Hello,
I have a 4 year old male BP. I adopted him 2 weeks ago. I really thought I had everything sorted out before bringing him home, but I misunderstood the ambient temp requirements. So, at room temp and that my home is on the cooler side, the air temps for the snake are too cool.

I guess I should mention what kind of enclosure he is in first. He is in a 40 (maybe a 50?) gallon tank with a metal screen lid. I have 3 sides covered, as well as the screen lid, except where the CHE lamp sits. I have a large UTH with thermostat, two hides, a large water bowl and aspen bedding.

So, since realizing the ambient temps were too cool at just room temp, I bought the CHE. It is on a dimmer. I have successfully raised the ambient temps to 83 degrees.

However, I am extremely worried the snake will burn his nose on the metal screen lid directly under the CHE. My snake hides during the daytime but is out and about each night cruising around. He easily can stretch up and touch the top of the screen lid. This means he will surely scorch his pretty nose because of the intense heat.

What can I do? I've done everything I thought was possible, aside from completely ditching the tank and putting him into a tub with a lid. I really don't want to put him into a tub, I have this BP and my two corn snakes as pets only and really love being able to see them. But, I know the health of the snake comes first, so I will go the tub route if I need to.

Thank you for any advice!