Heating Question

[timmyp23]

so i got everything running in tank today to get temps/humidity ready.
i kept reading my thermometer(acurite digital) and everything seemed to be good besides coolside only reaching about 79-80. i work in heating and cooling so i already had a temp gun so just to be safe i got it to double check temps.. well i came to find out that substrate over uth is only reaching around 80 but directly on glass is at 92 and the coolside is the same as thermometer reading. i was thinking about turning up thermostat to make substrate warmer but dont wanna burn the snake if it burrows down at all.. any advice would be helpful about what i should do

[ballpythonluvr]

Sometimes if the substrate is to thick you will be a different reading then when you actually take the temps on the glass. How thick is the substrate where you are taking the temps?

[timmyp23]

the substrate seemed a bit thick so i took some out and going to see if that helps at all. i was taking temps around hot side/ inside hot side hide and i was taking temps all throughout coldside in different places. also worried about coldside only getting to 79-80

[snakesRkewl]

cool side temps are just fine

[timmyp23]

ok thankyou for letting me know about coolside, im letting hotside adjust right now. will take temps with temp gun once they do

[MUSTANGGTANDGSXR]

leave the temps on the glass at 92.if the snake wants more heat it will burrow. never let the temp on the glass be over 94

[timmyp23]

ok, thats what i was really wondering. if i should go by glass temp or top of substrate because glass temp is right on just above substrate is lower and didnt know if it would burrow down. i just want everything right and safe for my snake when i get him

[Vypyrz]

ok, thats what i was really wondering. if i should go by glass temp or top of substrate because glass temp is right on just above substrate is lower and didnt know if it would burrow down. i just want everything right and safe for my snake when i get him

When using Under Tank Heat, you should go by the glass temperature, because that will be the warmest temperature that your snake can come into contact with. I have found that when using the wood substrates, a good thickness for the layer on the warm side is somewhere between 1/2 to 1 inch and loosely packed. This seems to help the heat radiate up through the substrate easier, instead of building up underneath it along the glass.

[timmyp23]

i thinned out the substrate and is alot better now. hotside is at 92, humidity is between 50-55 without misting or anything(i live in michigan so it helps with humidity), cold side has been reading 80-81 all day but when i took temps in/under coldside hide it was only like 76-78 in there. will that be ok or how could i warm it up a little bit? oh and also it might be a dumb question but will my 60watt redlight bulb melt the fake plants i have in there because i been trying to set it a little more towards front to keep it from being over them