AM
Geek_Girl
I don't feed him in there, he has a seperate feeding tank. :)
And the uth is an Ultratherm heat pad, 11x11 under a 15 gallon tank (it takes up just under 1/2the tank). It can get the glass pretty warm but doesn't do much for the heat in the tank. I got a dimmer for my lamp and I'm hoping that will help heat up the tank just enough without having to go full strength.
