Temps<>Up and Down

[Annarose15]

I have a theory it is not backed up by tests but I have had 2 respected vets and a breeder agree it is sound.

If you are finding you snake staying on a hot surface and not regulating look to the ambient air temps. Snakes need to hold a correct core temp just like you or I do. They need to use external sources to do so. The lung of a snake is very large and runs 1/2 to 2/3 the body length. It runs past the heart, liver and all the large circulatory system. If the air temp IN the lung is cool (ambient air temps too low) the blood is chilled and core temps drop. The animal will compensate to try to raise the core temp by laying on the hot surface. With a very cool ambient air temp it is unlikely that surface temps alone will do much for the core temps. Core temp is a hardwired imperative so the snake will not move away from the heat no matter what.

Makes perfect sense to me. Kind of like when my dog lays too close to the campfire on a cold night and we have to stop him from catching his fur! Just trying to use a localized heat source to warm his entire body.