My Snake is Unwell

[FractalVision]

Thank you for your helpful pointers. I have one of those LCD thermometer/hygrometers with the rod, and I realised that I should re-position it to get a more accurate reading.
I have a heatmat under the one side of his tank, and it is reading 30 degrees celsius for that side.
I do not know the ambient temp, and I am waiting for my other thermometer to arrive. Humidity is at 69% right now.

I just went to have a little look, and he is out of his hide, and in the middle of the tank, so he is coming out at night.
I do feel better than I did, and I will keep an eye on him and post how he is.
I appreciate the help, I really do.

[FractalVision]

I am at a loss to know how to make it hotter than 30 celsius to be honest, considering he has the heatmat.
I do not have a lamp, and I understand that the heatmat is usually sufficient.
I make sure to use the central heating in my house for a few hours in the morning/night, just to make sure the house isn't cold.

[Caali]

I am at a loss to know how to make it hotter than 30 celsius to be honest, considering he has the heatmat.
I do not have a lamp, and I understand that the heatmat is usually sufficient.
I make sure to use the central heating in my house for a few hours in the morning/night, just to make sure the house isn't cold.

First of all if you use Celsius to measure the heat (I do too) the rules are a bit different.
The hot spot should be around 31 to 35 degrees (but it shouldn't fluctuate too much; maybe one to at most two degrees)
The ambient temperature should be at 26 to 28 degrees
The cold spot should between 26 and 27 degrees.
This winter the heating in my apartment cut out for a week so it was freezing cold.
In order to keep the heat in the terrarium (mine is wooden) I put a blanket on top of it and put a hot water bottle on the hot side (outside of course).
Might I also suggest to get a daylight heat lamp. You can get one that doesn't get too warm but it think that it will help you to solve your problem. During the day you can get the temperature up to 32 degrees and at night it will drop naturally. Night drops aren't necessary but in your case I think it'd be a practical idea.

[CALM Pythons]

I am at a loss to know how to make it hotter than 30 celsius to be honest, considering he has the heatmat.
I do not have a lamp, and I understand that the heatmat is usually sufficient.
I make sure to use the central heating in my house for a few hours in the morning/night, just to make sure the house isn't cold.

I dont know what your enclosure looks like or what its made of but you need some kind of heat for your cool side unless your Room temp is warm. As far as making the Hot Hide warmer you would most likely need to insulate. If the Top is a screen cover it etc..if its a Tank use Foam Insulation Board around 3 sides or Cardboard...

[Godzilla78]

I am at a loss to know how to make it hotter than 30 celsius to be honest, considering he has the heatmat.
I do not have a lamp, and I understand that the heatmat is usually sufficient.
I make sure to use the central heating in my house for a few hours in the morning/night, just to make sure the house isn't cold.

Are you talking about the air temps on the hot side, or the temps of the bottom floor where the under-tank-heater is? The hotspot where the undertank heater is, is where it should be 30-32. The ambient air doesn't need to be that hot at all. Sorry, for any confusion. I measure the hotspot over the UTH with an infrared thermometer, and measure the ambient air temps with a thermometer probe dangling on the side the enclosure.

[FractalVision]

Yes, the 30 degrees is the hot spot on the bottom, just at the UHT on the bottom of the tank.
I have a towel over the top of the enclosure to conserve warmth.
I have him in the start-up enclosure that I bought him with, a plastic tank measuring 16x10 inches. I was planning to buy him a wooden/glass front vivarium when he got bigger - measuring 36 inches in length. This was the advice I was given by the man in the reptile store.
He has a cold hide, a hot hide, a waterbowl, and a branch.

Tomorrow I will have another thermometer for the ambient temp. He is in the warmest central room of the house, upstairs. It is peaceful and quiet here, as it is just my husband and I.
To give him a warmth boost, I could get an oil filled heater for the room tomorrow morning too. I can't see it doing any harm right? I won't put it too close, just at the side of the room where his heat mat is?

[bcr229]

A lot of people run heaters in their herp rooms to boost the ambient temperature.

Also are you regulating your UTH to ensure it doesn't get hot enough to burn your snake? It should be controlled by a thermostat.

[FractalVision]

Yes I am now using a thermostat with the UTH.
I realise where the holes were in my understanding.. I did not know the best way to position the thermometer/sensors etc, and could not get accurate readings.
The heat spot is now consistently between 34-35 degrees celsius.

I am pleased to say that Amadeus is much more himself again. After a few quiet days, he is more relaxed and moving around tonight. When I positioned the sensors, I had to hold him briefly to move him, and he felt alot better and stronger, his tail curling around my hand as normal.
I will see how he gets on in the coming days.