Hello!

New member and my first post here! Lots of super knowledgeable and friendly people here so I'm hoping to get a solution. Just bought our first family ball python and I'm having issues getting the hotspot up to 89-90 degrees without having to crank the thermostat to 120. Thermostat is a Herpstat 1, and the rack is a single tub FB10 from TGR racks. I use coconut substrate that is about 1/2 an inch thick or so. Rack sides are open and the heat tape is considered to be "floating". About a 1/8 of an inch from the base of the rack with small pvc pieces underneath on the left and right sides and heat tape does contact the tub directly. Probe is set on the underside as instructed by the company, but I tried putting it on top and still had the same issues. I'm thinking this design may be the issue, but I just don't feel right about having to have the temp that high just to get the correct hotspot temp. The IR gun seems to be reading accurately so I'm completely out of ideas to remedy the issue. Just want our boy Bigsby to be comfortable in his new home. Right now I have the hot side of the rack wrapped in towels to try to insulate it some. Any answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!