Hello,

I have been lurking these forums for a while and gathering all sorts of great information, there are many helpful, informative people on this thread and I am hoping someone can help me with an issue.

I just received a 2x3 cage from RBI with the 80 watt RHP (I am in Canada, cold in the house already) and am trying to get it setup and temps normalized before moving my snake over to her new diggs. The temp gradient seems good but I am a little confused over where to measure temps. In a previous (somewhat similar) thread I read that most people place thermostat probe under the hot hide and heat to approx 90F. I have 2 exo-terra cave hides that seem to cut a lot of the heat from the RHP. To get around 90 inside the hot hide, the temp on top of the hide gets about 100F (it's also that much closer to the RHP). Now I know my snake will hang out in the hide and won't bask on top of the hide, but will these temps be too hot or a potential problem for the snake? The sides of the hide seem to get warmer than the substrate inside as well, so any thoughts on measuring temp with probe touching side (like the snake) or just on the substrate under the hide?

Thanks for any advice,
CoolerKing