Cold to touch?

Is it normal for my BP to be very cold to the touch? I don't have a IR thermometer yet, so I can't tell you surface temp of the snake, but to me it's just damn cold.
Here is some background info:
I built a rack system and use 28qt tubs and have Flexwatt heat tape on the bottom/rear of each shelf. I individually wired each shelf and currently only have 1 shelf plugged in to my Herpstat and it is set and stable at 94 degrees. I have the probe positioned in an unoccupied tub positioned over the heat tape and covered with aspen. The ambient temp is 75 and the room temp is 73.

My snakes always feel coolish to me, unless they have been sitting on the hot-spot. I dunno about "very cold".

Whats the hot spot temp?

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Whats the hot spot temp?

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94 degrees, but even after the snakes sit in the area of the heat tape they don't feel warm, not even close to how the felt when they would sit over the UTH in the aquarium they used to reside in.

Well the thermostat is set to 94, but is the hot spot inside the tub 94? I know in my rack I have mine set to 103.5 and 96.5 (in two different racks) to achieve 90 degrees inside the tubs....

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Well the thermostat is set to 94, but is the hot spot inside the tub 94? I know in my rack I have mine set to 103.5 and 96.5 (in two different racks) to achieve 90 degrees inside the tubs....

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So are you saying that with the Herpstat probe sitting in the exact spot that the snakes would be sitting at and the Herpstat set at 94, that the hot spot isn't actually 94 degrees? This seems odd to me, but I guess I'll have to pick up a IR Thermometer to test it to be sure.
Also do you have the air temp set to 90 or the surface temp of the tub?

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Originally Posted by Jeremy Cox

So are you saying that with the Herpstat probe sitting in the exact spot that the snakes would be sitting at and the Herpstat set at 94, that the hot spot isn't actually 94 degrees? This seems odd to me, but I guess I'll have to pick up a IR Thermometer to test it to be sure.
Also do you have the air temp set to 90 or the surface temp of the tub?

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Not odd, the probe and the heat tape are not inside the tub.. The temperature inside the tub is usually a bit lower.

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Originally Posted by Jeremy Cox

So are you saying that with the Herpstat probe sitting in the exact spot that the snakes would be sitting at and the Herpstat set at 94, that the hot spot isn't actually 94 degrees? This seems odd to me, but I guess I'll have to pick up a IR Thermometer to test it to be sure.
Also do you have the air temp set to 90 or the surface temp of the tub?

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Oh, I assumed that the herpstat probe was directly on the heat source like most people do it. How is it attached inside the enclosure if you don't mind me asking?

IMO, you need to raise that ambient temp up. just my 2 pennies.

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Originally Posted by tcutting

IMO, you need to raise that ambient temp up. just my 2 pennies.

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this is likely your solution. however, more information is needed before anyone could give an accurate answer. where exactly have you placed your probe and how have you wired the shelves to connect with the herpstat?

not to reiterate information that you already know, but an accurate temp gun should be part of your set-up. reptile basics sells a few models, all of which are reliable, and their shipping and customer service are among the best.

They shouldn't feel very cold. Mine feel cool if they are on the cool side as my temps are about 80 on the cool side and that's almost 20 degrees cooler than we are. I'm thinking you should try to raise the ambient temps if possible. What are you measuring the surface temps with, and are you measuring it where the snake is laying, or under the substrate?

I have the probe taped inside the tub, using scotch tape (so as to not absorb any extra heat), it is placed directly over where the heat tape is below the tub and is covered with aspen shavings. I assumed that would be the hottest possible location and I didn't want the snakes being burned.
The shelves each have 4 feet of 4" flexwatt wired to individual plugs, so I can add and remove shelves to the rack system as needed. Currently I am only using the top shelf and have 3 bins per shelf. My snakes are in bin 1 and 2, the probe is in bin 3.
I have a static temp/humidity gauge inside of bin 2 at the cool side and that is where I read 75 degrees. The warm side never feels warm to the touch, but with my probe placement, I'm not sure where I've gone wrong.

Tape in the enclosure is a big no no..

I secure the probe on the heat tape in the top shelf of my rack(heat rises so these will be your warmest tubs by a degree or two if you're running the same tape through the whole rack). Then I just increase the thermostat until the hot spot holds where I want it. There are lots of posts warning about the use of tape in enclosures, even if it's buried and as seemingly harmless as scotch.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ght=stuck+tape

Hope this helps.

I think the OP is using tape only in the "extra" tub he has, or a dub tub or whatever people call it.

To the OP: You might want to consider using aluminum foil tape and securing the thermostat probe onto the actual flexwatt. The thermostat will show a higher reading than you think you want, but it will create the right temps in the tank. And then to measure temps in the tank, youre gonna want a proper thermometer, as well as a temperature gun.

As an example, I have my thermostat set to 103.5 for my rack and the hottest spots at the back of the tub are 92-94, depending on the shelf.

Also, in response to your bp feeling cold: Humans are usually 90 F and up, so your snake will usually feel cooler than your body temperature, unless its been in its hot spot for a while.

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Originally Posted by John1982

I secure the probe on the heat tape in the top shelf of my rack(heat rises so these will be your warmest tubs by a degree or two if you're running the same tape through the whole rack). Then I just increase the thermostat until the hot spot holds where I want it. There are lots of posts warning about the use of tape in enclosures, even if it's buried and as seemingly harmless as scotch.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ght=stuck+tape

Hope this helps.

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The tape is being used in a SPARE tub as someone else has already mentioned and is what I meant by saying snakes ae in Bin 1 & 2, probe is in Bin 3.

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Originally Posted by mattchibi

I think the OP is using tape only in the "extra" tub he has, or a dub tub or whatever people call it.

To the OP: You might want to consider using aluminum foil tape and securing the thermostat probe onto the actual flexwatt. The thermostat will show a higher reading than you think you want, but it will create the right temps in the tank. And then to measure temps in the tank, youre gonna want a proper thermometer, as well as a temperature gun.

As an example, I have my thermostat set to 103.5 for my rack and the hottest spots at the back of the tub are 92-94, depending on the shelf.

Also, in response to your bp feeling cold: Humans are usually 90 F and up, so your snake will usually feel cooler than your body temperature, unless its been in its hot spot for a while.

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Thanks for your advice. As I said in Post #6, I'm going to be getting an IR temp gun off Amazon here in few days.

Here is a quick update though... Currently I have a small digital thermometer w/ probe (brand is Springfield Precise Temp - about $7.00 at Menard's) laying in the spare bin with the Herpstat probe. It's reading around 77, however my static temp/humidity gauge (that I mentioned was in the cooler front area of the occupied bin) was repositioned to the rear (over the hot spot) and it reads 90 degrees. So I've very confused... maybe the digital thermometer that I have is wrong... I'll be able to tell for sure after I pick up a temp gun and test the bins that way.

Also, just for clarification - I built my rack (11 bin total currently 9x 28qt and 2x 41 qt) with plenty of space for expansion as I only have 2 BP's right now, but foresee a spare bin for quite some time, so I'd like to keep the probe in a spot that closely resembles where the snakes would be. Top shelf, taped to the plastic and insulated/covered with the substrate. Representing the exact location of where a snake would be (if it were in that tub.) Now as for why this location is reading 94 degrees according to the Herpstat and another thermometers are different is beyond me.

Thanks you everyone for your feedback though and I appreciate the help.

That's a relief, I guess I read over it as I've never considered using a tub as a dummy like that(space has always been an issue for me). All of my snakes are cool-cold to touch, if they were warm I'd be worried. Even when they've been chilling on the hot spot they feel cool to me, almost 10 degrees lower than my body temperature afterall.

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Originally Posted by mattchibi

Also, in response to your bp feeling cold: Humans are usually 90 F and up, so your snake will usually feel cooler than your body temperature, unless its been in its hot spot for a while.

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exactly what i was thinking, imagine if you turned the temperature in your house down 10 degrees how cold it would feel