96 degree basking spot????

[ogdentrece]

I have my floor temps max at 94F, or at least I hope it is, since I'm measuring it with a digital thermometer with a probe. I need a temp gun. But the probe isn't always pressed down firmly on the glass, and it reads about 94F max. However my balls seem to spend all day in their warm hides and keep pushing the aspen away to get down to the glass I'm beginning to worry something is wrong. I thought they'd be feeling too warm.

[ogdentrece]

Hmm somehow I cant edit my previous post. Anyway I just wanted to add, if my balls spend all their time in there, then surely it cant be too hot, can it? If somethings burning them, they wont feel it at first but the heat will get in and theyd feel too warm and move to somewhere cooler, but they dont at all. I'm not saying my snakes are getting burnt - they are NOT BURNT. Just giving an extreme example. They just stick their heads out every evening (now and then they would come out for a walk, or slither).

[Keyboard Warrior]

Hmm somehow I cant edit my previous post. Anyway I just wanted to add, if my balls spend all their time in there, then surely it cant be too hot, can it? If somethings burning them, they wont feel it at first but the heat will get in and theyd feel too warm and move to somewhere cooler, but they dont at all. I'm not saying my snakes are getting burnt - they are NOT BURNT. Just giving an extreme example. They just stick their heads out every evening (now and then they would come out for a walk, or slither).

No, just because some snakes will move when its too hot, doesn't mean all of them will. Many will sit there without realizing they are being cooked alive. Thats why you need something like a temp gun, to measure how hot the heat pad actually is, how hot the glass is, and how hot the substrate they are basking on is.

Before I would take the heat pad up to 100 because the substrate wouldn't get hot enough below that. But my BP likes to dig under the thin layer of substrate. He would then be touching the glass that is 100 degree's. So a good rule of thumb is to make sure that glass is not above 95 degrees.

[kitedemon]

ogdentrece what are your ambient temps? If they are cool you might have issues. If they are reasonably warm I'd not worry overly just make sure it doesn't gain too much too fast. I really watch the animal, does it ever move to the cool end? If your air temps are cool it can cause issues if not remember they see IR close and far (heat) the accuracy of the heat differences they see is much much better than any digital thermometer. Do you have one on hot and cold side? If you do just move the cool side one to sit beside the hot side one and check them both in an hour or so and see if they are the same. If not I'd suspect failure, I have been averaging 1 in 5 to fail usually that is humidly readings which are notorious. I'd not go over 94 even if the animal is not regulating you might try raising the cool end temps as they may also be too cold.

[ogdentrece]

@KeyboardWarrior: Yes, I definitely would never let my glass go above what it currently is.

kitedemon, my ambient temps seem to be fine (I think), with a heat gradient.
In the day its 85-90.
At night the warm side, outside the hide, is about 80-85 (rarely below 82) but should be warmer in the hide, heated only by UTH, cool side 75-80 (rarely below 77 though). I'm only using UTH's at the moment, I do have CHE's but was told that I shouldnt exactly need it too badly, especially since its a real pain for humidity. What do you think?

I have 4 digital thermometers all read more or less the same when together, just one with a 0.1 and another 0.3 difference so I shouldn't think its that..

[Anya]

here's what I don't get:

My body temp is 98.1. if I hold my hand in a fist for about 5 minutes, then open it, it's blood temp. I just don't understand how my hand could ever burn my snake. I get you know, 110 or 120 being burn range, and I understand how anything above 95 for a long period of time could be unhealthy....but burn?

I'm not being snarky...this has actually been bothering me for quite some time. I'm genuinely curious.

[mark and marley]

here's what I don't get:

My body temp is 98.1. if I hold my hand in a fist for about 5 minutes, then open it, it's blood temp. I just don't understand how my hand could ever burn my snake. I get you know, 110 or 120 being burn range, and I understand how anything above 95 for a long period of time could be unhealthy....but burn?

I'm not being snarky...this has actually been bothering me for quite some time. I'm genuinely curious.

that is a marvelous point Anya. Marley loves my tummy when im under the covers of my bed.i think the conductor of the heat glass,rock,plastic etc have a different effect than our soft porous skin.maybe

[mark and marley]

my herpvet said you need to know how hot the glass gets buut set your probe on top of the substrate where your snakie spends his time.its likely the substrate isnt letting alot of heat through and your snake is trying to get to it. if you have a thick layer of bedding or if its all mashed down alot wont go through.
i would check the temps on top of the substrate and go from there.

[kitedemon]

It sound like you thermometers are reasonably good as they are the same. The ambient temps seems off how are you measuring it? 85-90 is quite high ambient. I usually would measure it by hanging the probe about 2-4 inches from the floor centre of the enclosure. We are looking for air temps.

Anya, snakes can tolerate easily as much as 100ºF with out issue. The problem is two fold, most heaters are not even and there is a good chance of a higher spots here and there. The second point is that they cannot digest food at higher temps. I know a few big breeders who during the hottest parts of the year when brown outs are possible don't offer food due to that. They can manage to escape with out a bun but cannot exist at that temp for a extended period of time. They become restless and run with a much higher metabolism and burn much more energy but at the same time they usually will not eat either.

[ogdentrece]

It sound like you thermometers are reasonably good as they are the same. The ambient temps seems off how are you measuring it? 85-90 is quite high ambient. I usually would measure it by hanging the probe about 2-4 inches from the floor centre of the enclosure. We are looking for air temps.

Anya, snakes can tolerate easily as much as 100ºF with out issue. The problem is two fold, most heaters are not even and there is a good chance of a higher spots here and there. The second point is that they cannot digest food at higher temps. I know a few big breeders who during the hottest parts of the year when brown outs are possible don't offer food due to that. They can manage to escape with out a bun but cannot exist at that temp for a extended period of time. They become restless and run with a much higher metabolism and burn much more energy but at the same time they usually will not eat either.

Oh wow thanks for the info, I never knew that about digesting at high temps.
My day temps here are pretty warm, usually 82-88F, that I'm pretty sure. My ambient temp would more or less follow that. At night it gets pretty cool, at about 77-82. At about 2-4 inches off the top of the substrate its a little higher on the warm side from the UTH. I use the same digital thermometer to measure these temps.