Healthy weight? Or no?

[unrezt]

Thanks. I've already learned a fair bit. When I got the little guy, I believed I had at least the basics covered, but I had no idea about those stupid rocks. Wow.

I have a UTH that covers just above a third of the tank's underside, but it doesn't feel like it gets very warm. It doesn't feel like there's much of a difference in the aspen bedding when I touch the warm end, as opposed to the cool end.

Are you using a thermostat? It is in all seriousness the most important(and probably one of the most overlooked) necessities of the hobby.

In all likelihood, you will need to adjust the amount, or even the type of substrate on the warm end, at least under the hide to get the needed temperature. I have found that aspen does not let much heat through, so I ended up using under the warm side hide(this is also a good way to know if they have pee'd).

I have heard a handful different theories regarding UTH temperature and warmth to the touch, but IMO the only way to know for sure is with a good thermometer. Most people recommend an indoor/outdoor type made by Accu-Rite or Acu-rite, which can be purchased at walmart for a little under $15. This particular thermometer has a probe which you place on the glass inside the tank on top of the heat pad, and the actual thermometer unit somewhere else on the cool side of the tank, that way you can monitor both temperatures(and humidity) at once.

You should really think about getting a scale too, it will remove all doubt of your snake being over/under weight, and will make it 10x easier finding appropriate food for your snake. You can get these at wal-mart too, but for better quality, look online.

As for humidity...with my setup, spraying the sides does little for humidty, but spraying the bedding and mixing it around(we are talking a mist here, not soaking...humid is good, wet is bad) keeps the humidity up at good levels for a couple days.