I have seen some good and not so smart advise given here, maybe its just because its early for me.
Lets start from the .................. start.
You need to be worried first about the SURFACE temperatures............This is what your snake can touch.
I don't care how much substrate you can put in the tank, your snake will burrow and then can get burned if your pad is too hot.
Your thermostat probe should be between the tank and the heat mat, you adjust your stat till the temps are between 88-95. Do not go by the numbers on your thermostat because I have seen a huge variance and if the sticker was not put on correct it wont matter anyway. This is where a no-contact thermometer can come in handy.
Your heat mat is there to create a hot spot NOT heat the ambient temps.
Now you start playing with the overhead heating to heat the ambient temps, if you can get the cooler side to 77-80ish then you should be good.
The problem with overhead heating is you will kill your humidity.
Cover the top like you have done and another trick is to place your water bowl either partially on the heat mat or under the overhead heat source.
Reply With Quote