Temperature? Thermostat probe? Help for a new BP keeper

[Lejiamka]

Hello everyone, I'm new to BP keeping. I've been doing extensive research for the past year or so and bought my first BP 2 weeks ago. As far as temp goes I've seen sources saying the hot side should be between 80 to 90F and others saying it should be between 88 and 95F. From that I figured that, though not ideal at both extremes, temps from 80 to 95F are fine, with ideal temp at 85 to 90F.

I use a plastic tub as enclosure (1.7 foot long to 1.2 foot wide for a 2 feet female ball python) For heating I use a heat-mat plugged into a thermostat. I have a towel on the floor (for isolation) then the heat-mat and then the plastic tub sitting on top of it (I mean directly touching it). I have about an inch of aspen fibers as bedding in the tub.

I have 2 questions:

1st --> in the recommended temperature supposed to be the temp of the heat-mat, bedding or ambient air in the hot side?

2nd --> is a linked question, where should I put the probe of my thermostat? I mean I know it's in the tub of course but I mean should I put it beneath the substrate and stick it to the plastic above the heat-mat or should I put it on top of the bedding? From what I've seen I've supposed I should put it under the bedding but by doing so the temp of the bedding itself in the hot side never rises above 75 -81F MAX. Should I actually put the probe on top of the bedding so that the bedding itself is at 90F? and if so won't the actual heat-mat get to hot itself?

Cheers in advance for your kind answers to come ^^

[Craiga 01453]

Hello and welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of snake keeping!!

Unfortunately, you're going to get lots of varied answers to most questions in the hobby.
But that's why it's important to cross reference multiple sources and learn from experienced, reputable keepers.

1) hot spot surface temps should be no higher than 90. I go 88-89. That is the temp on the actual surface of the enclosure. Snake's can and will burrow and push substrate around and lay directly on the surface.
These temps are found using a temp gun.

Ambient temps should be in the mid 80s


2) the thermostat probe goes OUTSIDE the enclosure. Sandwiched between the heat mat and the tub.
Leaving it inside it will be moved, peed on, laid on etc... which can all lead to inaccurate readings and potential heat spikes. These heat spikes can be dangerous and even fatal.

Your cool side should never drop below 75.

[Lejiamka]

Cheers for your answer. Actually I do use a temp gun and this was the source of my "problem". When the probe touches the heat-mat or the plastic just above the heat-mat it reads the temp of the actual mat and when I then measure the temp of the bedding using my temp gun it is way lower than the temp of the mat. My thermostat is usually porgrammed so that the mat reaches about 90F but then the temp of the bedding in the enclosure is only about 70-80F in the hotside. I've seen a video from the channel Snake Discovery on Youtube (that appeared very professional and well-informed) and the girl from the channel said to set the tub with the thermostat probe inside the enclosure above the heat-mat under the bedding. This though, does not change my problem since whatever the case the temp of the actual bedding is always way lower that the temp of the UTH.

Do you think I should still put the probe sandwiched between the mat and the enclosure as you said and set it above 90F so that the temp of the bedding and hides where the snake actually is rises too? Or maybe I should use just a half as thick of aspen fiber layer?

[55fingers]

The goal is to get the surface temp of the TUB under the substrate to 90f. If the BP is cold she will dig through the substrate to reach the 90f bottom of the tub.

Sandwich the probe between the tub and heat mat. Test with your temp gun to see what you have to set the thermostat at to get the floor of the tub under the substrate to 90f. Try setting it to 92f. It will lose a few degrees traveling through the plastic.

[Craiga 01453]

Cheers for your answer. Actually I do use a temp gun and this was the source of my "problem". When the probe touches the heat-mat or the plastic just above the heat-mat it reads the temp of the actual mat and when I then measure the temp of the bedding using my temp gun it is way lower than the temp of the mat. My thermostat is usually porgrammed so that the mat reaches about 90F but then the temp of the bedding in the enclosure is only about 70-80F in the hotside. I've seen a video from the channel Snake Discovery on Youtube (that appeared very professional and well-informed) and the girl from the channel said to set the tub with the thermostat probe inside the enclosure above the heat-mat under the bedding. This though, does not change my problem since whatever the case the temp of the actual bedding is always way lower that the temp of the UTH.

Do you think I should still put the probe sandwiched between the mat and the enclosure as you said and set it above 90F so that the temp of the bedding and hides where the snake actually is rises too? Or maybe I should use just a half as thick of aspen fiber layer?

Yes, the probe goes OUTSIDE, for the reasons I mentioned above.

Also, the substrate temp is not important. The ACTUAL SURFACE temp is what's important

[Lejiamka]

Thank you all so much for your answers ^^. I was kind of freaking out that the temp of the substrate was too low but I'm now reassured; the temp at the bottom of my enclosure is 91F so so far so good ^^. Plus she has a ceramic cave with no bedding under (so that the ceramic bottom of the cave is directly above the heat-mat) the cave is thus at 88-90F it will be good for her.

Cheers everyone

expect more of me here very soon , I have a lot of questions and I'm really trying to provide as good as I can for my girl ^^